The Leather Conservation Centre

24/09/2025

We’re excited to announce that the Leather Conservation Centre has a new home at Canopy, Leicester! 🏛️

This move places us right in the city’s creative heart - connecting conservation, research, craft and community. 🎉

📅 Save the date: our Public Opening is Friday 28 November at Canopy, and we will have a stall at Last Friday too!
More details soon…



📷 Credit: Christopher Terry Photography

Image description: A brick industrial building with large arched windows and a white modern frontage with glass doors, seen on a sunny day. Over the image, bold white outlined text reads: “WE’VE MOVED!”

11/06/2025

🥳Early bird registration for the 13th ICOM CC Leather and Related Materials working group interim meeting finishes at midnight tonight (UK time) so get tickets soon if you are hoping to take advantage of this deal.

The conference will be held in the UK for the first time in many decades, and will include the opportunity to visit the new Leather Conservation Centre studio.

https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/dmu-museum/icom-cc-leather-and-related-materials-working-group-leather-conservation-for-today.aspx

11/06/2025

*** A reminder that deadline for application for our brand new Outreach and Engagement Coordinator role is on Sunday, so get the applications in! 🥰***

https://leatherconservation.org/job-vacancy-outreach-and-engagement-coordinator/

11/06/2025

*** A reminder that the deadline for application for our new Conservator role is on Sunday, so get the applications in! 🤩***

https://leatherconservation.org/job-vacancy-conservator/

02/06/2025

Registration is now open for the ICOM CC Leather and Related Materials Group 13th Interim Meeting, to be held on 30th and 31st October in Leicester, UK and including opportunity to visit the new LCC studio ✨

Conference website and bookings can be found here:
https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/dmu-museum/icom-cc-leather-and-related-materials-working-group-leather-conservation-for-today.aspx

Please note Early bird tickets (EB) are available for 10 days (2nd-11th June)

De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, UK offers a whole range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research courses. View our courses, book a visit and more

25/04/2025

The course will be held at the Historic England Laboratories, Portsmouth. This course combines presentations and practical sessions to introduce course participants to the lifespan of leather, from production to burial and subsequent conservation. Topics covered are listed below and…

03/03/2025

We are excited to announce some big news – our studio will be relocating to Leicester City Centre over the next few months and we plan to be reopen from the beginning of June.

Stay tuned for updates in due course. For conservation enquiries please email [email protected] and keep an eye on our website for updates on courses!

25/02/2025

✨️ Weekly Book Wonders ✨️

This week’s featured book is 'Gloves and Glove-Making authored by Mike Redwood. Published in Great Britain in 2016 by Shire Publications Ltd (Part of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc) This book is a must read for those interested in learning more about glove making, from "work-a-day marigolds to handwear custom-crafted for the Queen" This book is published in association with the Worshipful Company of Glovers of London.

18/02/2025

✨️ Weekly Book Wonders ✨️

This week’s featured book is Fabrics for Historic Buildings (Revised Edition) by Jane C. Nylander, published by Preservation Press, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Have you ever wondered how the right fabric can bring a historic object back to life? Whether you're reupholstering a cherished family heirloom, creating period-appropriate draperies for a century-old home, or restoring an entire house to its original grandeur, this book provides the essential guidance you need. It explores key criteria for selecting fabrics and materials, ensuring authenticity and historical accuracy in your restoration projects. A very interesting read!

11/02/2025

✨️ Weekly Book Wonders ✨️

This week’s featured book 'In the Saddle: An Exploration of the Saddle through History', edited by Lauren Gilmour. The history of the saddle from Roman times through to present day is explored in this comprehensive study based on a conference held in 2002 at Saddler's Hall in London. The volume is based upon, explored rare books and manuscripts, private and fine art collections, archaeological fragments, museum stores and family records.

06/02/2025

✨️ Weekly Book Wonders ✨️

This week’s featured book, Leather Chemists’ Pocket Book by H.R. Procter, is a compact yet invaluable resource for professionals in the leather industry. Designed for practicality, it contains essential formulas, techniques, and insights into leather chemistry.

Chemists found it so handy that they would literally carry this little book in their pockets, making it a trusted companion for quick reference in tanneries 📖👨🏽‍🔬

04/02/2025

This week's letter is...

✨️ Z✨️ for ZooMS.

Z for ZooMS - Zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry, commonly referred to by the abbreviation ZooMS, is a method of analysis that identifies animal species by means of characteristic peptide sequences in the protein collagen. This can be useful for identifying historic leathers and parchments.