Latest reviews

YVONNE MCKOY reviewed: Sandal Making Italian Style

"I was interested in making my own sandals, I came across this course and was instantly interested. My problem was that I do not drive and was coming from London by train. Lucia picked me up from the station and took me back at the end of the day. Lucia also supplied a delicious two course meal and refreshments. I had a great day and have a great pair of sandals to show for it."

rachel cable reviewed: Beautiful Batik

"Excellent setting for an excellent course! It’s been years since I I dabbled in the arts and crafts world. My sister and I went along to this course and Alison and Liz immediately put us at ease. The course content and explanation of steps was expertly done and I felt confident I could try and produce something incorporating my ideas. At the end of the day I had delivered three pieces of Batik on paper which are now proudly in frames hanging in our hallway. I have been bitten by the Batik bug! I would recommend this course to anybody wanting to try something new! Absolutely brilliant."

Blooming Designs - Art in the Barn responded:

"Hi Rachel , Lovely to get your feedback , so pleased you had a great day and really impressed your batiks are already hanging on the wall ! It was really good to meet you both and we look forward to seeing you again . Best wishes Alison and liz"

Sally-Anne reviewed: Candle making class & bubbly in Brighton & Hove

"Charlie is an absolute delight and truly made sure my friends and I had a memorable experience. The candle making was the highlight of our trip and left us with a lifetime of memories. Charlie went above and beyond to ensure we felt comfortable and was attentive to any needs we had. She even went as far as recommending some additional activities to do after the session, which we really appreciated. The venue and atmosphere were both warm and welcoming. Without a doubt a must do when in Brighton."

jenny pedder reviewed: 1 Day bag making course - 10 design options

"Myself and friend decided not to waste time and money on christmas and birthday presents but would instead have experiences together. We are booked on the two day course with Rebecca in November but prior to that attended the shopping and leather trip to London. We had a fantastic day, we went round parts of London you would not normally see and gained fantastic experience in leather and trimmings. We would really recommend this and are looking forward to our making course."

Christine Borland reviewed: Learn to spin flax

"Perfect course tailored to individual skill levels and needs. A very patient and well informed tutor with many tips, suggestions and techniques to try when things get in a tangle! The zoom experience is intense and strangely exhausting though since the technololgy adds another layer of things to concentate on so multi-tasking energies are running high. Would thoroughly recommend."

Create With Fibre responded:

"thanks so much Christine for reviewing the course and for being so kind in your comments. delighted I was able to help with your unique and special work."

Joanna reviewed: Beautiful Batik

"A fun and engaging day out! Found out about different techniques with batik and left wanting to do more."

Blooming Designs - Art in the Barn responded:

"Hi Joanna , Lovely to hear from you , so pleased you had a great day . Happy waxing ! Hope to see you again in the spring. Best wishes Alison and liz"

Carol reviewed: Wet felting workshop: Introduction to picture making in Henstridge near Stalbridge Dorset & Somerset

"An inspirational and uplifting day. The workshop space was well organised and a feast of wonderfully coloured wool. Sally's instruction and guidance was clear and easy to follow, leaving all the room needed for personal creative response."

Craft Workshops responded:

"Thank you Carol - you did very well with creating your felt piece and I hope to see you again in the future. Sally"

Julie Harris reviewed: 1 Day bag making course - 10 design options

"I attended the Tote bag course and had a fantastic day, Rebecca is so welcoming and the studio is perfect, everything you need is to hand. Rebecca explained all about the different types of leather and various tools, then provided support & advice thro the whole experience. I would highly recommend this course as an introduction to bag making, everyone loves the bag I made, including me :)"

Charlie Holland reviewed: Make a silver ring: one-to-one workshop

"Learning the basics of crafting custom, bespoke and striking silver jewellery was such a curious experience. From talking through designs, textures and fittings to working on sawing, sculpting and soldering gave me such an insight and sense of fun it was unbeatable. Ange was brilliant at explaining each step and process and the reasons behind them. I'd recommend the workshop highly :)"

Rachel reviewed: Upholstery and upcycling furniture and interiors

"I thoroughly enjoyed my day with Lucy. I learnt so much and I am delighted with the footstool I re-upholstered with Lucy's guidance. Lovely location, great facilities and very knowledgeable teacher. It was also really nice to have home-baked cakes and lovely hot pots of tea - a wonderful treat and definitely recommended :)"

Lucy Renshaw responded:

"Thanks so much for your review! It was lovely to meet you x"

Victoria Coldron reviewed: Introduction to Tiffany stained glass (1 day) in Sheffield, South Yorkshire

"We had the most interesting and enjoyable day. Kate was a wonderful and patient teacher. We’ll definitely back!"

