Travel Blog
In 2023 I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship travel scholarship supported by the Royal Countryside Fund. The scholarship was to fund international travel to build his knowledge of tanning and to visit other tanneries abroad.
The travel was split into four parts:
Churchill Fellowship - Part 1
3 week tanning internship for setting up a micro-tannery with Matt Richards -Traditional Tanners (Oregon, US)
Matt is an expert traditional tanner with decades of experience and he is one of the few traditional veg tannery in the world with a micro-tannery. This was an invaluable hands on experience learning how to tan cattle hides and run a tannery.
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Churchill Fellowship - Part 2
Lineapelle, the International Leather Trade Fair and the international exhibition of machines and technologies
I visited the Lineapelle the international exhibition of leather, accessories, components, fabrics, synthetics and models in Milan. The international exhibition of machines and technologies for footwear, leathergoods and tanning industry (Simac Tanning Tech) runs alongside it.
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Churchill Fellowship - Part 3
A week visiting some of the remaining tanneries in Switzerland and Germany.
I have managed to arrange visits to 4 tanneries. Three of the tanneries are well know veg tanneries but the first one is something different, a hair-on-hide tannery in Switzerland:
- Neuenschwander
- August Renz
- Gerberei Martin (article about the tannery)
- A traditional tannery shut down 3 or 4 years ago
- Kilger
Churchill Fellowship - Part 4
The veg tanneries of Italy along with a tannery manufacturer and more
Finally a week visiting some of the famous veg tanneries of the Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather Consortium
Plus the La Querce and Maryam S.r.l. tanneries, the PO.TE.CO. tanning technology centre, Il Puma (finishers) and the tannery manufacturer: Italprogetti
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Conclusion
Bringing it all together.
It has been an incredible journey since I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship travel scholarship in 2023. The knowledge and experiences I have gained from visiting tanneries across the US, and Europe have been invaluable in shaping the vision for Cotmarsh Tannery CIC.
The conclusion brings together my broader thoughts and learnings from the entire fellowship experience, reflecting the subject of my project "Developing a micro-tannery model to vegetable tan British cattle hides".
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