Latest reviews

simon costin reviewed: Blacksmithing experience - spend a day in the forge

"I had a great day at the forge. Brilliant instruction and great attention to detail in the skills a techniques being shown. I got a peek at the next competition piece being created... amazing and very inspirational. Now building my own forge .. thank you"

Red Anvil School of Blacksmithing responded:

"Thank you Simon for your kind review. It was really great to meet you and see how well you grasped the techniques to produce some very pleasing items to take home. So pleased you’re now building your own forge! Richard "

Alison Bayliss reviewed: Day classes in traditional blacksmithing ... make an item to take away

"Great experience! Really appreciated the patience, geniality and good humour of our lovely tutor Rudi. He gave us confidence to carry out the skills we learnt and sensitively intervened when we were struggling to achieve the next step. As a result we came away with items we were proud of and will give us memories of a wonderful day. Thank you Rudi. We loved having gentle Rico there too! "

Sarah reviewed: Exploring British Wool Fibres, Make a Small a Peg Loom Mat

"Such a great session - loved the amount of attention we got from Penny and that I was able to come home with a mini rug, having also learnt a new skill. Highly recommended "

Dewi James reviewed: Mig Welding For Beginners Introductory Day Course.

"Very productive 5 hours with Tony. All the basics, including safety measures. Good advice on my own amateur welder set-up that I’ll be implementing. Once I get some practice in my shed , I’ll be back for more ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

Newport Wrought Ironwork responded:

"Thank you Dewi for your feedback it is very much appreciated. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me. Regards Tony "

Nigel reviewed: Five day woodwork course - tools

"I’ve just completed the 5 day Course 1. This was a follow on from Marks’s Box Making course (also excellent). The week has been fantastic with lots of excellent tutoring. The great thing is that you actually make everything yourself and end up with a truly crafted piece of furniture. Highly recommended and I’ll be back. The small groups of 4 also work well and the workshop is so well equipped you don’t want for anything. Don’t hesitate to try!"

Joy reviewed: Beginners wire weaving workshop

"Excellent tutor. Learnt lots. Will attend another of her sessions. "

Angela Moss reviewed: Exploring British Wool Fibres, Make a Small a Peg Loom Mat

"This course covered everything I wanted to know about different types of wool and using a peg loom. Penny was very welcoming, friendly and extremely knowledgeable answering all our questions. A very enjoyable, absorbing and interesting morning."

Julie reviewed: Wildflower and stained glass workshop

"Ffion was a wealth of knowledge on this workshop and we discussed a range of items I could use in future herbariums. This workshop built on the previous one by adding stained glass, so not only allowed me to consolidate my learning from the morning but then learn further skills by adding stained glass. I spent a lovely afternoon with Ffion who is a very talented lady! I can't recommend this workshop enough."

Julie reviewed: Wild flower and copper foiling workshop

"Tara was an excellent teacher demonstrating each stage carefully and making suggestions as I learnt each skill. I spent a lovely morning and made a brilliant herbarium. I can't recommend enough."

Susan Hayden reviewed: maltese limestone carving at mount pleasant gardens

" I would highly recommend Anrew’s sculpting class The course was informative, interesting and fun. It was something I’d always wanted to try and wasn’t disappointed. As an instructor Andrew was encouraging and provided helpful critiques and supportive feedback. It is as described suitable for beginners, and we were all easily able to achieve pleasing end results. The setting for the course was equally impressive. The gardens provided a lovely backdrop to the beautiful sculptures hidden along the pathways, well worth the lunch time explorations. It was a unique and inspiring experience, a genuinely lovely weekend all round. "

Sue reviewed: House Plant/Botanical Glass Workshop Northampton

"Great introduction day to copper foiling. Will is an excellent tutor, very knowledgeable and helpful. The workshop is very well organised, loads of lovely designs to choose from, plenty of equipment and glass. The venue is large and bright with plenty of workspace. It was a really enjoyable day - thanks Will."

Morgan Luntley reviewed: Crafts in the Valley - Beginners glass fusing workshops in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

"Absolutely amazing class! Thankyou so much Melanie 😊 We cant wait to book a different class again. I booked the beginners fused class, for my partners birthday present and was beyond impressed. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed it, so fun and relaxing. We're really giddy to pick up the finished pieces. Melanie was great at keeping us refreshed with tea and sweet teats. The entire class flowed so well; she explained everything so clearly, it was easy to follow. She had the studio so well laid out with many examples and inspiration. Theres so many materials and tools to work with! Endless creative opportunities. Melanie is fab at giving glass tips and tricks, aswell as advice to how best execute our ideas when we needed help. Melanie is so easy to get on with and we cant wait to go back. Will be recommending her classes to everyone."

Sue Meaden reviewed: Group Bookings : Flowers and Resin Tray or Wall Art

"Thank you for a great course! My daughter and I had a fantastic time and are really excited to receive our work. It was obvious that a huge amount of thought and prep had gone into the workshop and that great care had been taken to ensure everyone had a good experience. Highly recommended"

dee reviewed: Epoxy Resin Flower Masterclass

"This course was great! So much fun and incredibly well organised. Richard created a lovely, relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and was impressively knowledgeable but also able to make it simple for a beginner. The huge selection of dried flowers for us to work with meant people were really able to get creative and I loved seeing the different approaches people took. I'm really excited to receive my finished piece."

