Deptford Leather Crafting Workshop, Four Seats Only: YUSSICO

YUSSICO's leather crafting workshop never has more than four students. Leather maker Yusuf Osman teaches it in his own bench space, Studio 303 at Cockpit Arts, 18-22 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 3DZ. Public dates on his ClassBento calendar fall on Saturdays from 10am to 1:30pm, with sessions listed for 24 and 31 October, 14 and 21 November and 12 and 19 December. Obby sells a seat at £165 and describes the class as 3 hours 30 minutes.

Osman did not start out as a craftsman. His about page calls him a lawyer turned leather and craft advocate who was introduced to traditional British leatherwork on a weekend course in the Cotswolds, then spent the following decade studying with makers around the world. The class opens with that story, so you hear early on why someone would leave a legal career to sew wallets by hand in a Deptford studio.

The credentials are specific. Osman has won the Leathersellers' Award three years in a row, including a 2021 award for his signature handbag, and he is a Freeman of the Leathersellers' Company. He lectures at Birmingham City University and teaches leatherwork to pupils at Compass School in Bermondsey, once the heart of the London leather trade. In 2026 he also appeared on the BBC sand-sculpture series Race Against the Tide.

The workshop is more than a sewing session. According to the course page, it begins with a talk on the history of leather and its trade in London, then moves to tanning and the current arguments about sustainability, ethics and animal welfare. Only after that do you get the tool briefing and safety rules, choose a pattern, and pick your hides. Anyone who wants to start cutting within five minutes should know the first part of the morning is talk.

Each student gets premium Italian vegetable-tanned leather for two projects, plus brass fittings and refreshments. The Obby listing names the pieces you can choose from: a purse, bracelet, cuff, keyring or tray. Everything is personalised with your initials, and the class ends with Osman packing your items to take home or give as a gift. A cuff and a keyring is the sensible pairing for a first visit, because both are small enough to finish properly.

There are two ways in. A public seat costs £165 on Obby, the marketplace that has carried the class for years and lists 91 reviews. The ClassBento calendar embedded on yussi.co takes private requests for two to four guests, and its form quotes £300 in total for a pair. For couples, the private route is the better deal, since you get the studio to yourselves for less than two public seats.

Read the booking terms before you pay, because they differ by channel. Obby lets you cancel and get a full refund within 24 hours of buying. The private ClassBento request states that no cancellations or reschedules are allowed once confirmed. If your plans are shaky, book through Obby and decide within a day. There is no phone line for the studio, so questions go to hello@yussi.co or through the booking form.

The course page pitches the class at complete beginners, both adults and children, and Obby sets the minimum age at 11. Osman writes that the morning suits the leather curious and serial hobbyists alike, and he has also taught corporate groups, NHS staff and Lewisham Council workshops. The Obby copy asks that you are comfortable with sharp hand tools, so very young children are a poor fit even though children are welcome.

One honest note: this is a craftsman's working studio, not a café workshop. Space is tight around the bench, and Osman's commission pieces sit nearby, so it is not the place to bring a toddler or a large hamper. If you want a bigger, chattier group, MW Makes, another Cockpit maker in the same building, runs a three-hour card wallet and keyring class for £95 per person.

Cockpit Arts is a working studio building for craft businesses on Creekside, the lane that runs beside Deptford Creek just before it meets the Thames. Deptford Bridge DLR station is about six minutes away on foot, Deptford rail station about nine and Greenwich about ten, using the walking times the Creekside Discovery Centre gives for the same street. Arrive ten minutes early, because studios are spread over several floors and you need to find 303.

The creek is tidal, and at low water you can see the mud banks and birds from the lane. If you are coming from Greenwich, the footpath along the creek mouth is the most pleasant route. On a wet morning take the DLR to Deptford Bridge instead, since that route keeps you on paved streets and spares your bag.

When you finish at 1:30pm, walk north along Creekside past the Laban Building, the Herzog & de Meuron dance school with its coloured polycarbonate skin, then the Creekside Discovery Centre, a small nature reserve on the creek bed that runs low-tide walks. From there, follow the path over the creek mouth into Greenwich and you reach the Cutty Sark in about fifteen minutes.

For lunch, Goddards at Greenwich, at 22 King William Walk, London SE10 9HU, has been serving pie and mash to south-east London families for generations, and it sits a few steps from the Cutty Sark. Order the classic pie with liquor and mash rather than anything from the specials board. It is the right reward after three and a half hours of stitching, and it is a short bus ride back to Deptford.

Address: YUSSICO, Studio 303, Cockpit Arts, 18-22 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 3DZ. Class times: Saturdays, 10am to 1:30pm, on the dates shown in the booking calendar. Price: £165 per person on Obby; private request for two guests £300 in total through ClassBento. Group size: maximum four students. Minimum age on Obby: 11. Contact: hello@yussi.co. No phone number is published.

Included: half-day tuition, use of professional tools, Italian vegetable-tanned leather for two projects, brass fittings and refreshments. Not included: lunch. The Karpo APP can map a Saturday that runs from the Creekside studio to Greenwich Market and the river, and suggest a quieter pub if Greenwich is packed with tourists.