Latest reviews

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

"My second visit to Jo Garden Art ! I enjoyed making a hare so much that I returned with two friends to make a medium hare. Thoroughly enjoyed the day as you get completely lost in creating your hare. All the different stages are fascinating and so clever. I'm not ruling out a third visit in the future."

Jo Garden Art responded:

"A trio of hares 🙌🤗. So happy you enjoy this process Mel. Hope to see you back again, Jo xx"

Rob Donnelly reviewed: Woodturning for beginners

"Excellent two days with Stuart in August 2023. I had done a little turning before (albeit self taught) and this was excellent to build knowledge and skills. We covered safety, equipment, tools, wood preparation and choice, turning skills and finishing. Stuart is an excellent teacher - patient, clear and responsive to what you need and want to do. I particularly appreciated the practice and skill building on wood offcuts as much as making something which we did as well. I'm hooked, have invested in a lathe and some tools and will look to practice my new skills. Thank you Stuart."

The Scottish Woodturner responded:

"Thanks Rob, Glad you've got the bug."

Jo reviewed: Explore your Creativity in Enamels - an introductory morning of enamelling for 2 people

"My friend and I had a lovely morning enamelling workshop with Christine where we learnt lots about enamelling and with shaky hands fired our pieces (small round earrings for me and a pendant for my friend) stage by stage. The possibilities are endless and we had a great creative time. Christine was fab at suggesting ways to achieve what we wanted. I want to go back to look over her shop too for Christmas gifts! Thank you!"

Original Kiln-fired Enamelled Jewellery responded:

"Thank you, Jo. I’m so pleased you both found so much enjoyment in the session and were really happy with the jewellery you made. Despite your trepidation over balancing them as you put them into the kiln to fire, your simple but very effective designs were a real achievement as first pieces of enamelling. The earrings look great - thanks for the photo, I’m sure you will both wear your jewellery often and with well deserved pride."

Diane reviewed: Cyanotype Prints - the fundamentals and more ...

"A busy day with lots of techniques to experiment with. Judy explained and demonstrated the basics of the processes and then we had free reign to try them out using the materials she had prepared for us. The workspace was a little crowded but we made good use of the garden and it was fine. We came away with lots of pieces of work created. I'm intrigued to see what else I can do by experimenting, and am ordering supplies now! Thank you for the tea loaf too - scrummy!"

Judy P. dye - print - weave responded:

"Thanks Diane. I’m glad you enjoyed the day and the tea loaf!! I am Grateful for your feedback on space. I plan to reduce the number of workshop participants accordingly, especially as Autumn approaches. Look forward to seeing your results as you further experiment. Judy "

Rob & Lucy Dowthwaite reviewed: Pottery throwing sessions on the potter's wheel in Norfolk

"Pat delivered a fantastic intro course to pottery with a well organised 2 hour session using the spinning wheel. Myself & my wife who are complete amateurs followed Pat’s instructions and we had 8 pots by the end of our spinning. Really informative and friendly, I’d recommend this to anyone. Thanks Pat"

Pat Southwood responded:

"Thank you Rob, you did brilliantly!"

Fiona reviewed: Stained Glass Workshop at the Warehouse 2nd & 3rd September 2023

"Absolutely fabulous course. Never done anything remotely "arty" previously. Jo takes you through every step at a comfortable pace, on hand to help as needed, but leaves you to it for the most part so the work feels truly your own. I have recommended this course to so many others, I feel my imagination has be reignited and can't wait to start creating my next piece. "

Jo Turner Stained Glass responded:

"Thank you for your lovely review. I am pleased you enjoyed the course and hope you are enjoying your gorgeous piece of stained glass. Best wishes, Jo 🙂"

Nathan reviewed: Beginners spoon carving

"I had no expectations or indeed much experience with using an axe (other than to occasionally split logs), so I was amazed that I could take a log and make a spoon from it. Nick was a great teacher, full of advice and useful information. I am waiting for the right tools to do justice to my learning but feel inspired and much more confident working wood both with a knife and axe! Thanks"

Gosman Spoon Co. responded:

"Thank you Nathan! We’re so glad you enjoyed your day and the experience. Please just contact me if you have any questions about tools."

martin peter harrison reviewed: Basic blacksmithing course

"This retirement birthday present was fantastic, great place. Very friendly and helped you with anything, but you still make it. I will do it again as I live quite near. Thanks for a great weekend "

Colin Wingfield reviewed: Wooden mechanical toy (automata) making

"Fantastic fun. This was bought for me as a gift and I did not know what to expect. Stef was brilliant. Friendly fun and very informative. I had a great time and would recommend it to anyone of any ability. "

Penlan Crafts responded:

"Hi Colin, thank you very much for your nice review. Glad you had a good experience! Best regards, Stef"

Patricia reviewed: Organic Skincare Workshop 2 Attendees £90 per person

"The day spent with Allison at Maid in the Meadow was so pleasant and I highly recommend. I learned about organic formulations- from facial oils, balms and face creams. I have wanted to learn to make skin care products and this course jump started me and gave me confidence to continue and try new things too. Allison is flexible and tailored the day for me. She is very knowledgeable and made sure I understood the why behind the how. The setting is in her lovely workshop surrounded by wonderful flowers and greenery. This is a great day with friends, family or just by yourself."