Chloe Black reviewed: Portrait Paintings in Oils

"Had a fantastic 3 days studying portrait painting with Lee. His patience and enthusiasm makes a wonderful learning environment. The class size was perfect to give everyone enough one-to-one time to help with their progression through the few days. I came away feeling confident, inspired and eager to return in the future for more classes. Thank you to Lee for running a great course! "

Michael Priest reviewed: One day Traditional Lead Stained Glass Course

"What a great day. Made exactly what I wanted to do. Cheryl was a really patient tutor, who explained and demonstrated all the techniques needed to create my design. Loved the workshop, plenty of space plus great tea and fab local choc croissants. Really can’t recommend her highly enough."

Cheryl Powling Glass responded:

"Loved having you here x "

Angie Marynicz reviewed: Beginners Copper Bowl Making

"I did this course yesterday with a friend who had done a previous course at the Colour Factory. It was scorching hot but luckily we were in a relatively cool room. Emily was brilliant at explaining the whole process to us. It was a lot more involved than I expected it to b but we finished on time and had a gorgeous little trinket dish to come home with. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and would recommend it to anyone who fancies something a bit different from the usual painting or fabric craft courses."

The Metalsmith responded:

"Thank you for the lovely review, Angie! It was a pleasure to have you both; I'm so pleased that you had a lovely time!"

Dawn reviewed: Handmade Paper Workshop

"I did the paper making last week. Very interesting and I shall try at home and have bought the Deckle that we used in the class. I've done a few of Beehive wellbeing courses and will keep an eye on further courses. The afternoon absolutely flew by. The papers I made took a few days to completely dry out but I am very pleased with the result and will experiment with other leaves, seeds, flowers and colours."

Miles reviewed: Traditional Leather Workshop (small leather goods)

"I really enjoyed the day here being introduced to leather working!"

Julie Helen Peacock reviewed: Pottery & ceramics half day workshop with Geraldine Francis

"Wow! Geri was incredible and we all came away with a selection of pots and items that we had hand made. The first section was moulding clay by hand and getting our creative juices flowing. Geri explaining how to make the mould and inclourage us to imprint into clay with leaves and even an old doily, which was very impressive. There were 3 of us in the course. One of us made animals, one made small men and one of us made round standing shapes with staring eyes. All brilliant! Then we made our bowls on the wheel. Geri was very patient, none of us having done this since our days at school. Helped along the way with building it up and controlling it when it went adrift. 2 of us made very good bowls and one of us made a lovely plate. We then painted them and brought the pieces to life. Geri keeps them to fire them and we collect them in about a month. All in all it was a fab day, great fun and creative, with useful pottery to use in our own homes. Brilliant! Highly recommend. Thank you Geri xxx"

Geraldine Francis Ceramics responded:

"Thank you for your review, Your feedback is much appreciated. I will be in touch shortly with news of your finished work. Geri"

Caroline Pearson reviewed: Fused Glass Wave and Dichroic Glass Jewellery Workshop with Crafts in the Valley

"We had an excellent afternoon with Melanie making fused glass waves. Melanie is very knowledgeable and passes this on to her students in a very encouraging manner. The workshop is a lovely space, we’ve done several short courses and will definitely be back to do more."

Paul H reviewed: Mig Welding For Beginners Introductory Day Course.

"Tony is a great instructor. I learnt a lot and throughly enjoyed my session. I would highly recommend it."

Newport Wrought Ironwork responded:

"Thank you Paul for the review, it’s very much appreciated . If I can help you with any advice please feel free to contact me. Regards Tony"

Liz Stuart-Brown reviewed: Two day stone carving course at Hanbury Hall

"An absolutely lovely weekend. It was hard work but we both managed to produce some excellent carvings and I have no artistic ability. Miranda was lovely and very patient Really good value for mone"

Amerton Arts Studio responded:

"Many thanks for your review, so glad you enjoyed the weekend. Best wishes Miranda"

Alison Brown reviewed: Silversmithing workshop

"Kami was wonderful, we all learnt lots about the process of silversmithing and came away with some lovely stacker rings. Really enjoyed our afternoon thank you Kami"

Mya Designs responded:

"Hi Alison, thanks so much for a great review! I misread the start time but we made up for it. It was lovely to host your birthday event at the village hall. You guys did so well with everything, used a range tools to make your stacker rings, so many different ones! It was good to see you all so happy and enjoying the experience and hope you'll continue to explore lots of other types crafts, they're so fun! Take care :)"

Barry Robinson reviewed: Key skills for converting vans into campervans 2 day course

"A great two days with Scott and some other enthusiasts. Scott is full of knowledge and delivers his teaching in a very accessible way. He's always open to questioning and give the best advice based on his extensive knowledge. Which is more than good enough for me. The course answered many questions I had and it's certainly started me on the course of looking at vans and collecting the things I need to start. Many, many thanks Scott. Oh, and by the way, thanks to his wife for the cakes. I'm already looking forward to the van woodwork course. !"

Black Paw upcycle project responded:

"Hi Barry I'm so happy you enjoyed the course and found it useful ill tell Sue you liked her cake too Scott"