During research for another project (making a fish shaped locket) I came across leather made from fish skins, which looked amazing. I had never heard of this material before and was quite intrigued so I decided to do some more research on it. During the last few years fish leather seems to have gained some popularity within the fashion industry, but it isn't a new invention and has actually been produced for a very long time. As the skin of fish usually goes to waste and it is a natural material this fits in quite well with my recent sustainability module. So I decided to have a go at making some leather from fish skins to use in my jewellery.I started off just doing some research on the internet and found quite a lot of information on fish leather, but not so much on how to actually make it. Eventually I came across a woman called Lotta Rahme, who has her own fish skin tannery in Sweden and is very knowladgeable on natural tanning methodes.
I f you are interested in having a go at making fish leather yourself I would recommend to look her up. She has also published a book on the subject which has been translated into english and contains very good information on different tanning processes.
