Barktan Workshop

Spend a hands-on weekend in the Texas hill country with me, Marlena, learning the full process of barktan using a deer hide and traditional methods. I’ve been tanning hides by hand for 5 years using natural methods: no machines, no fancy chemicals, just time, patience, and natural materials and I’m finally ready to share my love of this craft with you!

A girl wearing a pink hat and boots smiling while sitting on a cowhide rug outdoors, with a grassy yard and trees in the background.

  • Skill Level: Beginner-friendly

  • Location: Hill Country Nature Retreat, in Blanco TX (about 1 hour from Austin)

  • Length: 2 days. Arrive on Friday afternoon, leave Sunday after lunch.

  • Cost: $200 (meal and lodging add ons available)

  • Includes: All materials + a cut piece of finished bark-tanned leather to take home + a printed handout and your notes

Several animal hides laid out on a floor next to a patterned rug in a room with wooden walls.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to flesh, lime soak, and de-hair a deer hide

  • Making and using tannin-rich bark solutions

  • How to scud and frame a hide

  • Finishing techniques, softening and oiling our finished hide

  • Potential for processing a deer and skinning the hide (if Marlena has a successful hunt on Saturday morning)

Bark tanning is a long process, so we’ll be working with prepped hides in all stages of the bark tanning process, with hands on experience at each step. You won’t be working on your own hide, but will be taking turns working our communal hide.

What’s Included:

  • The tools, hides, and materials that we’ll be working with

  • Group instruction and one-on-one guidance as you have your own turn working on our hide

  • Our workspaces, communal kitchen and bath house, nature trails and more

  • Light snacks and drinks (meal plans available to add on below)

What You’ll Take Home:

  • A small, finished piece of bark-tanned leather - perfect for crafts, keepsakes, or reference

  • A printed handout with the full process to repeat at home, including resources

  • Confidence to start your own hide tanning journey

Decorative leather wall hanging with a sunset design, fringe at the bottom, mounted on a wooden wall, with potted plants nearby.

Who This Is For:

This is for anyone curious about:

  • Ancestral and land-based skills

  • Working with animal hides in a respectful, hands-on way

  • Crafting something lasting from natural materials

  • Building self-reliance and learning in community

No experience necessary. Just curiosity and willingness to get a little messy.

Add-On: Meal Plan

I’m offering a simple, nourishing meal plan for the weekend so you can stay focused on learning and resting. This menu is not vegan, gluten free, or vegetarian, so if you’d rather, you’re welcome to bring your own food and use our well equipped communal kitchen, no problem!

Meal Plan Includes:

  • Friday: dinner of venison (deer) stew over rice

  • Saturday: breakfast (sourdough bread, eggs, oatmeal, fruit, sausages), lunch (?), dinner (venison soft tacos)

  • Sunday: light breakfast + lunch

  • Tea, coffee, and snacks available throughout the day

Cost: $65 per person for the full weekend

Cozy rustic bedroom with walls and ceiling made of natural wood, large windows, a bed with white bedding, a side table with a lamp, a small sofa with colorful pillows, a woven rug, and a hanging swing on the wall.

Add-On: On site lodging

Stay right here at the retreat center and enjoy the land.
I have a few lodging options available for the weekend, ranging from a private treehouse to cozy shared communal sleeping. It’s peaceful out here, surrounded by nature and stars with no long drives and no rush.

The Cabin
queen bed-$200/weekend
full sofa bed-$150/weekend

Private kitchen and bathroom. All linens provided. See more details here.

A cozy bedroom with wood-paneled walls and ceiling, a bed with white bedding and decorative pillows, a large window with curtains, a door leading outside, a mirror, a hanging plant, a guitar on the wall, and string lights along the ceiling.

The Treehouse
queen bed-$300/weekend

Private kitchen and bathroom. All linens provided. See more details here.

Spacious room with wooden walls and ceiling, large windows with greenery outside, ceiling fans, and minimal furniture. Sunlight creates patterns on the floor.
A cozy bedroom with a white bed, multiple pillows, four windows with curtains, a small wooden nightstand with a lamp and a plant, a heater, some decorative wall hangings, and a door leading outside.

Workshop Sleeping
bring your own bedding and sleep in our climate controlled workshop. Spaces very limited.
$25/weekend

Close to communal kitchen and bath house.

A cozy bedroom with wooden walls and ceiling, featuring a bed with a white quilt, multiple windows with cream curtains, a ceiling fan, and eclectic decor including plants, a guitar, and wall art.

The Airstream
queen bed-$200/weekend

Private kitchen and bathroom. All linens provided. See more details here.

The Studio
queen bed-$100/weekend
another queen bed-$100 weekend

Close to bath house and communal kitchen. All linens provided. See more details here.

A camping site with two tents, one orange and one yellow, set up among trees with benches nearby.

Tent Camping
Free! Bring your own gear, but keep in mind winter weather.