Description
Brandon Corral
Edward A. Whitney Academic Center – W 208
Thursday 05/14 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
All skill levels welcome!
Workshop Description: People often assume Swift’s (Swifthammer Leather) bold, dramatic tooling comes from working with heavy leather, but the truth is, it’s all about technique. In this workshop, Swift shares the methods he uses in every single project to create powerful contrast and the illusion of depth – even on medium-weight leather. Students will learn how to layer cuts, bevels, and textures in ways that make a design feel three-dimensional and dynamic. These “secret sauce” techniques can be applied to almost any style, whether you want subtle shading or dramatic, eye-catching depth. Swift’s fresh, non-traditional teaching style keeps the process approachable, entertaining, and full of practical takeaways. By the end of class, students will understand how to make their tooling stand out with clarity and dimension, and will have the skills to add this professional polish to every future project.
Materials to bring: Swivel knife, strop, mallet, slab, spray bottle or sponge & water dish, and any available bevelers, lifters, modeling spoons, ballpoint stylus, pear shaders, and backgrounders you may have. For reasons you’ll find out in class, simply bring what you have. We’re focusing on technique in this class. Tools only make the job more convenient; it’s the technique that does the work.
Workshop Instructor: Brandon Corral, known as Swift on the internet, is an award-winning leather artist. Having dedicated the past third of his life to leathercraft, Brandon has found a focus on leather tooling and has made it a staple of his career. Having taught marketing for the past two years, his focus has now expanded to also include spreading the knowledge of the subtle art of detailed tooling.
Workshop Sponsors: Hermann Oak Leather Co.
CANCELLATION POLICY
• There is a $25 administration fee for canceling a workshop.
• The cost of each workshop will be refunded minus the $25 fee.
• No refunds for workshops after Friday, May 1, 2026.