My name is Paul Campeau and I consider myself an outdoor enthusiast who lives on an acreage just north of the town of Holland. I am also a beginner in the world of brain tanned buckskin and subsequent garment fabrication.
This new and exciting journey began in December of 2018 when my wife Michelle saw an invitation to a brain tanning workshop put on by Carl Froese of Manitoba Buckskin and she encouraged me to attend. And yes, you can actually use the brains of the animal or a similar emulsified oil for the tanning process. Ever since that time I have been learning this ancient art of natural hide tanning. A couple of good books and tons of time on YouTube enticed me to begin my own hands on learning experience. The next step after creating the beautiful, soft and luxurious textile that is buckskin comes the desire to create something with it. The result are 3 pieces that are currently on display, with a handcrafted bolo tie as an accessory. Having never sown anything in my life, I had a significant learning curve but have enjoyed these projects immensely.
1. Cowboy chaps. These are working cowboy chaps made from commercially chrome tanned elk hide. These chaps are held together by a deer buckskin support fitted with recycled horse harness for the belt and buckle. The side designs are created from elk hide with beaver tail inserts and deer antler conchos. All items are hand sown and come from within a short distance of our property.
2. Buckskin jacket with fringe. The material for the buckskin jacket was brain tanned and smoked. It required 3 deer hides to create. It is hand sown with artificial sinew and buckskin thong and it has deer antler buttons. The deer were harvested by myself on our property and I tanned and smoked the skins.
3.Elk hide vest. This vest is made from chrome tanned elk hide that was tanned commercially by Miami Leather and I then sewed it by hand with artificial sinew adding a brown leather accent. The elk was harvested by myself close to our property.
4. Bolo tie accessory consists of a deer antler center piece adorned with a stylized sun made from the claws of a road killed porcupine and pieces of beaver tail leather. All sourced from near our property.
