Reviews

I watched a YouTube video (one of many over the years) from Nigel about planning, designing and making a card holder. I was amazed at the detail and care taken in all aspects and if you don’t believe me then watch it (2 parts)

I then booked a beginners course and had a great day with Nigel and Sam and I can even say now after a very long time I understand how to sew leather. Great day, great course and a very enjoyable day. (don’t forget to take dog treats)

Nigel has a great wealth of knowledge and a fun way of showing you how to leatherwork correctly. Thanks Nigel.

If you have any doubts or questions about booking a day or more with Nigel and Sam, then throw them all aside.

I left Nigel’s workshop buzzing with confidence and eager to learn more.

It was a day full of information and technique; taught in an inspiring location, with humour and patience. You will also get to meet some lovely people on the group days. Oh and the coffee is fabulous.

Thank you Nigel and Sam for a great day.

Treated myself to a one day beginners group course and really glad I did. I had previously done a one hour leather cutting session led by Nigel and really appreciated his teaching style. He explains the reasons ‘why’ behind all the techniques and makes it all make so much more sense and hopefully far more likely to stay in my Winnie the Pooh like ‘very little brain’. Nigel and Sam are a great team and create a warm, and relaxing atmosphere and I learned so many key skills and tips. Being in a small group really helped as we could learn from each other’s mistakes and queries, meaning we picked up extra tips along the way. We ranged from virtual novices to people who had been working with leather for a few years and everyone got so much out of the day. They have built my confidence to go on and do more leatherwork and I could happily spend many days in that lovely workshop!

as above, will be returning soon.

I had the pleasure of spending four days with Nigel, Sam and Gini at the workshop. Nigel is not just a Master Craftsman, he is a gifted and experienced educator. His ability to relay not just “the how” but “the why” allowed me to acquire not just a bunch of skills, but a depth of understanding of, and appreciation for craftsmanship. Nigel’s curriculum, based on his decades of experience as a teacher, and his attention to the finest details allowed me to build a solid foundation of skills that will facilitate achieving a high level of proficiency in any project I may undertake. I left the shop inspired and encouraged, with confidence that I can produce items I am proud to display. Nigel also has a great sense of humour which made the time pass very quickly, and which nicely balanced his insistence on pushing me beyond anything I ever thought I could achieve. What a journey, well worth the trip from Canada! Thanks Nige, I hope to return again very soon.

I attended a 5-day bag making course at Armitage Leather, and it was both unforgettable and rewarding. Nigel was incredibly accommodating, which showed just how much he cares about his students’ experience.

His workshop feels like stepping back in time—warm, welcoming, and full of character. Nigel himself is a passionate perfectionist: articulate, thoughtful, and eager to share his craft. He doesn’t just teach techniques as a set of steps, but as part of a philosophy you can adapt to your own style. That approach was inspiring and something I’ll carry forward.

He blends his deep knowledge of leatherwork with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor that keeps you engaged and learning without even realizing it.

The course required travel and came at a cost, but it was worth every bit. I left with new skills, fresh inspiration, and a deeper appreciation for leather as a medium. If you’re serious about leatherwork, learning from Nigel is money well spent.

Spent an inspiring day with Nigel on a one to one pouch making course, mindblowingly good. Learned so much about how to create balanced and pleasing patterns, types of leather, the history of stitching, fixing problems before they become problems. Well worth the money and the travel. A lovely and well equipped space. Unlearning bad habits and new ways of getting much better, more aesthetically pleasing results and where to concentrate my reflection moving forward on my next steps is invaluable. I will be booking a five day course soon and I am looking forward to practicing all I have learned so far. I hope I can remember it all!

If (like me) you are just starting out I would highly recommend a One 2 One with Nigel. He will help you with everything you need to understand to get started in the right way! Even down to making sure your tools are correct (sharpening and adjusting them for you where necessary). I’d recommend to bring any tools and items you have already made with you.

The day flew by, I took a lot of useful notes, and learned a ton! Nigel’s teaching is fantastic and his methods of questioning and “memory techniques” really helped everything stick.

As to the environment and workshop. Wow! Set on a beautiful peaceful farm with walls full of leather items and tools. You can’t help but be inspired to achieve your best.

