Latest reviews

Linda W reviewed: Introduction to spooncarving at Hill End

"Excellent course. I had a really enjoyable day in a superb location. David is an excellent teacher and clearly is very passionate about his craft. He explained and demonstrated every step in a very easy to understand way and inspired confidence in using the tools needed to carve a spoon. He also covered safety issues at the beginning of the day and how to look after and sharpen your tools. I'd definitely recommend this course."

David Knight Woodland Crafts responded:

"Hi Linda, thanks so much for your feedback, it is really appreciated. Thank you for being part of a such an engaged and involved group of participants. I look forward to watching your skills in wood carving develop and grow."

Mark Gregory reviewed: Router day, how to safely use and maintain a router

"Really enjoyable course, learning the basics of using a router. No previous knowledge needed as you are stepped through the processes, not only of a hand held router but the use of a router table as well. Mark knows his stuff and delivers the course to suit his audience. He listens to them to find out what they want to get out of the course and adapts to cover all their needs. The experience has given me the confidence to get on with my own projects. Definitely recommend this course."

Andrea reviewed: "2 Crafts in 1 Day!" 1-2-1 woodturning & pottery experience for 1 person

"Great day learning new skills in a relaxed and easy manner with Louise and Simon. The combi-day is an excellent idea to be able to have a taster of playing with Wood and Clay. All done in a beautiful setting with lunch and great humour. Thank you."

Blended Monkey - pottery - woodturning - green woodworking - pole lathe - throwing responded:

"We're so pleased you enjoyed the 2 in 1 workshop :-). We had a very enjoyable day too! Lovely to give you both a taster in woodturning and ceramics. I'll let you guys know when your pottery pieces are ready to post out :-)."

Tara reviewed: "2 Crafts in 1 Day!" 1-2-1 woodturning & pottery experience for 1 person

"Had such a great day and were really welcomed by Simon and Louise. Both are clearly very skilled and talented in their individual fields and were able to easily translate their knowledge into teaching even us...complete beginners! A fabulous, fun, learning experience and surprisingly therapeutic. Also a great idea to combine the Wood and Pottery into one day. Perfect to be able to try out the basics of both before deciding if you want to invest more in one, the other or both. Highly recommended."

Blended Monkey - pottery - woodturning - green woodworking - pole lathe - throwing responded:

"Tara, thank you for your lovely review! We really enjoyed having you guys here and we're so pleased you had a great day :-). You both made some super pieces!"

Robbie reviewed: Bladesmithing Weekend

"Having had Bladesmithing as a new hobby/side project on my mind for quite a while I decided to take the one day course to get a feel for what exactly's involved. Graham, David & Declan (great kid) were all really engaging and made the day fun, enjoyable and really informative. You can tell they all have a lot of knowledge about the blacksmithing world. It's definitely made me realise I want to pursue Bladesmithing beyond this one off experience. I'll be back for more. Cheers."

Clarke Knives responded:

"And we look forward to seeing you again Robbie."

Robert Fry reviewed: Creative Clay Workshop

"Great fun and really addictive! Really pleased with the mugs I made. Excellent and patient teacher too."

EJaRt Creative responded:

"Very pleased that you enjoyed your sessions! The mugs have turned out great! Hope to see you back to create more masterpieces ?"

Susan Jones reviewed: Upcycling Furniture With Paint & Fabric Decoupage Workshop experience: Spend Two Days with ReVamp Boutique

"It was great to be learning something new. I have already repeated the process proving Sarah's laid back approach to learning works. Sarah is great. She loves any form of art and craft and it shows and loves to share and help. Looking forward to any new courses."

Jo Rendall reviewed: Copperplate for Improvers - Regular Classes

"I have been teaching myself Copperplate from a book for the last few months and was absolutely delighted to discover Julie's class. "Book learning" can only take you so far so it was brilliant to be able to see how to form the letters, both capital and lowercase, and have some homework so I can put it all into practice. Brilliant. Thank you Julie!"

Julie Chaney responded:

"Thanks very much, Jo. I'm so pleased you enjoyed the session. It was lovely to have you join the class and I do hope you're able to make swift progress building on the fundamentals you've already learnt. I definitely like your enthusiasm!"

