Latest reviews

Mike Canniffe reviewed: 'Bag in a Day' Practical Leather Course - Rucksack/ Backpack

"Did this course last week - what a fantastic experience!!! Other than some simple book sleeves, I had no experience of leather work and hadn't been near a sewing machine (my Mum's old hand cranked Singer) in nearly 50 years. That didn't matter as Georgie is a great tutor, who guided us through the complete process from start to completion of a really high quality finished backpack. I made this as a gift for my wife who, once she got over how good it was, absolutely loves it!!! Thank you Georgie - will definitely be back for another course in the near future!!! "

Hands of Tym responded:

"Thank you Mike, you did an excellent job! I look forward to welcoming you back to the workshop! Best wishes, Georgie"

Alison Lane reviewed: Stained glass garden panel workshop - Hampshire

"My husband, Michael, and I did this course together and are so thrilled with the panels we made which are now in our garden. Rachel is a lovely, welcoming, calm and extremely knowledgeable tutor. She is obviously very experienced and everything was prepared really well for her students so there was no time wasted and everybody completed their panel in good time. She made it all seem so easy. We were able to choose whatever colours of glass we liked and there was a good selection so everybody’s panel was different. She encouraged us to work independently but was right there if we ever got into difficulties. We both enjoyed our day very much and the location was great. We were able to sit outside in pleasant surroundings to have our lunch - the sun made a surprise and very welcome visit! Thank you Rachel."

Swanwick Studio responded:

"Arhhh Alison - thank you so much, what a lovely review to read. I'm glad you both enjoyed yourselves & great to hear you loved the new venue as much as I do :-)"

Rose Carlisle reviewed: 1hr Potter's Wheel Heskin, Chorley

"This was bought as a birthday present for my daughter. Neither of us have done it before but we really enjoyed it and had such a good laugh! Hannah is lovely, a very good instructor and really friendly. Great experience! Would definitely recommend having a go. "

The Crafty potter responded:

"Hi Rose Thank you for your lovely review. It was fab having you in the studio, You both did really well xx "

Louise reviewed: Mosaics for Beginners at Flourish

"Thank you, Jo! We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed our first time at creating mosaics. The environment was very welcoming and the session has encouraged us to do more in the future."

Flourish responded:

"Thank you so much, Louise. It was my pleasure to guide you through the workshop. I'm sure you'll be delighted with your finished creations!"

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

"We had an excellent day, and still can't believe how much we learnt and made! The location is great and helps create a sense of calm, and Melanie was really knowledgeable and helpful. Would definitely recommend. "

Tracey reviewed: 3d Copper Foiling Stained Glass 1-day Course for Beginners

"Great day. Mike has the patience of a saint to take us all through the processes so we went home with something we love. Location easy to find with plenty of parking. Studio roomy and comfortable. Lunch selection was very good."

Vitreus Art responded:

"Thanks for your review Tracey - it was a pleasure having you and Sarah in the studio! M"

Jools PetrieSymes reviewed: Sculpture workshop two days with Jo Garden Art in beautiful rural Norfolk/Suffolk border setting

"A second visit to Jo's workshop and a wonderful 2 days were spent creating and fulfilling my dream of making an owl. Jo is an inspirational person who helps everyone bring out thier artistic self with her patience, skill, kindness and fun. Everyone can achieve on this course. The environment is peaceful and enhances your creative ability. Thank you Jo and Andy 🦉😁"

Jo Garden Art responded:

"Your Owl was wonderful Jools! Well done 🙌. What a relief when it fitted into your car 😆. A lovely workshop with lovely guests. Jo xx"

kristofer reviewed: Fused Glass - Taster

"Great woman, lovely work she does. Great to work with. Lovely time, and she knows a lot about her craft. It was nice to do. Good talks, great help, not too hard to find. 100% recommend doing this craft . "

Aaron reviewed: Spoon Carving with Touchwood Glasgow

"A great relaxing way to spend the day, Robert was an excellent teacher with bags of much needed patience. Unfortunately though I am now looking at all logs as 'future spoons'. "

Bev Peacock reviewed: Two day (consecutive) stained glass starter course at North Norfolk Stained Glass

"Magical 2days at Paul’s Norfolk studio. Excellent tuition at a perfectly balanced pace. A thoroughly enjoyable experience. Exceeded expectation. Thank you. Great course and such lovely people. Thanks too, to Trish and John. I learnt so much."

