The Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts is a dedicated teaching facility for leather work and footwear construction. The school expands and supports the artisan community while helping entrepreneurs establish successful businesses focused on leatherworking and footwear construction, est. September 2011. The School’s founder, Sara McIntosh, serves as CEO and Master Instructor. Other instructors trained at the school teach beginning and intermediate leather working classes. McIntosh’s career as an independent custom shoe and bootmaker since 1974 provides the school with successful and marketable skills to share with students. Since being established, the school has worked with thousands of students (both career oriented and hobbyists), opened a retail store to provide local artists with access to leather and hardware, helped a well-established shoe store chain develop and manufacture their own line of footwear, partnered with a cultural center to provide experiential archeology, hired a staff that includes instructors/administrative support/Executive Director, and received recognition from Crain’s Business, CBS, NBC, WGN Chicago First Business and The Chicago Innovation Awards. The school is extremely proud to offer the first and only leatherworking vocational program in the United States that includes 12 weeks of hands-on education and skill development. The Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts provides comprehensive resources needed to turn creative ideas into marketable products while teaching skills that enable independence and sustainability.