Ian Arter reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"My friend and I attended the blacksmithing course with Chris, and it we had an excellent day. Chris is a first class teacher who has a wide knowledge of blacksmithing and engineering. We are both mechanical engineers, and not the youngest people around! Chris imparts his expertise in a way which is clear and informative. He is extremely patient and took care to ensure that we understood his instructions. His demonstrations of each process that the student is about to carry out, are first class. One of the many strengths of the course is that you get hands on practice, along with many tips on how to work the metal at the correct temperature, using the best tools for each operation. We had such a great time that we are going to book a further course in the new year. We cannot recommend the course highly enough. Many thanks Chris."

Hannah Hart-George reviewed: Introduction to spooncarving at Hill End

"David was excellent. I had never done anything like this before and he taught in a very clear manner. Whilst I felt I learnt heaps it was never overwhelming. I loved the vibe of the class, crafting around a fire with a pot of hot water constantly on the go. I would definitely recommend it."

David Knight Woodland Crafts responded:

"Hi Hannah, I really appreciate your feedback. Hill End did us proud as a venue and I loved the dappled shade from the birch trees at our site. Thank you for being so receptive to new ideas in developing your craft skills and I hope you’ve now caught the spooncarving bug and will be whittling away in future months and years!"

Wendy Lewin reviewed: Stained glass leading for beginners

"If you want to learn from the master himself, then Jamal is your man! Charming and inspirational, we had a fantastic day getting a glimpse into the world of stained glass. We thoroughly enjoyed it and came home with a piece of work we can be proud of. Highly recommended!"

Philip Hodsdon reviewed: Introduction to spooncarving at Hill End

"Great introduction to spoon carving by David, helped by Mike. Both very knowledgeable and helpful. Ended up with spoon which actually looked like a spoon! Learnt a great deal about cuts needed and orientation of the grain etc. Also safe use of tools and sharpening. An enjoyable day in a fantastic location."

David Knight Woodland Crafts responded:

"Hi Phil it was great to meet a fellow Eynsham resident! Thank you for throwing yourself into the deep end of working green wood. I do hope I can provide continuing support as you develop your interest in spooncarving and green woodworking"

steve barron reviewed: Introduction to oil painting at Cowshed Creative, the Lake District near Windermere

"This was my first time at Cowshed Creative. It is a lovely, welcoming venue accessed down a long narrow lane through some lovely countryside. The facilities are very good and provide an excellent space for creative activity. Catherine is a great tutor, talented and able to explain and demonstrate ideas and methods. I always learn a lot from her classes that I can take home to practice and develop with my own style. I've already booked on Catherine's other sessions and am keeping a lookout for more diverse classes at Cowshed during the next year."

Cowshed Creative responded:

"Thanks Steve. Great to meet you and look forward to seeing you again."

Georgie & Jessica reviewed: Woodturning courses in Hampshire - Beginners and improvers wood turning courses - Turn British, all British lathes!!

"We had a lovely time. Excellent. Would recommend. Thank you"

Kat Power reviewed: Sea Glass Jewellery at Cowshed Creative, the Lake District

"A fantastic day from start to finish. The location of Cowshed Creative is a beautiful valley and George provided us with detailed directions to get there. The venue is light and airy with lots of room. Lunch came with a view of the valley from the outside tables. Throughout the day we had lovely homemade food, the Thai soup was a massive hit, as were the scones! The course was excellent and allowed us to be creative with the seaglass we had brought with us. My Mum and I finished the day with two beautiful pieces of jewellery each. The course tutor Amanda, had adapted her approach to take into account Covid measures and all people attending had one to one direction about what they wished to make. Thanks to Amanda's information we have already purchased the material to make more pendants. I highly recommend the courses here and am already researching my next course to book!"

Cowshed Creative responded:

"Wow! Thanks so much for an amazing review. Really enjoyed meeting you both and hope to see you again."

Susan Pryke reviewed: Macrame Pot Hanger Workshop

"Really enjoyable and relaxing 2hrs with a great teacher and really nice person! Felt really safe with Alice’s Covid precautions which did not detract from the course. The rhythm of tying the knots was extremely relaxing and I now have a lovely retro pot hanger. Thank you Alice and good luck with all your future courses which I will look at with interest!"