Anne reviewed: Saturday silver clay jewellery and adjustable ring workshop at Ransom's Pavilion, Hitchin

"Tulli is a brilliant teacher, patient, kind and full of knowledge. She made sure that all six of us in the class went home with a finished piece of silver clay jewellery. I had a really lovely afternoon and would love to do another class with Tuuli in the future"

Tuuli Parker responded:

"Thank you so much for your review Anne - it is greatly appreciated! I'm so glad you enjoyed the workshop - we had a great afternoon didn't we! Kindest regards, Tuuli"

Gill Snell reviewed: One day fused glass course at North Norfolk Stained Glass

"I completed the glass infusion course with my daughter, we both very much enjoyed this opportunity to learn something that we had never tried before. Paul was a very relaxed, attentive and knowledgeable teacher, he is evidently highly experienced and skilled in what he does but he was patient and took time to offer individual attention and support whilst encouraging us to express our own creativity. We were both very pleased with the end result which we received a few days later and this is now proudly displayed at home. Set in a beautiful location, Paul proved to be a good host providing lots of tea/coffee and a lovely lunch and lots of interesting conversations about his work. We are both planning to complete the 2-day stained glass course with Paul later this year. We would definitely recommend this to others."

Diana Buxton reviewed: Introduction to Indian Block Printing in East Yorkshire

"My friend and I attended our second course on Indian block printing with Sharon, and we both enjoyed it so much that we are keen to do a third session and improve our skills further. Sharon was really helpful and enthusiastic, explaining and making suggestions when things went a bit wrong. Very friendly group and delicious cakes."

Jodi Barrett reviewed: Silver jewellery workshop for beginners with Jude Karnon

"Great one to one workshop, calm and patient approach great day 😊 "

Jude Karnon Jewellery responded:

"Thanks Jodi - I am glad you enjoyed your day. :)"

Julia S reviewed: Three Day Expressive Painting in Soft Pastel with Richard Suckling

"I really enjoyed this three day exploration of the wonders of the vivid pigments of pastels. Richard is a great artist and also an inspirational teacher. We all benefitted from his informative demonstrations, and I particularly liked his guidance that allowed individual expression and style. I enjoyed being able to stay on site in the comfortable and stylish Moor and Sea accommodation, where Bridget and Richard gave us a warm welcome and the just delicious soup lunches. The only disappointment was the snow which meant that I couldn’t explore more of the beautiful coastline, but that can be rectified by booking on to another of the Moor and Sea courses :) !"

Moor and Sea Holidays responded:

"We are so pleased you enjoyed the course and your stay at Moor and Sea .. hopefully sunshine next time!"

Ruben reviewed: One day MMA/MIG welding course

"Thank you very much for the day. It was a good day"

Allied Welding School responded:

"Thank you Ruben, review much appreciated. Glad you had a good day. Kind regards David"

Kate Stott reviewed: Tool Sharpening

"Philip is a knowledgeable and supportive teacher, I came away from these two days confident about how to sharpen a wide selection of cutting tools. During the course we had enough time to tune and sharpen one or two chisels, a bench plane and a couple of cabinet scrapers. The workshop is spacious with plenty of room for students and tools and we had access to a number of grinding machines - really helpful in making my own mind up about my next kit purchase. Be prepared to get stuck in; this is not show-and-tell it's definitely hands-on and, depending on how out of shape your tools are, a good upper body workout. I certainly appreciated the ready supply of cups of tea - a chance to relax and get to know my fellow students and Philip a bit better. Highly recommended."