T Renwick reviewed: Lino Printing Day with Oxford Linocut Workshops

"I cannot recommend this course enough! I bought it as a gift for my mother and we both had a wonderful day and came away with some beautiful prints. Claire is clearly passionate about the craft and sharing her love of it with others. She explained the process very clearly providing lots of support and inspiration where needed. She also provides you with some useful guidance and written information about how to continue lino printing at home.The whole set up felt very secure covid wise."

Hollie Cooper reviewed: Raku pottery at Cowshed Creative in the Lake District National Park near Kendal and Windermere

"I had such a wonderful experience with Cowshed Creative and their Raku session. They accommodated me so well as I didn't require the handbuilding tuition in the first week, and just wanted to join onto the raku session for the second week. They helped advise how I should prepare my work and what clay to use, and was told the technical info about raku firing as it's something I'd love to bring to my practice in future! The location was beautiful, and if I was to go back I'd absolutely stay over for a couple of nights too. I absolutely loved the results of everyone's work, and the glazes and techniques were explained well. Great tuition and fab vibes for the whole day with lovely people. Lovely facilities, and we were even provided with a *delicious* homemade lunch! Thank you so much to George and Chris, hope to see you both again!"

Cowshed Creative responded:

"Thanks so much Holly. It would be lovely to see you again and good luck with your own work. Looking forward to seeing some more Raku work on your Instagram!"

Rebecca Morris reviewed: Pottery Throwing (Group Discounts Available) Lessons in Worcester

"We had an excellent one-day course with Chris last month. He was a brilliant teacher, encouraging us to develop and improve our pottery skills, and to try out new approaches too. Chris explained things really clearly and carefully and also gave demonstrations of various throwing and decorating techniques. After the morning session we had a delicious lunch in the garden and then spent the afternoon working on creating more pots and using slip to decorate them. The whole day was thoroughly enjoyable and we hope to return again soon. Many thanks!"

Chris Greening Pottery responded:

"Many thanks Becky for the positive review - it was a great day. Always nice to run a full day allowing those with existing pottery skills to have some dedicated time on a wheel and developing those skills further. Even better when it's possible to introduce some new techniques such as slip decorating. Great fun. Best wishes, Chris."

Maxine Townsend reviewed: Make a set of silver stacking rings: A morning workshop with Hampshire School of Jewellery

"Thank you so much to Laura. I really enjoyed making my stacking rings and lots of people have admired them. Laura is a kind and patient teacher and helps you achieve some really great ring designs. She has thought a lot about the set up of her studio. Even during COVID she has set up the studio so that people can socially distance and still make jewellery. Everyone has their own workstation and set of tools and she has set up a video screen so that everyone can see her demonstrations. Thanks for a great afternoon!"

Hampshire School of Jewellery responded:

"Thank you so much for your lovely review Maxine. I am so pleased you enjoyed the class and great to hear you have been wearing your rings since your class. Thank you so much for your feedback on the studio too; its so important to me that people feel comfortable and safe while at their classes :-) Hope to see you again Laura"

Rebecca reviewed: Argentium Silver workshops. Design it, Create it, Love it.

"What a fantastic course! We have just done our first week and Sally has done a fantastic job of getting us started. She explained to us the properties of Argentium and how it differs to Stirling Silver and then taught us how to fuse the silver. We then got to practice this and then once we were comfortable make a ring to our size. Sally explained to us the calculations to get the right length of silver to make a ring to our sizes, and then how to tidy up the joint if it wasn't the neatest :) She's very knowledgeable and we are really looking forward to learning the other techniques and continuing to practice/play over the next 5 weeks. Thank you again Sally !"

SallyC Jewellery responded:

"Thank you Rebecca & Clare for your positive review on your first week. Sally."

EMMA RICHARDSON reviewed: Pottery taster session

"A lovely afternoon on a taster course, my mum and I had a really enjoyable time. The potter's wheel is definitely trickier than it looks, but we laughed our way through the session. Tutors very supportive and helpful. Will book again, hopefully on a longer course. Just off to collect our fired vases / pots - hopefully they survived!!! Thank you to the team!"

