November 14-16, 2025.
10am - 4pm each day.
Crestone, CO
Join us for a hands-on, three-day workshop in hair-on sheep hide tanning using the traditional method of brain tanning. Participants will each be provided with a sheep hide to work on and take home.
Email OESDirector@CrestoneEnergyFair.Org or call Goldie at 303-903-0968 with any questions.
Community Price: $300
Low-income pricing, supported by your peers (only 2 spots available)
Supporter Price: $500
Pay for yourself
Sustainer Price: $600
Support low-income participants & pay it forward
Price includes three days of instruction, lunch all three days, and a hide to take home. Lodging is not included in the price, but free camping is available onsite.
Nick Parker’s interest in tanning began during childhood hunting trips, where he questioned the point of killing an animal without using every part of it. At 25, after attending his first earthskills gathering, he quit his job, left his lease, and moved in with someone living a primal lifestyle. There he was introduced to tanning—learning buckskin methods as well as working with fur-on hides of coyote, fox, and others.
Since then, Parker has processed hides from around 20 species, totaling between 100 and 200 pieces. He especially enjoys tanning sheep hides and using bark tanning on deer hides to make soft, durable leather for clothing.
For Parker, tanning is more than a skill—it is an ancient art that has shaped civilizations for millennia. Though he has worn many hats over the years—climber, runner, spearfisher, farmer—tanning remains a practice that connects him to human tradition. Open and approachable, he welcomes questions from anyone curious to learn while working alongside him.