About the workshop of Akinra

The workshop

Here it is a workshop,where every product is carefully realized, completely by hand and on order. Every piece is  unique, no article is exactly identical to its predecessor. The model can be common, but the final look is always a little bit different.

No electric machine, I only use hand-tools. Some are classic and common to every leathercrafter, others were made-on-size and according to sketchs, the last ones are of my own manufacturing.

Every product being realized at request (it is impossible to have in stock a copy of every variation, it would represent hundreds of thousands, even maybe millions of products), a delay of crafting is necessary before shipping. This is not a shop of reseller, it is not just sending an e-mail to a supplier to receive thirty or forty products. They have to each undergo the chain of stages common to all the products.

So, all my creations (except opposite mention) are cut from vegetable leather. It does not mean that it is a leather made of plant, by definition, the leather is the skin of animal tanned to make it rot-proof. Vegetable leather is a particular method of tanning used since millenniums: skins are successively dipped into baths containing tannins of various barks. It is one of the most ecological methods. This particular leather can be then worked by various means and give all the effects that you could see on this website.

The craftsman: a self-taught passionate.

In 2006 was the first time I worked leather. At this time it was about modifying accessories to make them correspond to an outfit.

In 2008, on the occasion of my first life-size role-playing games, I bought my first skin to make my own accessories from A to Z. It was the beginning of the great adventure. My goal was to make better accessories each time I worked something, I searched the Web and markets to learn leatherworking techniques. After a few months of testing the diverse methods that I had been able to observed, I decided for one and began to work daily my hand.

After two years of restless work and dozens of used square meters of leather, the envy to make of my passion more than a pastime: a job.

In 2011 opened "the workshop of Akinra", name that was already used for my craft. This adventure gives a new scale to my work: I was able to acquire new tools, to ask to make others according to my need.
Since I skim medievals markets and faeries festivals or of role play about twenty times a year. It is in the autumn 2014 that a dedicated site finally appeared. It is the consecration of my years of learning in self-taught.

My leitmotivs

100 % hand-work : I only use handtool, no electric action in my work.

Cooperation between craftsman: I only work leather. All other parts are made by fellow craftmen: horns, jewels, wooden or ceramic pieces, cutlery... I consider that we each have our own work and for me, it is an immense pleasure as well as an infinite source of creativity to associate with other craftsmen to work out unique products.

Stamped "LARP Like": I am a LARPer that become a craftsman and not a craftsman who got closer to LARP by interest. I make three or four LARP every year (they will be also indicated in the calendar) and all my creations are thought for LARP. What doesn't keep you from using them in everyday life.

Personalized order

I work essentially on request or sketches supplied by customers. A project, a desire? Don't hesitate to submit it to me: armors, bags, masks... It will be a pleasure as much as a challenge to realize the unique piece of leather which corresponds exactly to the fact that you look for.

Training course and technical questions

 
The workshop isn't big enough and fitted to training course : there is too much of work, no space and I didn't have tools in double or triple. Furthermore, I think that I have still a long way to go before mastering completely my art and I would not know how to train other people. It is for the same reason that I wouldn't answer technical question.
If you wish to learn how to work leather, I would be delighted to recommend you a colleague who made of the training his speciality.