Carol McLean

Carol McLean, a Fellow of the Society and for some fifteen years the teacher of its leather programme at Woodstock, set down these memories as the Society prepared to close. They are reproduced here in her own words.

I remember helping form the Woodstock Branch of the CSCL. We were a small group of leather workers who had met in each other’s homes. At the time Laureen Manuel was teaching at Continuing Education through the night-school programme; after a while she asked if I would teach it. I had been teaching different projects at our guild by then, and fibre arts at night school too — quilting, embroidery, and Japanese Bunka embroidery, to mention a few. I said I would try.

I had to apply to the Teaching Standards Committee of the CSCL to teach leather. Bob (Robert) Muma was its chair, and a Fellow of the Society. I was very intimidated presenting a lesson to him and being critiqued on it. I demonstrated making masks; he had not seen leather masks before and was intrigued by them. I was the first CSCL member to make and teach leather masks — now many do them, in so many ways. Bob was a world-renowned Master Book Binder. He passed me and gave me his blessing.

When I taught at Continuing Education, it gave me the opportunity to introduce the students to the CSCL, and we gained a nice number of members that way. I taught the leather programme there for about fifteen years, feeding many new members into the Society and the Woodstock Branch. We eventually had to discontinue the class as registration dropped — the main reason was cost, as leather and basic tools had become too expensive for the hobbyist. By then the Woodstock guild was quite strong; we even competed in the Weston Trophy competitions.

Some of us decided to try, at different times, for our Associate and eventually Fellow standings. When I tried for my Fellow standing, I made it on the first attempt, with a very respectable mark; I had been cautioned not to expect that. I was thrilled, because I enjoyed making original projects — this was one aim of the CSCL: to encourage creativity, and to promote Canadian aspects in our work. The Society was ahead of its time, and has been all along. I remember being the youngest Fellow; now I think I am the eldest. Time passes. I enjoyed every moment of it, especially the teaching and judging.

I remember making yearly trips down to demonstrate leather at the CSCL booth in the Arts, Crafts and Hobbies Building at the C.N.E., where we could also sell some of our work. Fred Brown, a Fellow of long standing, was Head of that building, and we were fortunate to expose the Society to the thousands of people passing by. I remember driving down for many years with five or six branch members in the car. Those were exciting, fun times — wonderful experiences that furthered interest in the CSCL and created a lasting camaraderie.

Other exciting times were the Annual Meetings, with competitions in many categories, even branch competitions. These were hotly contested and great fun. I remember coming home from one annual meeting with quite a few ribbons, and was most proud of the Craftsmanship and Salon Ribbons. There was always the desire to create and excel in your work — to come up with something unique, a new dyeing technique or a new kind of project.

My leather-working days came to an end when my fibromyalgia worsened to the point that my hands no longer had the strength for much of the work. But I could still help with the judging, an important part of a Fellow’s commitment, until the trips became too difficult. I have enjoyed the newsletters, which kept me in touch with the goings-on of the Society, and email kept me in touch with some members.

I have had the good fortune of making so many dear friends — one of the greatest gifts the CSCL has given me. It is sad to see all of this coming to an end: so many wonderful people, precious memories, and dear friends, a true gift. I am pleased that information about the CSCL will still be available on the internet. I give a proud salute to the founding members of the Society and their foresight to create a unique and distinctly Canadian leather organization, and I am grateful to have been a member for so many years.

Written by Carol McLean for the Society’s closing archive, and transcribed here for searchability. The original is in the Document Archive.