Susan Pryke reviewed: One person - Full day 6 hours sculpture/soldering brazing wire forming course, specialising in insects, fairies

"Roger was a great teacher and looked to make the course personal to me. Whilst I wanted to make a dragonfly I was more interested in learning as many techniques as I could during the day. So we concentrated on making a very delicate dragonfly wing, which incorporated basic and more advanced techniques as well as other techniques needed to complete the dragonfly. All of which would be applicable to other projects. Roger was generous with his knowledge, his supplies and equipment. He has given me the confidence to try the more challenging shapes. Lots of ideas to move forward with!!!! I don’t know where the time went and at the end of the day I felt excited and confident to try more shapes and equipment to complete my dragonfly. Thank you Roger"

High Definition wire sculpture responded:

"Thank you Susan , you were a great student , your silver plated wire wing was as good as mine , could you send me a picture please , please message me if you need any help or advice Roger"

Maggie Etheridge reviewed: Learn to Love your Sewing Machine

"Jen is an excellent teacher with an amazing amount of sewing knowledge. There is group and individual tuition throughout the day. I learnt a lot about the knobs, dials and various sewing feet and feel confident enough to try them out at home. The day was thoroughly enjoyable and went ‘sew’ quickly!"

Sew Forest of Dean responded:

"Thank you Maggie, it was a lovely day and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Happy Sewing :-) Jennifer"

Rachel reviewed: Introduction to spooncarving at Hill End

"A lovely way to have spend my Saturday, in such a calm, relaxed and naturally beautiful environment. David was very informative and his calm friendly approach gave me to the confidence to use tools and equipment that I'd never used before. I was so absorbed in making my spoon that I lost all sense time! I look forward to making more things out of wood in the future. Thank you David"

David Knight Woodland Crafts responded:

"Thanks so much Rachel, yes the time did fly didn’t it? Thanks for being such a great group to tutor. I very much hope that you’ll develop your skills further and I’d be honoured to help you make more shavings and spoons!"

Ken reviewed: Leather Belt Workshop

"Great activity day. Loads of different grades and colours of leather to choose from. Had a lovely time time meeting other people and home made cake was a nice touch."

Stephanie reviewed: Hare Sculpture workshop with Jo Garden Art in beautiful Norfolk/Suffolk

"I really enjoyed my day with Jo. It was magical to see the hares we created develop throughout the day and take on different characters; one inquisitive, one graceful, one strong and fearless and one very fun-loving and perhaps a little naughty. Jo was an excellent tutor who made everyone feel very welcome. Would highly recommend."

Jo Garden Art responded:

"Thank you very much Stephanie ;-) I also love seeing how the hares develop - no two are ever the same! Really glad you enjoyed the day. Jo xx"

Becky Skene reviewed: Hare Sculpture workshop with Jo Garden Art in beautiful Norfolk/Suffolk

"Loved it. Would definitely do it again xxx"

Jo Garden Art responded:

"Thank you so much Becky! Would love to have you back again. Now that you have done the hare, you are welcome to attend a 1 day hare sculpture workshop, but make a dog or cat! Jo xx"

Angela Edward reviewed: Introduction to spooncarving at Hill End

"It was great to learn the whole process from log to spoon. David’s tuition was excellent and I felt safe and confident using the techniques he showed us. Highly recommend this course."

David Knight Woodland Crafts responded:

"Thanks so much Angela- you were a great group to teach and as always I learned something new from the day too. Hope you’ve found the follow-up notes useful. All best David"

Marcus Power reviewed: Blacksmithing Experience Day at Leeds, West Yorkshire

"Amazing, so amazing. Jorgen helped my 13 year old son make a blacksmiths knife, he took his time explaining everything helping him at every step. My son is so over the moon with his creation and Jorgen made it possible. This was worth every penny. Jorgen really knows his craft and is an excellent teacher. You have to book this course if you are interested. This guy needs to sell himself more because he really is good. No I'm not being paid for this."

Jon wright reviewed: Leather Belt Workshop

"Great day, family really enjoyed themselves. Tracy really knows her stuff and had us all learning and having fun- highly recommend"