Katie Coleman had been wielding a blacksmith’s hammer when she decided to try her hand at leatherworking. Now, she’s excited to share her love of the craft by leading a number of leatherworking workshops and classes for kids, teens, and adults this summer at Guilford Art Center (GAC).

Katie’s courses are brand new to GAC programming and will be among a variety of instructional offerings in many mediums available through GAC’s 2021 summer semester. Program offerings will take place on designated dates and times between June 21 and August 20. Registration is open now (online only) at guilfordartcenter.org.

Katie credits GAC with first sparking her interest in blacksmithing, followed by leatherworking.

“I’m a woman of many hobbies, and I’m always learning to try to create and do something new,” says Katie.

She signed up for jewelry making classes at GAC about a dozen years ago as her first introduction the non-profit organization, which has its school campus, gallery, and shop at 411 Church Street.

“I did a couple of jewelry making classes and loved it. And then about 10 years ago, I found they had blacksmithing, and I had always wanted to try that,” says Katie, an Essex resident who grew up in Old Lyme.

She remembers being fascinated, as a kid, watching pewter-making and blacksmithing demonstrations during trips to historic places like Mystic Seaport. So once Katie picked up a blacksmith’s hammer, she didn’t want to put it down.

“I tried it, and I took off like a shot. I loved it. So I ended up getting involved with the [GAC] blacksmithing program, and I met a great group of people through it,” says Katie, who also currently serves as secretary of the Connecticut Blacksmithing Guild.

Next, Katie found her way to leatherworking—after experiencing a bit of setback that sidelined her from blacksmithing.

“I had just finished taking a sword-making class with Mace Vitale, who runs the blacksmithing program [at GAC], and I herniated three disks in my back. So I couldn’t do any blacksmithing for a while. In the meantime, I took up leatherworking, which is something else I had always wanted to do.”

She started learning leathermaking’s ropes about six years ago and ended up “absolutely loving it.”

“I love this medium, and what really got me into leatherworking was sheath-making. My first fully finished project was a sheath and a belt for the sword I made in Mace’s class. I really love that one—I feel like it kind of has a pirate vibe,” she says, laughing.

About five years ago, Katie turned her love of leatherworking into her own business, offering custom leatherwork mainly through her website, www.kdcolemanleathergoods.com.

Many of her original, hand-worked pieces can also be viewed on Instagram (search K.D. Coleman Leathergoods). Among the items she’s crafted, Katie’s made custom leather sheaths for several knife makers, as well as many gorgeous pieces in other forms including journal covers, belts, and guitar straps among the many functional items she creates.

“I’m a very big fan of functional art. I love the idea that something can look beautiful and serve a purpose,” she says. “So I’ve branched into these different kinds of pieces. And it’s really amazing what a handmade leather piece does for people. A really good handmade leather journal cover or guitar strap can last you 25, 30 years. And if it’s something custom-made, they’ll carry that with them, for decades. It’s a legacy.”

While some may think the intricate pieces she creates can’t possibly have been cut, shaped, sewn and/or riveted, embossed, and dye-colored entirely by hand, they all are.

“Everything I do is hand-done,” says Katie, who often etches artful additions (including quite a bit of her own original artwork) onto her leather designs, using small metal stamping and embossing tools.

One of her extraordinary pieces features Medusa wrapped around a journal cover, with dozens of tiny snake scales covering each snake on her head, all painstakingly embossed by Katie, by hand.

“One of the beautiful things about leather is it has this texture to it, that allows it to have a movement that other artists achieve with a use of light or brush stroke,” she says. “You can do that with leather because texture adds another layer to it.”

For her upcoming GAC summer programs, Katie is planning to teach every student—youth (for leatherworking, ages 8 and up), teens, and adults, regardless of skill level—how to create and make a distinctive, functional leather item that will be completed within the course of a short workshop or a one-day or two-day class.

“I’m going to be teaching seven different classes this summer. For the kids’ class, the plan is to get them trying this out and having something they can hold up as their own at the end,” she says. “So we’re going to keep it simple, making bracelets and key chains, and I’m confident everyone will leave with at least a bracelet and a key chain—and maybe even a bookmark!”

The same goals, but developed a bit further for those working at a faster pace, will go into her Intro to Leatherworking small project class for teens. She also has a one-day guitar strap making class for teens, where students will leave with their completed leather guitar strap they’ve made themselves.

Adult summer classes with Katie will also involve opportunities such as an intro to leatherworking and making a guitar strap, crafting a refillable journal cover and belt-making.

“Each of those classes are two days long, and the goal is to leave with the project and have it completely done,” says Katie. “So I’m going to try to keep everybody on pace and try to get them through the basics of learning these skills. That way, when they leave, if they really enjoy it, there are places where they can get these tools and try it at home or come back and do another class.”

Katie’s put together kits of tools for students to try out when working with her this summer. She also plans to share some stamps and other elements they can work with. She’ll also touch on the basics of sewing and dying leather. Katie will also show techniques like riveting, which “takes a couple of whacks with a hammer,” on a solid surface. Suffice to say, she’s tried to pack a lot into the time allotted for each of her GAC summer classes and workshops. To help save time, she’ll cut the pieces students will be working on so they’ll be ready to use when classes start.

“So when someone walks out the door, they’ll have taken a totally blank piece of leather, that’s completely natural colored, and ended up with something that they can hold in their hands and own, that they will have custom-made,” she says.

While some GAC summer courses will be offered as a hybrid of in-person and online, Katie is excited that she will be working in-person with her students, with proper social distancing and other health and safety protocols. She hopes her summer students will be as excited as she is about the classes she has planned.

“I wanted to offer a little bit of something for everyone, and I’m hoping that students can land between the simple and something a little more complex.” Katie says.

When working with leather, “The most important thing to remember is art is organic, and the materials we’re working with are organic,” she notes. “That means that sometimes, things won’t turn out exactly according to plan—so you just adjust the plan!”