The Craft
Guests and Demonstrators
← The Craft · 79 guest presenters
Outside visitors the Society invited to demonstrate or present at its conventions and branch meetings, with what they came to show. Each name is followed by the occasion and by the issue or paper that records it, which opens at the page.
A member who demonstrated was not a guest: the 382 demonstrations members gave are listed on each member’s own page (the 3 given by members with no page of their own stay below, marked a member of the Society). For most names the papers do not say whether the presenter was a member or an outside guest.
Between 2019 and 2024 the list thins almost to nothing, and the Society said why at three successive Annual Meetings. Its President reported in 2019 that “this year there were no workshops developed or given”; in 2021, that “two years have past and one workshop was developed or given”; and in 2022, that “more than three years have gone by without a workshop being developed or given”. The branches met where they could — Norland’s hall was shut through 2021 and reopened on 9 March 2022, and Mississauga held no meetings at all that year. The quiet in these years is the Society’s own, not a gap in what survives of it.
Annual Meeting, 1953
- Thor Hansen (member or visitor: not established) — Guest speaker, of the British American Oil Company's Public Relations Department
International Assembly, 1955
- Liz Freriks (Michigan Leather Artisans) — A fashion show demonstrating that nearly anything can be made or covered with leather
- Bernard Wolff (Detroit Leathercrafters) — Obtaining high and permanent relief in tooling thin leathers
- Gordon Drummond (Detroit Leathercrafters) — Making saddle stamps, swivel cutter blades and lace cutters, and sharpening tools (with Ervin Pope)
- Ervin Pope (Detroit Leathercrafters) — Sharpening and handling cutting tools, with a sharpening device of his own design (with Gordon Drummond)
- Frank Radke (Detroit Leathercrafters) — A chalk talk on Design for Leather Carving — lettering and monogram composition
- Larry DeRosia (Detroit Leathercrafters) — Producing your own floral designs (Design for Leather Carving)
- Bob Hartmann (Detroit Leathercrafters) — Braided bag handles and turk's head knots; the Duncan angle punch and hand-cut lace
Exhibition, 1956
- A.Z. Legzdins (member or visitor: not established) — A different technique using Latvian design motifs
Annual Meeting, 1959
- Grace Smith (member or visitor: not established) — Braided belts (with Winifred Coombs)
Annual Meeting, 1963
- Isobel Mair (member or visitor: not established) — Picture Frames
Branch Meeting, 1964
- Mrs. Wunsch (member or visitor: not established) — A guest from Austria who showed the Branch her own work
Branch Meeting, 1965
- Garn Pratt (member or visitor: not established) — Ornamental Cuts
Annual Meeting, 1967
- Garnet Pratt (member or visitor: not established) — Carving & Decorative cuts
- Lloyd Cook (member or visitor: not established) — Dyeing Techniques
Annual Meeting, 1975
- Mrs. V. Ferrara (member or visitor: not established) — Cattails
Workshop, 1975
- Rex Lingwood (member or visitor: not established) — Leatherwork workshops attended by CSCL members (a noted Canadian leather sculptor)
- Paul Williams (member or visitor: not established) — Leatherwork workshops for CSCL members
Annual Meeting, 1976
- Walter Mickey (member or visitor: not established) — Knife sharpening
Workshop, 1976
- Edna Powell (member or visitor: not established) — Woodstock Branch demonstration, 1975-76 season
Workshop, 1977
- Jean Racknor (a member of the Society) — Pictorial Carving, animal and hunting scenes (Woodstock Branch demonstration, February 1977 meeting)
Annual Meeting, 1978
- Noel Bee (member or visitor: not established) — Inverted Carving
Annual Meeting, 1980
- Marian Kehoe (member or visitor: not established) — Flower Making
Workshop, 1980
- Reuben Barrett and Son (member or visitor: not established) — Sandalmaking
- Wally Klassen (member or visitor: not established) — Making Patterns for Leather Vests
Workshop, 1982
- Ed Lautenschlauger (member or visitor: not established) — Sharpening Tools (Norton Abrasives)
Annual Meeting, 1987
- Bill Gomer (member or visitor: not established) — Traditional Floral and Traditional Oak Leaf Carving, Inverted Carving, Figure Carving and Dyeing of Navajo Indian, the Finishing of Leather, and Gaucho Weave Lacing (guest demonstrator and speaker from the U.S.A.)
