11th Craft The Leather at Lineapelle

Eight creative collections (2024) in Tuscan veg-tanned Leather. Eight talents from prestigious international fashion and design institutes interpret Tuscan-Veg-tanned Leather throught the lens of contemporary art, craft and innovation. 
Vote your favourite at our stand (Hall 15 Stand A02/A18) 25 to 27 February 2025 or online via Facebook and Instagram.

Happy and honoured to be part of the jury again for Craft The Leather 2024. And to be part of the workshops and lectures last May 2024 was a blast! Can’t wait to discover with you who will be the winner.



The biosphere…all the areas of the Earth in which the environmental conditions allow the development of life.
Sustainable design today is the imperative of designing and making objects in harmony with the natural systems of our biosphere, using materials capable of long life, repair, and final biodegradability. Vegetable-tanned leather, one of the oldest transformations of resources, has been interpreted in the works collected here reflecting the awareness of the origins of the material and inspiring connections to ancestral stories of personal, generational, and contemporary creativity.

From the visceral work of the tanning process and the network of environmental protections that make this district the gold standard worldwide, we visit the ground-breaking research happening in the highly specialized laboratories dedicated to materials, their lifecycles and footprint, while traveling through a landscape shaped by centuries of place specific agriculture, vineyards and olive groves.

Each group that participates in Craft the Leather creates a very special dynamic around the experience of life in the Tuscan Leather District. The unique interaction of the tutors (many in this cohort with well known professional work as designers/artist/shoemakers) and the students, exploring their interaction with the world of craft, product, values and impact, provides unexpected insights as we explore the complex and interdependent systems of the Leather District. We also have a tradition of asking for an ‘artifact’ as a group project produced during the workshop, and the piece created by CtL 2024 absolutely embodies the experience. The winner receive a scholarship sponsored by our Consortium.

Passionate Craft The Leather guides
DIANE BECKER, Director of Didactic Projects
Having worked in all aspects of the fashion accessories field: retail, trend forecasting, shoe design, and fashion design education, from New York to Tokyo to Firenze – Diane brings an international vision to this iconic Tuscan project. Researching and conducting this intensive, experiential workshop that delves deeply into how veg-tan leather is made and the ethical and sustainable choices involved, she intends to inspire the creation of wonderful objects that can last a long time.

GIORGIO TESTI, Master Craftsman
With a lifetime of experience, from directing high end luxury manufacturing to a personal leather goods atelier on his native Island of Elba, Giorgio has the knowledge, tools, techniques but above all the passion for working with Tuscan veg-tan leather. Constantly exploring new ways of using his favorite material, he leads the practical workshop with demonstrations of an entire vocabulary for creating with veg-tan leather that inspires everyone, from the student who approaches leather for the very first time, to the skilled expert delighted to explore something new in this atmosphere of activity and creativity.

Participants 2024
CYRIELLE SALAMON (Centre des Métiers du Cuir de Montréal – Montréal, Canada), ASAHI SATO
(Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry Tokyo, Japan), ELLIA BALDWIN (Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, Rhode Island, USA), DEMPSEY PAUWELS (d’Academie beeld, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium), MARIA CHIARA TEMPERA (IUAV Università di Venezia, Italy), SUAN YOU (HEAD Genève, Genève, Switzerland), COLTER BEACH (Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia, USA) and ANA DEL RIO (De Monfort University, Leicester, UK).

More information www.pellealvegetale.it/en