Pergamena

Pergamena Vegetable tanned leather and handmade parchment in Montgomery, NY

https://www.pergamena.net/5th-business-farm-traceable-program

Producing North America’s premier parchments and leathers takes skill and experience, both of which Pergamena has in abundance. Our family has been working with animal skins for 15 generations. At Pergamena, we blend ancient methods with modern innovations to produce the best quality products on the market. Situated in the beautiful Hudson Valley, our tannery sources all of its hides from the nort

heastern US as byproducts of other industries. From goat, calf, and deer, to cow, alpaca, and even ostrich, we specialize in producing parchment and leather that combines the natural character and grain of the hides with quality processing, vibrant colors, and the individual attention that each skin deserves.

08/26/2026

Get ready to get your hands dirty as the USA’s leading parchment master -Jesse Meyer- takes you through creating your very own parchment. You will spend two days blending ancient techniques with modern innovations and in the end you will walk away with two parchment skins of your own making and an unforgettable experience. Check out the link in our bio for more details.

08/24/2026

This fall spend two days in the Hudson Valley of New York blending ancient techniques with modern innovations. At the end you will walk away with hides of your own making and an unforgettable experience. Click the link in our bio to learn more.

08/20/2026

Pergamena’s Parchment Master Class.

Check out the Link in our bio for details.

First Day: Wet Work
Students will spend the first day doing Wet Work. Skins must be wet to complete the early stages of parchment making. Dehairing, neutralizing, stretching, scraping, and dying the skins is messy work, but by the end of the first day you can start to see the parchment take shape.
Second Day: Dry Work
On the second day students will check on the wet work skins downstairs before moving upstairs to do Dry Work. These are the finishing steps of the parchment process, and the skins must be dry to properly execute the final scraping, sanding, and trimming. On both days there will be opportunities to ask any questions and to look at Parchment reference books from over 100 years ago. You will also have the opportunity to purchase more parchment (or leather) with your Masterclass Discount.

The history and the use of Parchment and Vellum spans centuries and continents; yet most of today’s artists and creators...
08/18/2026

The history and the use of Parchment and Vellum spans centuries and continents; yet most of today’s artists and creators simply haven’t had access to explore and connect with the medium. It’s time to change that.

We are excited to announce that, this fall, folks will have multiple opportunities to explore —and connect— with this sustainable and historic material. Join us in September for Pergamena’s Parchment Masterclass, led by America’s leading parchment expert, Jesse Meyer. It is perfect for anyone that wants hands-on experience creating parchment & vellum. Students will walk away with the hides they create and an experience that will change the way they see the material and its connection to our own human history. —Not to mention a few stories to tell and some amazing and odd photos of yourself.—
Click the link in our bio to learn more.

Then, in October, Liv is teaching a few workshops at one of her favorite places on Earth: the New York Sheep & Wool Festival. And while the Veg Tanned Leather one is sold out, there are still a few seats left in the “Introduction to Vellum and Parchment” workshop. This 4 hour workshop removes the dirty —but fun and informative— work of creating parchment and goes right to the creating with it part. Go to NYsheepwool amazing new website to learn more details about the workshops.


Should we host an Open Door Day at the Tannery on Sunday September 20th? For anyone who wants a tour or to check out material in person?

08/14/2026

When you can erase ink, paint and marker from your surface; you also erase some of the fear.

Liv Virta-Meyer will be back teaching workshops at the NYsheepwool this year featuring our Parchment and Vellum and our Veg tanned Leather. One class is sold out and the other only has a few spots open, so hurry and check out the link for more details. https://sheepandwool.com/item/introduction-to-vellum-and-parchment/

And as always shout out to Tombow USA for the magic that is Sand erasers. They are an essential tool for anyone working with parchment and vellum. Available at Paper and Ink Arts

08/13/2026

Did you know?

08/06/2026

If your at IAMPETH | Calligraphy come on by the John Neal Books pop up shop at 12:45 to check out the amazing artist Jessie Nucifora tattoo our leather. She and Liv Virta-Meyer with help from the amazing Gabby Cooksey have been hoping to bring a new product to market that supports farms and tattoo artist’s alike. Swing by to learn more.

IAMPETH | Calligraphy Day 3! So after a fantastic Round Robin —Thanks to Seattle Calligrapher & Engraver | Chantelle for...
08/05/2026

IAMPETH | Calligraphy Day 3! So after a fantastic Round Robin —Thanks to Seattle Calligrapher & Engraver | Chantelle for putting an amazing evening together!— Today you can join me in the John Neal Books pop up shop for my demo “Perfecting Parchment.” Where the byline is “Don’t let the Perfect be the enemy of the Good.”

IAMPETH | Calligraphy Round Robin is in less then 7 hours and I am very excited. Come on by and make the ultimate sustai...
08/04/2026

IAMPETH | Calligraphy Round Robin is in less then 7 hours and I am very excited. Come on by and make the ultimate sustainable souvenir from Calligraphy camp!

07/04/2026

Our country wasn’t born in 1776. We dumped tea in Boston Harbor in 1773, but it took years and many lives before we even got our collective mission statement down on parchment. Today I am thinking about July 4th, 1774 and July 4th, 1775. Those years in American history are marked by what were called the “intolerable acts.” These were the retaliatory actions taken by the British parliament to punish all of the colonies after 116 people in one town decided to take a stand. America wasn’t born in 1776; it was born in the thousands of big and small acts opposing cruel and oppressive power leading up to our declaration. The Declaration of Independence was just a formal invitation to a new kind of party. Tea will be served. RSVP ASAP.

“…all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
—Taken from a Post Liv wrote a couple fourths ago.—

https://www.pergamena.net/historic-documents

Address

11 Factory Street
Montgomery, NY
12549

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

(845) 457-3834

Website

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