I now have everything I need to get going and I plan to return for a future lesson; bringing the items I have made with me and working to improve further.

I was a completely self taught leather worker (couple years into the craft) when I first met Nigel Armitage at The Bushcraft Show earlier this year, and on the back of a half hour stitching lesson at the show, I booked a day’s tuition with him for my birthday.

The big day arrived and I just completed a one to one day with Mr Armitage at the most wonderful santa’s grotto of a workshop. It was both a welcoming and wildly intimidating (In a good way) experience, I was punching well above my experience level (I now realise) in wanting to make a tub, but you don’t know what you don’t know until you are faced with the reality of the skills required to do something like this.

Nigel worked with me and encouraged what I could do while supporting and helping simplify so I wasn’t pushed beyond my capeability. I left with a tub to finish at home, after an intensely interesting, enjoyable, fun day with the coffee drinking king of one liners.

So If you’re thinking about booking a lesson I can highly reccommend, just make your own cup of tea :0) I will absolutely be going back. Thank you for a great day Nigel it was awesome.

Nigel expertly explained the basic techniques for making templates, cutting and stitching as well as advising what types of leather to use and why as well as tool recommendations. This course has greatly helped me get past that analysis paralysis stage and has given me the confidence to undertake my first project. He has an excellent teaching style and incredible historical knowledge about leather and tools.

Like many attendees, I’m not strictly a ground zero beginner, but there where, and all were welcomed. Please do not be in any fear no matter where you are in your journey. If you are interested in leather work, attend, look around and ask questions. I wish I had sooner. Be assured,you will have fun and learn things. Many thanks

I have been making leather bits and pieces for a couple of years on and off and couldn’t seem to make anything that I was really happy with. I was on YouTube and found Nigel by chance, I was really impressed how he explained thing precisely and the reasoning behind his processes.

My wife brought me a one to one beginners course for a Christmas present.

I took most of the pieces I had made and my tools that I had accumulated.

Most of my tools were not suitable for what I was trying to make and my stitching needed sorting.

We went through the tools I needed and then started on the stitching improvement.

By the time I had left, my stitching improved by 80% and my understanding of template making and how to use a knife was very enlightening.

Nigel is very patient and excellent at explaining how and why to do things, and I had a great day.

I would say don’t try to learn by yourself, get to do a one to one course with Nigel and save yourself a lot of wasted time!

Thank you Nigel you are an inspiration.

After making knife sheaths for a few years, self-taught from books and watching YouTube videos, my family booked me on a one-to-one day course with Nigel. We spent the morning correcting faults in my sewing and cutting techniques and the afternoon designing and making a sheath template for a knife that I took along. We talked a lot about making knives and leatherwork, with Nigel patiently answering all of my questions and sharing his experience and advice. My knife sheath making has taken a massive step forward, I learnt more in one day than I have over the last three years from books and the internet.

Thanks Nigel, you’re a star.

Hi again!

Writing to you from Norway. I joined your online courses (all three, actually) around 2022 I believe, and just loved it. Learned soooo much, and specifically about all those things I knew too little to even ask about. Because even that takes a fair amount of – fiddling, cursing (sorry, but there you are), head scratching…and kida crappy projects. Finally I found Armitage online, and what fun! Unfollowed the courses after some time, due to changed circumstances (Went kinda head over heels down a flight of stairs – cannot recommend it), and now I feel ready to rejoin.

I cannot answer for anybody else, but I just love Armitage’s attention to detail, and I NEED that because I am one for winging it…which is not financially wise with the prices of leather today. This is about BOTH a party to improve every step of ones leather work, pattern thinking, a bit of therapy (yep, back to the bit where you are saved from the project imploding because Nigel TOLD ME to make a pattern….on line kinda..). This is truly a fountain of knowledge and style.

And soon my dream is to visit a one-on-one course over there in England.

Greetings from Norway!!

Hey guys, this series has shown me where I was making newbie mistakes that I was going nuts trying to figure out. I have learned that consistency is of paramount importance. While it is repetitive, so is hand stitching. I also learned the difference between the pricking irons and their proper use. This is extremely good information for beginners and also for a review if you’ve been working leather for a while. I am sure this will bring my projects to a new level. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.