Reviews

I had my first ‘intro’ session with Nigel, and I was overjoyed to finally find a master craftsman who is also a great teacher. I will be coming back for further lessons to learn from a master craftsman.

Thank you Nigel and see you soon… BR Ian Dunn

Six wonderful days of Box Stitching courses with Nigel. His level of knowledge and ability to teach is incredible. The materials such as leather, thread and cardboard are very good and plentiful. I brought my own tools, but what I lacked was kindly provided. There were good days with advanced leather work, good coffee, wonderful cakes and a good laugh in between.

I’ve just spent another week at the workshop, and whilst I have done some box stitching, this week was most worthwhile and a valid use of time. I like to think I knew many of the skills needed, however the precision needed for making boxes is unparalleled and doing more in a controlled environment, starting from scratch allowed me to hone my skills further. Any course of Nigel’s is worthwhile. He’s a great teacher and mentor, so if you get the chance to come up, your time will not be wasted.

Just back from the course. Excellent and very clear tuition. Atmosphere welcoming and very supportive. No problems about getting a technique demonstrated multiple times and useful analysis of where my execution of a technique was failing. I definitely plan to return

I have just had the absolute pleasure of spending the last 6 days on Nigel’s advanced box making course. Now it’s no secret that I have spent a few day in the Armitage Leather workshop, but never a whole week in one hit.

What a fantastic week it has been, I learn new things every time and in this case, new techniques every single day of the course. It’s elevated my box stitching yet again. The workshop is such a creative space, that you can’t help being the best you can be. Nigel is such a natural teacher that all my fellow students successfully completed a technically complex build to a good standard.

It’s hard work, but well worth it every time.

I won’t try to hide the fact that I spend a good deal of time in the workshop with Nigel, however the last six days I have been a student along with six others and have loved every minute of it. Being taught the skills and techniques to make a box from leather was a joy. Finishing the course with a box I am proud of, even if I do know how many ways I can improve it with practice, is an absolute bonus.

I never tire of Nigel’s way of teaching. Clear, concise and not just how but why. Every single one of us on the course achieved. A great bunch of people to spend time learning with and more things added to my “to make” list.

Thank you Nigel, for making it possible for me to be a student on this course. I can highly recommend it now from personal experience.

This was the first course I have taken with Nigel and my observations are as follows.

Facilities: A good sized workshop with generous workstations for student and huge range of tools to use and experiment with which helped me decide what additional tools I need.

Materials : An excellent supply of card and leather of excellent quality. Plenty of it and we were encouraged to recut anything we were not happy with.

Teaching : The content of this course is challenging but Nigel managed to keep a group of seven students at different places in their leatherworking skills working and moving their projects on whilst giving time to those who needed more guidance. That is it easy to do. He was patient, explained what we needed to know, when we needed it. It was a good balance of progress and stopping to learn additional techniques. I feel confident I will be able to apply what I have learnt to future projects.

Atmosphere: great group of students, cake, music and a final fab barbeque.

Overall: 15 out of 10

Took Nigel’s advanced box stitching course and discovered his amazing depth of knowledge of all things leather and his great ability to teach this to others. Having several years experience making bags and wallets I wanted experience into a new area of making leather boxes. A dying art which requires some specific skills of its own I found myself immersed in the history and artistry of box making and with Nigel’s help achieved a good level of success even at my first attempt. What makes Nigel’s courses so good is that in addition to the specific techniques learnt he explains the how and why of leather making over the ages and makes the whole experience delightful. In addition to learning new box making skills I also learned a great deal which will help improve all other aspects of my leather work. I cannot recommend Nigel’s courses highly enough to anyone interested in leather work. You will both learn a great deal and have a thoroughly enjoyable time in the process.

I booked myself on a 1-1 beginner level course with Nigel. I had looked at several courses and picked Nigel’s because most other courses showed how to make a product where as Nigel’s talks about learning the core skills to make any project.