Maid in the Meadow responded:

"Thank you so much for your lovely review and recommendation Patricia. It was a pleasure to spend the day with you. I'm so glad you enjoyed your day in my workshop and I hope you and your husband are enjoying the products you made. Don't forget if there is any further information you need or any questions you may have following the workshop, please don't hesitate to contact me. Kind regards Allison"

Hilary Roome reviewed: Crafty Basketry's Willow Basket Making for Beginners - Day Course at Penhurst Retreat Centre, East Sussex

"Marianne is a very good teacher - clear instructions, patient and inspiring. I came away with a beautiful basket which I feel proud of. I gained knowledge and skills to be used again, I hope."

Beverly Eksteen reviewed: Crafty Basketry's Willow Basket Making for Beginners - Day Course at Penhurst Retreat Centre, East Sussex

"I had a wonderful day in Winchelsea making a basket. Marianne is a kind, gentle and very patient teacher. It was a fun social day and coming away with a beautiful basket was a huge bonus. 😍 I will definitely be attending the next course in Winchelsea. Thank you Marianne "

Crafty Basketry responded:

"Thanks so much for your amazing review, Beverly! So great to hear you had a wonderful day! On to the next one, which looks like 15th October in Tenterden, as the next Winchelsea one will be on 9th December. I will be in touch. Thank you!"

Sandra reviewed: Silver jewellery making workshop for 2 people

"Booked the workshop for a 21st Birthday present. Julie sent a beautiful voucher to give to my Son’s girlfriend and the two of them attended the workshop. They both thoroughly enjoyed it and each made a ring to remember the special day, a lovely keepsake."

Jewellery By Julie responded:

"Thank you for the kind review. I had a wonderful time with your son and his girlfriend. Their rings were beautiful and very well made."

Abby reviewed: Pottery throwing in Huddersfield

"I booked this for a friend's birthday and we both had an amazing time. Geoff really looked after us and guided us through the whole process. We both left very chuffed with ourselves for having made something despite being complete beginners."

Earth Pig Pottery responded:

"Thank you for your review. I’m so glad you enjoyed the session. It was great to meet you both."

Gillian Ely reviewed: Charcoal making and drawing at Walderchain Wood, Canterbury

"A cathartic, restorative and informative day. Prior to the course Mark’s email with clear instructions set a friendly, professional and minimal hassle tone which was great. A cheery greeting from Mark, Christina, Kim and the woofers before meeting other attendees, having a cuppa and listening to essential, clear safety instructions by the charcoal burning place and undercover area set up for drawing began the course. Simple pleasure of camaraderie whilst whittling bark off what was to become artists’ charcoal and benefitting from Mark’s explanation of the process, techniques and troubleshooting advice for making charcoal at home after the class was very relaxing. Kim demonstrated the mark making potential of a batch they’d got going earlier so, without any rushing, there was a harmonious flow to the morning completely in tune with the verdant quiet of the woodland. Our prepared sticks were put on to cook -Mark keeping us informed about the signs of progress - as Kim started us off with some warm up drawing exercises. These were brilliant, surprisingly meditative, informative and insightful as we drew with our eyes shut responding to the sounds, smells and sensations of the environment. Definitely an exercise to repeat in my own time as it unlocked the drawing muscles literally and as a considered beginning to looking/ sketching/ looking/ thinking/ drawing/ looking which brought out aspects of practice I hadn’t been aware of when in my studio. Fascinating and enriching to see the work, hear the thoughts of course mates - important when so much of the artistic process is solo. Glad of the forethought of Mark and Kim having a sheltered space for us as the rain threw down a challenge! The majority of the day was outside in the magic of the trees, what a privilege to enjoy that space - would happily pay to be able to draw there with Kim’s input and the outstanding hospitality of Mark and Christina. Christina deserves a category of her own in this review - she’s a talented maker in her own right (basketry) but oh my she is an alchemist in her kitchen! Lunch was divine. Dining together at the long table in the company of happy, inquisitive artists, surrounded by beautiful vegetarian food had most of us wondering how we’d focus on the afternoon- not a problem (nothing was) as Kim and Mark had us back out in the woods, seeing, drawing, really looking through new eyes. This was my first foray into a social group outside my house for any reason since a brain injury 4 years ago, I can’t put into words what this meant to be included, accepted, involved and to feel ABLE as well as unconditionally welcome. An enormous thanks to my course mates for being unfazed by my brain freezing later in the afternoon and heartfelt gratitude to Mark, Christina and Kim for their knowledge, willingness to share, encouragement and making what read as a good course description on paper into a superb experience. Looking forward to seeing what courses this trio of fine people come up with next. "