Workshop, 1988
- Robert Beard (a member of the Society) — General demonstration on various techniques (of Farmington, New Mexico)
- Robb Barr (member or visitor: not established) — Air brushing and acrylic dyes on a pre-designed, pre-carved article (of Bismarck, North Dakota)
Annual Meeting, 1993
- Mike Maybee (member or visitor: not established) — OPP officer, guest speaker at the Annual banquet, on his early experiences working with fur
Annual Meeting, 1994
- Jim Mores (member or visitor: not established) — Air brushes and equipment (of Tester Ltd.)
Annual Meeting, 1996
- Peter Groves (member or visitor: not established) — Carving (Peter Groves of Tundra Leather, Hamilton)
Annual Meeting, 2002
- Peter Hooker (member or visitor: not established) — Knife Sharpening Look Easy (demonstration)
Workshop, 2004
- Ray Findlay (member or visitor: not established) — Book Binding Workshop — bookbinding and the restoration of old books, and how to avoid the “enemies of the book” (Cooksville United Church, Mississauga, 16 Oct 2004; member of the Canadian Book Binding Guild)
Demonstration, 2005
- Jim Linnell (member or visitor: not established) — Guest demonstration by the Al Stohlman Award winner
Annual Meeting, 2007
- Jamie Zelikovitz (member or visitor: not established) — Dye demonstration (guest from Ottawa, brought dye samples from his leather supply company)
Annual Meeting, 2008
- John Broumley (member or visitor: not established) — Knots (demonstration)
Annual Meeting, 2010
- Vivian Hutcheson (member or visitor: not established) — Creative Gilding on Leather (Guest Workshop leader, Shakespeare, ON)
Guest Presentation, 2010
- Walter Muma (member or visitor: not established) — “A Life Lived Creatively” — on the work of his father, CSCL founder Robert Muma
Workshop, 2012
- Joanna (member or visitor: not established) — How To Make A Leather Bird Toy (demonstrated; no surname given in the printed article)
Annual Meeting, 2013
- Robert Beard (a member of the Society) — Guest Demonstrator (American leathercrafter; announced for the Lindsay Inn convention)
Annual Meeting, 2014
- Desiree Kern (member or visitor: not established) — A Spot of Colour — composition and colour with spirit dyes and acrylics
- Andy Hughes (member or visitor: not established) — Hot Gold Foil Work
- Craig Gill (member or visitor: not established) — Cigar Case Making
- Desiree Kern (member or visitor: not established) — Colouring (Friday night demonstration)
- Craig Gill (member or visitor: not established) — Molded and Stitched Cigar Case (Saturday workshop)
Annual Meeting, 2015
- Rex Lingwood (member or visitor: not established) — Cuir bouilli demonstration and slide show (CSCL's Special Guest; noted leather artist)
Annual Meeting, 2016
- Kim Muskratt (member or visitor: not established) — Quilling (demonstrated how it is done)
Annual Meeting, 2017
- Mark Perkins (member or visitor: not established) — Birds of Prey — falconry and the leatherwork that goes with it; two North American kestrels in the afternoon and two Harris hawks after the banquet
- Sandra Perkins (member or visitor: not established) — Birds of Prey — falconry and the leatherwork that goes with it; two North American kestrels in the afternoon and two Harris hawks after the banquet
Annual Meeting, 2018
- Ksenia Kopystyńska (member or visitor: not established) — Book binding — a talk and presentation, Saturday afternoon, 28 April 2018
Annual Meeting, 2024
- Jean Abernethy (member or visitor: not established) — Guest speaker at the Annual banquet, introduced by Lois Found of the Norland Guild; builds saddles and is the author of five books on Fergus the Horse
'Design in Leathercraft' seminar for Associates and Fellows (following the Annual Meeting)
- Dora de Pedery Hunt (sculptor, Sculpture Society of Canada) — A talk on design in leathercraft, with criticism of members' Associate and Fellow articles shown at the Annual Meeting
14th International Assembly (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)
- Jean Delius (member or visitor: not established) — Speaker of the evening and (with Irva Ford) a judge of the Assembly exhibit; urged leathercrafters to be more courageous with leather, criticized the general lack of decoration and poor findings available, and called for instructional film on leatherworking.
- Will Robertson (member or visitor: not established) — Of Buffalo; performed magic tricks as after-dinner entertainment.
17th Annual (Barrie)
- Peter L. Cavill (member or visitor: not established) — "The Joy of Living" -- a talk on recreation, by the Simcoe County Community Recreation Director.
