Nina Nightingale's Charm School is in session.
From silhouette portraits and hair reliquaries to postage stamp flirtation and suffragette tea parties, join curiosity artist and host Nina Nightingale in exploring history's most fascinating disciplines and their hidden origins! During each hour-long virtual live show, Nina will guide you through the basics of a specific craft, tell you about its often surprising importance in the cultural landscape, and take any questions that might come up along the way. Part Home Ec, part AP History, Nina Nightingale’s Charm School won't teach you how to be more genteel, but you’ll learn why crafting was never that polite anyway.
Leatherwork dates all the way back to the Stone Age in 5,000 BC. It was one of our earliest textile-like materials and predates traditional woven fabric by about 1,500 years. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans developed and perfected methods of tanning and preservation still utilized today. The fact that leather is comfortable, durable, and easy to maintain has made it a mainstay in almost every industry from furniture to automobiles, sporting goods to fashion. In this episode of Charm School, we’ll talk about some ancient uses for leather, then go on to some basics of leatherwork including wet molding, punching, stitchwork, and finishing. As with all of our crafts, I like to prioritize sustainability and recycling and recommend sourcing your leather from scraps or cut from old handbags, gloves, or clothing.
Class Supplies, if you wish to work along
- leather scrap or secondhand sourced leather
- leather hole punch or a hammer/nail
- needle and thread (preferably thicker/stronger)
Optional
- An object you’d like to make a sheath for: pen, knife, lighter, etc.
- shallow pan of water
- hairdryer
- beeswax
- coconut oil
Zoom!
Hello! My name is Nina Nightingale and I am a professional fine artist practicing the very rare art of SILHOUETTE PORTRAITURE, in which I cut your likeness from paper with no writing instruments—simply freehand drawing with scissors. This art of "shadow cutting" was popular before photography was made affordable. Silhouette portraiture is one part history and one part how-does-she-do-it?
Once registered, you can
Once registered, you can access the Zoom room for this experience through your confirmation email or Eventbrite account. Atlas Obscura online experiences are recommended for attendees age 13+.
This Online Experience will be recorded. A temporary link to the recording will be provided in a follow-up email to all ticket holders within 72 hours after the event. Access to this recording will be available for seven days.
We provide closed captioning for all of our Online Experiences, as well as transcripts upon request. Please reach out to us at experiences@atlasobscura.com if you have any questions, requests, or access needs.
This event is one of Atlas Obscura’s Online Experiences. At Atlas Obscura, our mission has always been to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share. Now, more than ever, there’s a need to stay connected—not only to our sense of wonder, but to each other.
We encourage you to follow and share the hashtag #AOExperiences for more incredible online experiences and our newest addition of Online Courses with Atlas Obscura and our friends. And check out AtlasObscura.com, the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders, to keep virtually exploring the world through the website’s atlas of amazing places, unique stories, and videos.
access the Zoom room for this experience through your confirmation email or Eventbrite account. Atlas Obscura online experiences are recommended for attendees age 13+.
This Online Experience will be recorded. A temporary link to the recording will be provided in a follow-up email to all ticket holders within 72 hours after the event. Access to this recording will be available for seven days.
We provide closed captioning for all of our Online Experiences, as well as transcripts upon request. Please reach out to us at experiences@atlasobscura.com if you have any questions, requests, or access needs.
This event is one of Atlas Obscura’s Online Experiences. At Atlas Obscura, our mission has always been to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share. Now, more than ever, there’s a need to stay connected—not only to our sense of wonder, but to each other.
We encourage you to follow and share the hashtag #AOExperiences for more incredible online experiences and our newest addition of Online Courses with Atlas Obscura and our friends. And check out AtlasObscura.com, the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders, to keep virtually exploring the world through the website’s atlas of amazing places, unique stories, and videos.