Rachel reviewed: Upholstery for Beginners Workshop - in Preston

"I have never done any upholstery before. I booked onto this workshop to learn some skills to tackle reupholstering a family bedding box. What a fabulous day! Not only did I gain the skills to ‘confidently’ have a go at my bedding box, but I also had such a great time. The whole day was relaxed, friendly and fun. Jo was brilliant, explaining and demonstrating each step clearly and supporting where needed to achieve a lovely little footstool. Would thoroughly recommend. Thank you too to Jo’s mum for the delicious cakes 😊😊. "

The Boho Shed responded:

"I’m so pleased you enjoyed the day Rachel and can’t wait to see your bedding box when finished. Thank you for your lovely review. I will pass your kind comments to Mum. 🙏💕"

Yvonne Gurney reviewed: Stained Glass Traditional Leading Workshop for Beginners

"I booked this course for my sister and myself as neither of us had worked with stained glass before. While I have a lot of crafting experience in other areas, my sister is a complete beginner. Both Mike and Jenny were fantastic. Everything was explained clearly and in bite-size chunks so that it made it easy to move from stage to stage in the process. We absolutely loved it and are very proud of the final results. I recommend this course to anyone, experienced or not. Thank you so much."

Vitreus Art responded:

"Thanks for your review Yvonne, it was a pleasure having you both in the studio!"

Dan Law reviewed: Half Day Intensive Glass Blowing Course

"Fantastic Glass blowing experience. Really friendly and welcoming atmosphere with some expert tuition. It was a fun afternoon and a great opportunity to get creative in a safe environment and learn new skills. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in glass blowing. It was also amazing to see the resident artists work, highlighting the incredible talent at blowfish studios."

Edina reviewed: Basket making for beginners using traditional willow basketry techniques

"Thank you so much for the course yesterday - my daughter and I enjoyed making our baskets under your expert and patient guidance."

Verity Steele reviewed: Moroccan Leather Bookbinding

"I found this course really fascinating. The tutor was extremely knowledgeable and welcoming. He was also very patient when I was a bit slow with stitching my signatures (batches of pages). The end result was a Moroccan-style notebook with embossed leather covers and marbled paper covers on the inside. Really satisfying. Thank you!"

CRAFT DRAFT responded:

"Thanks so much for your kind words. I had an absolutely wonderful time with you! "

Brenda reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"What a fabulous day. It was friendly, informative, a beautiful setting and Giles taught in a relaxed informal manner with plenty of questions, chat and laughter - and complete silence at times when we all focused on our carving. I would recommend this workshop 100%, as a complete novice I’ve learnt so much and came away with a knife and determination to take this up as a long-thought-about hobby. Also the hospitality from Giles and his wife was second to none - thank you. "

Marianne reviewed: 1-to-1 Organic Skincare Workshop at Maid in the Meadow

"Allison was professional, informative, fun, and relaxing to be with and covered everything I expected and more. I was also given a handbook to take home as well as all the products I learned to make. I would thoroughly recommend this interesting and stimulating day course."

Maid in the Meadow responded:

"Thank you for your review Marianne. It was a pleasure to spend the day with you and I hope you are enjoying the gorgeous products you made. As promised I will forward the updated material to you in the next few days and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Kindest regards, Allison "

Tony Smith reviewed: Blacksmithing Introductory Workshop - One Day

"This course was a Christmas gift from my daughters and my partner. As I am a retired "DIY-er", they thought it would appeal. I have to say they were absolutely spot on. From first introductions with the tutor and the other course members, the whole day was very enjoyable. We laughed when it was appropriate but I felt secure in "bashing the metal" as safety was always the primary focus. The tutor made his examples look quick and easy (expected) but my work took longer (never done it before so also expected). At no time was this an issue - patient explanation of the whys and wherefores helped throughout the day. I would highly recommend this as an experience to savour and enjoy. My only criticism - the leaky electric kettle. I think it would be a good idea to furnish the forge with a new one. "

Stanwick Lakes Art and Craft Courses responded:

"Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are very happy that you enjoyed the workshop and shall pass your comments onto the course tutor. We have noted your comment about the kettle too! We hope to see you here at Stanwick Lakes again soon. Best wishes, The Stanwick Lakes team."