We spent the morning discussing types of leather and which sections of the hide are best for which products and saddle stitching.

The afternoon was spent learning and practicing the best way to cut leather and how to make a pattern.

It was a great day and one I would highly recommend. I am sure this will not be the last course of Nigel’s I attend.

In order to learn any new skill effectively, enjoyably and with a high degree of continued success it is vital to seek guidance from someone equipped to set you on the right path to learning. That means someone who has both the necessary technical skills and -equally important – the ability to teach them. Nigel has both in abundance. It is easy to see from his videos and the objects in his workshop that he is a skilled craftsman. As a skills trainer myself I was also very interested to watch the way in which he delivers his training. He not only tailored the day to my exact needs and abilities but did so in a way that suggests he would do the same for anyone, blending a perfect approach of engagement, structured learning and the appropriate amount of directive encouragement. As as result I found the day both hugely enjoyable and very productive. What’s more – the coffee is – as he frequently says – very good.

I attended the beginner day and wow all I can say is – what a brilliant day. Going somewhere new and meeting new people is not easy for me but Nigel and Sam made me feel more than welcome all day long. Hes knowledge is invaluable and I love the way he shares it with us all. No hidden secrets, you have a question he will help you. Needless to say I learned allot and I have followed on watching the channel and trying to take it all in. The day was well worth it and hopefully I can return soon for more.

I booked a one-day introduction course with Nigel after coming across his book on leathercraft. I didn’t really have a clear idea what the course would look like and I was a bit worried considering my absolute lack of knowledge about leather. Yet, the day spent at Nigel’s workshop turned out to be a great and thoroughly enjoyable learning experience even for a total novice like me. I really appreciated the detailed and clear explanations, the possibility to try my hand at the different techniques and the patience and encouragement I received. I absolutely recommend booking a course with Nigel to anyone who likes working with their hands and who would like to venture on mastering (or making first steps like me) leathercraft.

I spent the day learning with Nigel. I got to understand the extent and depth of understanding of his leatherworking knowledge. He truly is an expert.

Above all, and most importantly, Nigel is an amazing teacher. Some know how to apply a trade, but don’t know how to teach. Nigel knows how to teach.

If you are looking to learn, no matter what your level, I can’t recommend spending time with Nigel enough.

My skills are all self-taught, videos, and pestering experts for advice and insight. Too many “oh, bugger” moments and silly mistakes, though. I initially picked up leatherwork about 2021 (my wife is highly experienced in fabric arts and was keen for me to get a hobby). I’m proud of the skills I’d acquired, but I felt I’d plateaued and that wasn’t going to progress much further without expert help.

I booked a skills improvement day with Nigel and I’m glad I did! The day started with an assessment of my stitching, deconstructing my technique, and then rebuilding it with a thorough understanding of the saddle stitching; not just the ‘how’, but ‘why’, which irons I should use, thread tension, leather thickness, and how each one affects the other. I’ll never forget the phrase “Jam sandwich.”

Pattern making was the second part of the day. I’d always eschewed patterns, too eager to jump straight into working with the leather! Nigel taught me that they are not only an enormous time saver, but imperative if you want to achieve consistent and high quality results. It is worth taking the time at the beginning, planning, and ironing out any difficulties. This has helped move my work from “That’ll do” to “I’m bloody proud of that!”

Last of all, he was a very patient teacher, despite my many cock-ups! I find change difficult, but it was necessary for me to take a step back to move forward. I’m absolutely thrilled with how the day turned out and I’ll almost certainly book again in the future.

I had just begun leatherwork and watched numerous YouTube videos but was just getting more and more confused with all the different styles and techniques and not getting anywhere. I did a lot of research on classes and decided in the end that Nigel’s courses were head and shoulders above everyone else’s and I was not wrong.

I spent a day learning (a lot!) with a great tutor in an amazing studio which must have taken an awful amount of work to make it as professional as it is.

I can wholeheartedly recommend a course with Nigel – worth every penny.