Lis B Jones reviewed: Circular sock knitting machine 'Sock School'

"A really good day, fascinating experience getting to grips with one of these machines with the most lovingly prepared fresh food and refreshments throughout. We all felt very indulged. Anne is an excellent teacher and we all produced a pair of socks. Anne has helpers so attention is dedicated to the pupils and she has thought through and implemented very well organised COVID health considerations."

Helen Turner-Stockham reviewed: Pottery experience day at The Ceramic Studio

"My husband bought me the experience day as a surprise birthday present. Sadly my original day was delayed due to COVID, however when I did attend in September, all arrangements that had been put in place felt very safe. The venue was lovely, the tutors were friendly and all the instructions were clear and fully explained. The homemade lunch was wonderful too. I had lovely day and the only reason that I wouldn't be able to attend the weekly lessons is because I live too far away. My only suggestion to make the day even better would be to start slightly earlier, or finish slightly later, to allow more time on using the wheel. A two day course would also be good to learn other techniques. I would be very happy to receive this as a gift again!"

Julie and Nicky reviewed: Mosaic experience workshop for two with award winning artist Julie Vernon Nottinghamshire

"As a 50th birthday treat for Nicky we attended what was Julie’s first ‘two to one’ socially distanced mosaic workshop since lockdown. Julie went to great lengths to ensure our safety without it impacting upon our enjoyment of the day, including a lovely lunch outside in the garden. Neither of us had tried mosaic before but with Julie’s excellent coaching style and wide range of beautiful materials, were able to harness our creativity and produce indoor plaques that we were delighted with. We were fully engrossed and the time flew by. A grouting demonstration and detailed take home support, including a YouTube video, extended our enjoyment beyond the workshop. We were thrilled with the finished product and have the day we spent making our first mosaic together etched in our minds as a lovely memory. We both plan to continue to explore this compelling craft and would highly recommend the course. Thank you Julie."

Julie Vernon Mosaics responded:

"Thank you, it was a pleasure to spend time with you both. Enjoy your artwork! All the best Julie"

Sarah Cannon reviewed: Stained Glass Sun Catchers. (Foil Method) One day class. Beginners and intermediate welcome.

"Had a great day with friends. Learned a lot and came away with two beautiful stained glass hearts. Excellent tuition from Clare in a very relaxed homely environment. Will definitely be going again."

Woodland Crafts responded:

"Thank you for your review Sarah. Glad you all had a good time, I look forward to seeing you again soon, Clare"

Juliet reviewed: Taster pottery throwing lesson (various dates)

"I would definitely recommend booking a pottery course here! I did a 2.5 hour throwing taster lesson and really enjoyed it. A great relaxed atmosphere in a bright airy studio. Jack was a patient, adept teacher and the small class size was perfect to make sure you were on track. I was happy with my cups and look forward to visiting again."

Dan & Helen Satterthwaite reviewed: Introduction to Lino Printing in Cambridgeshire

"My wife and I spent a week day with Judith in early October, and the fact that there were just the three of us worked really well in terms of social distancing and the like. We really enjoyed the day and were very pleased with the results, the best of which will shortly be going up on our walls! Copious quantities of Earl Grey tea and biscuits also went down very well!"

Aneka Grover reviewed: Mindfulness clay workshop - relax and recharge with clay 'I need clay'

"I have done a couple of Sarah's workshops- one for me and one for my daughter- and I can testify that she is excellent at her craft as well as teaching. She demonstrates different techniques to achieve amazing effects, and is a brilliant guide without being too prescriptive. Students of all ages and abilities are encouraged to use their imaginations and to create some really great pieces. She's amazing!"

Chris Hurley reviewed: Bladesmithing experience day

"This was my second course with Steve, and he was right in what he said replying to a previous review... it's addictive. This time, Steve introduced me to a different method of blade-smithing and we designed and made a fabulous tanto style knife, including a hamon, which Steve hadn't tried before on a 1 day course. Although trying to get it all fitted into one day was extremely tight as this wasn't a typical one day project, Steve didn't let any of the pressure show and took the time to explain the techniques we were using and with his guidance, we ended up with a scarily sharp, beautiful unique design, with a gorgeous willow and cord wrapped handle that suited the style perfectly. By the end of the day, Steve and I were already plotting the next project for my next visit !"

White Tiger Knives responded:

"Hi Chris It was a fun packed and full on day I'm glad I didn't let the pressure show. I will need your address though to send you the bill from my psychiatrist. Until our next adventure in the shop remember, "you're only as sharp as your knife." Kind regards Steve"