Stahl finishing expert takes part in Northampton course
26/04/2011
Coming from a family of teachers, Mr van den Heuvel said afterwards that he had learned from his parents that treating students like family members is an important, if unusual, approach to eliminating the barriers between student and teacher.
He described the students as being “like seeds planted in a shower of rain”. This is because, although students may be reluctant to react to others around them at the beginning of a course, as time goes by they gradually begin to take a more active part. Eventually this new-found willingness to discuss ideas with colleagues, he believes, will lead to them becoming decision makers in the leather industry in time to come.
Equally important when imparting knowledge to students is, according to Mr van den Heuvel, a need to tell them everything about what they ask. This helps to build further confidence. Out of this knowledge, students will begin to create their own ideas for leather finishes.
The March course was a two-week course. Although every day was different, each followed a pattern of one hour of theory and the rest of the day being spent on practical training that relates to work in a tannery.
Mr van den Heuvel presented the students with examples of finishes from Stahl’s collections and also talked to each student about leather finishing in their particular region of the world.
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