Walderchain Wood responded:

"Wow, what a review! Thank you. Was a pleasure to meet you and am bowled over by how you felt about your day with us. Until the next time All the best Mark, Cristina and Kim "

Andrew reviewed: Dry Stone Walling Taster weekend (2 days) - Bannau Brycheiniog

"An excellent course, with plenty of instruction and support from the trainers but also a full hands-on experience, with minimum time spent on 'classroom' learning. This was exactly what I wanted - a practical and active day learning a new skill and in the fresh air and space of a spectacular location. I'd recommend this course to anyone who has a dry stone walling project they want to tackle at home, who wants to get involved with an organisation and longer term projects, or anyone who just wants to get outside, get some exercise and have a tangible product to admire at the end of the weekend."

Chris reviewed: Introduction to traditional stained glass (1 day) in Sheffield, South Yorkshire

"This was an absolutely wonderful workshop and I loved it. The day was well structured with all tools and equipment to hand on individual work benches. Martin is a fantastic teacher who explained and demonstrated the techniques very clearly, and was on hand to give one-to-one help (which I needed a lot of). He was very encouraging and patient, and made us all feel we were doing well on our projects. As I’d never done anything like this before, I was very pleased to finish the day with a beautiful piece of stained glass. I would highly recommend this workshop."

Martin McAssey Glass responded:

"Thank you for the lovely review."

Pat reviewed: Spoon carving at Walderchain Wood, Canterbury

"I very much enjoyed the course with Mark on carving wooden spoons. His instructions on how to use axes and very sharp knives were essential and very useful. My very first wooden spoon wasn’t too bad. The venue in the woods was magical and the lunch was delicious. Thank you for a lovely day."

Walderchain Wood responded:

"Pat Thank you for the review. So glad to hear the day was good for you. All the best Mark and Cristina"

Cathy Kenyon reviewed: Fused glass landscape workshop

"I had a lovely experience at the Glass fusion class. Diana is a great teacher with so much knowledge and ideas. I look forward to attending another class."

Crafty Diane Gift Shop, Art Gallery and Craft workshops responded:

"Thanks Cathy. I look forward to you joining another class x"

Les reviewed: Spoon Carving with Touchwood Glasgow

"A fantastic course, I thoroughly enjoyed my day and would highly recommend to anyone wishing to try out some skills in woodcarving. I didn't imagine we would be turning out a spoon from a log of wood in the time that we had, amazing. Robert was a great instructor and made the course enjoyable with his enthusiasm, in-depth knowledge and good humour throughout the day. Oh, my spoon looked superb, all others did also."

Stuart Hillston reviewed: Green Man stone carving in Yorkshire

"This was a wonderful weekend of stone-carving, with lots of learning from the marvellous tutor, Helen. I came home with a piece to be proud of, met some lovely people, and thoroughly enjoyed myself over the whole weekend."

The West Riding Stonecarving Association responded:

"Thank you for taking time out and sending a review. Much appreciated. "

Leise Lewis reviewed: Dragonfly The Swannery, Abbotsbury

"Hi Jo, thank you for a great day. So enjoyed making the willow dragonfly. Will definitely be back to do another workshop. "

Jo Sadler Willow responded:

"Thanks Leise You made such a lovely dragonfly sculpture, really fantastic. Glad you enjoyed the day. You were all great company!! "

Carl Bennett reviewed: Dry Stone Walling Taster weekend (2 days) - Abergavenny

""Length is strength" & "Harting is height" with "Lift the line " are several of many sayings that made the weekend. Good team members, all characters in their own right and especially the two "ambassador's of stone" Jamie and Dave. What can be said of these two. Made our weekend more enjoyable (plus the weather helped a bit!!). Almost thinking of going again Mmm! Honestly really good !!"

Chris wiggins reviewed: Mosaic garden plaque workshop am or pm

"Thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing informative mornings tuition."

Chrissy Webster Mosaic & Craft responded:

"Thank you so much. It was a please to see you and share the love of art"

Juliet reviewed: Beginners Basketry - An Introduction to Willow Weaving

"Emma was a delight to learn from, the environment was a pleasure to work in and the finished products are beyond my wildest dreams that I might be able to create."