A tanner is someone who transforms animal hides into leather through a process called tanning. When an animal hide is first removed, it's stiff, smelly, and will rot quickly. A tanner treats it with special chemicals or natural substances (like tree bark extracts) to preserve it and make it flexible, durable, and useful.

For thousands of years, tanners were essential craftspeople in every community. They made the leather needed for shoes, belts, saddles, book covers, and countless other items. The work was smelly and difficult: tanners soaked hides in pits filled with chemicals, scraped away hair and flesh, and worked the leather until it became soft and strong. Because of the smell, tanneries were often located at the edges of towns.

Today, most leather production happens in factories, but skilled tanners still practice traditional methods to create high-quality leather for luxury goods. Some historical sites preserve old tanneries so visitors can see how this ancient craft worked.