24th Annual (Belleville)
- Lillian Peddie (member or visitor: not established) — Design (illustrated talk)
30th Annual Meeting banquet (Belleville, Ontario, 18-20 April 1980)
- Alma Wallace (member or visitor: not established) — Conservationist, taxidermist, hunter and photographer; addressed the banquet and showed slides of her work.
31st Annual, 1981 (Jordan Station)
- Mr. and Mrs. McKeever (member or visitor: not established) — Talk and slides on owls, from their Owl Rehabilitation Centre
35th Annual banquet, 1985 (Barrie)
- Donald Stuart (member or visitor: not established) — Banquet speaker
- Bruce Owen (member or visitor: not established) — Songs at the banquet
45th Annual (Woodstock)
- Rev. Roger McCombe (member or visitor: not established) — After-banquet speaker, "a laughter-filled hour of warmth and happiness"
- Lois Bradfield (member or visitor: not established) — After-banquet speaker, a former teacher who entertained in the style of Hee Haw's "Minnie Pearl"
47th Annual (Jordan)
- John Powers (member or visitor: not established) — Guest speaker, of "Flying Jewels Inc."
Box Making Course, written up by Dorothy McPherson in the Winter 2010-2011 Canadian Leathercraft
- Don Taylor (member or visitor: not established) — A box-making course reported on by Dorothy McPherson.
Combined 20th Annual & 16th International Assembly (Toronto)
- Dr. Brian Dixon (member or visitor: not established) — A brief address on crafts today; teaches Economics at York University and is also a sculptor.
Executive Meeting, 26 November 2021
- Elycia SFA (member or visitor: not established) — Craft Ontario, and what its Affiliate membership offers a small society — the shop, the gallery, the craft awards and the member services
Executive Meeting, 29 October 2021
- Kristi (member or visitor: not established) — Tundra Leather of Hamilton — the first of the Society's five-minute retailer guest spots: new stock, colours, hardware, downloadable patterns and a new till
Hamilton Branch meeting, December 1984
- Betty LeWarne (member or visitor: not established) — Slide talk on the Hebrides, as President of the Hamilton Artisans Guild
Leather '74 Exhibition opening (Forest Hill Library, Toronto, 8 June 1974)
- Robert Secord (member or visitor: not established) — Of the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services; formally opened the Society's Leather '74 Exhibition, introduced by Exhibition Chairman Irva Ford and thanked by Fred Brown.
Members-at-Large seminar (Harbourfront)
- William Hodge (member or visitor: not established) — Colour and Design (lecture); President of the Ontario Crafts Council
Seminar (1959) and studio visit (5 March 1960)
- Douglas Duncan (member or visitor: not established) — Bookbinding and design critique. Addressed the Society's Seminar in 1959; sixteen Fellows and Associates then visited his studio at 2 Charles Street East, Toronto, on 5 March 1960 so he could examine their work. Studied bookbinding in Paris for eight summers between 1928 and 1939; critiqued the Society's design and metal fittings and showed some of his own hand-bound volumes.
Toronto Branch meeting, 10 January 1990
- Nasser Vies (member or visitor: not established) — A bespoke shoemaker who spoke and demonstrated; "extremely well received," praised Ruth Haig's beeswax formulation as the best he'd used, and the branch reported gaining at least two new members from his demonstration.
Toronto Branch meeting, 25 October 1980
- Wally Klausner (member or visitor: not established) — Garment making — measuring and making a leather vest
Toronto Branch meeting, scheduled 9 December 1977
- Fred Leslie (member or visitor: not established) — Slide and sound presentation, "La Salle - Expedition II," a re-enactment of the 1681-82 voyage of La Salle by canoe from Montreal to the Gulf of Mexico -- not a leathercraft topic and no CSCL affiliation is given, unlike the surrounding member-led demonstrations on the same programme. Announced in the branch's programme for 9 December 1977.
Woodstock Branch Christmas party, 1984
- Carl Creamer (member or visitor: not established) — Slide talk on Saudi Arabia, after over a year spent in the Middle East
Woodstock Branch meeting, fall 1984
- Syd Taylor (member or visitor: not established) — Demonstrated braiding and the Turk's Head Knot
Workshop (Toronto)
- Randy Brinkman (member or visitor: not established) — A Workshop in Photography
Workshop on Espo Dyes (Toronto)
- Estelle Post (member or visitor: not established) — Espo Dyes -- a batik technique adapted for leather