Jalan Besar Leather Crafting Workshop, S$79: Stone For Gold

Stone For Gold runs its public leather crafting workshop upstairs at 141 Jalan Besar #02-01, Singapore 208859, and the one class you can book right now is the Stone For Gold Beginner Leather Class at S$79. It is held every Sunday from 1pm to 3pm. In that slot you cut, stitch and finish three small pieces in full-grain vegetable-tanned leather, then deboss your initials into them before you head home.

The name comes from its founder. Xie Hui, who goes by Stone, is a self-taught craftsman who started Stone For Gold in 2008, according to a 2023 profile in The Peak, which called him one of the pioneers of the local leather crafting scene. The brand's own contact page repeats the date, saying it has been crafting leather goods by hand since 2008.

For years the business ran only from its office and workshop on Jalan Besar. The same Peak piece reported that the brand then opened its first retail shop at Mandarin Gallery on Orchard Road. That shop is where you buy watch straps and gifts. The Sunday class, though, is still taught in the Jalan Besar workroom, and the class page lists only that address.

The website is confusing on this point. The main block of the contact page promotes the Mandarin Gallery atelier, while the footer lists the Jalan Besar unit as the workshop and store location. The product page for the beginner class removes any doubt. Under VENUE it gives 141 Jalan Besar #02-01, Singapore 208859, and that is where you should go on Sunday.

The Mandarin Gallery name does come up for one product. The corporate stitching workshop offers an Arteastiq Studio space inside the mall as an option for company groups, for an extra fee that includes a drink. That arrangement is for teams who book through the corporate enquiry. Individual learners who buy the S$79 seat go to the shophouse unit in Jalan Besar.

The beginner class gives you three pieces: an envelope cardholder, a key fob and a mini luggage tag, all cut from full-grain vegetable-tanned leather. Its course outline lists five skills: basic leather cutting, knowledge of leather as a material, working with basic carving tools, edge burnishing and leather care tips. Everything you make goes home with you at the end of the session.

Group size changes how long you stay. The class page says groups of 6 to 12 participants run for 1 hour, and sessions with up to 24 people may stretch to 2 hours, inside the Sunday 1pm to 3pm slot. If you want a slow, chatty afternoon, a busy session suits you better than a quiet one. The minimum age is 12, and no previous experience is needed.

For a first visit, the beginner class is the obvious pick, and right now it is also the only one taking bookings. The three items use the same basic cuts and stitches, so by the luggage tag your hands have learned what the cardholder taught them. Debossing comes last, so decide on your initials before you arrive and save time at the end.

Skip the themed workshops for now. The Labubu Minibag and Luggage Tag class, a basic purse class, a pet collar class and the ID tag and valet tray class all show Sold out on the workshop page. Waiting on them can cost you weeks. Book the Sunday class, learn the stitch, and come back for a bigger piece once new dates appear.

Read the terms before you pay, because they are stricter than most. If you cancel five days or less before the workshop, the studio refunds 30% of the fee. If you do not turn up on the day, you get no refund at all. You can reschedule only if you ask at least five days ahead, so a sudden Sunday clash costs you most of the fee.

The studio also keeps the right to move a session if too few people sign up. With a stated average class size of 6 to 24, a quiet weekend could be rescheduled, so put your phone number on the booking.

Jalan Besar MRT station on the Downtown Line is the closest stop. By OneMap's coordinates, number 141 lies about 200 metres north of the station along Jalan Besar itself, an easy walk of three or four minutes in shade from the shophouse five-foot ways. The studio is unit #02-01, one floor up, so look for the staircase rather than a ground-floor shopfront.

Leave yourself ten spare minutes on Sunday so you are seated before the first cut. Bring a tote for the finished pieces and keep your nails short if you can, since saddle stitching means pulling waxed thread tight between finger and thumb. The room supplies every tool, needle and piece of hardware.

The class finishes in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, which leaves time for a walk. Head south down Jalan Besar past the old hardware and lighting shops, then cut through to Kampong Glam. The gold dome of Sultan Mosque is less than a kilometre from the studio, and the lanes around it fill with cafés and textile shops by late afternoon.

If you have more stitching in you, Crafune runs its own beginner leather classes in a studio upstairs on Haji Lane in Kampong Glam, as well as an envelope card case class at Funan Mall. Either works as a plan B if the Sunday class is full or moved. In the other direction, the ornate tiled terraces of Petain Road make a quieter detour north of the studio.

Workshop venue: Stone For Gold, 141 Jalan Besar #02-01, Singapore 208859. Class: Stone For Gold Beginner Leather Class, S$79, every Sunday from 1pm to 3pm, ages 12 and older. You make an envelope cardholder, a key fob and a mini luggage tag, with initial debossing. Email: info@stoneforgold.com. Nearest MRT: Jalan Besar on the Downtown Line.

Cancelling five days or less before class returns 30% of the fee, and no-shows get nothing back. Rescheduling has to be requested at least five days before the class. The retail shop at Mandarin Gallery is a separate location and does not host this class. The Karpo APP can plot the walk from Jalan Besar MRT and pick a Kampong Glam café for afterwards.