Latest reviews

Aaron Eason reviewed: Watercolour Mastery An Intensive 4 Day Live workshop (2nd-5th Sept)

"From not painting before, Purnima was patient and knowledgeable from start to finish. I feel inspired to give painting a go and feel I have acquired many skills to help me along the way. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thank you very much! (Botanical Gardens Leicester)"

Art By Purnima responded:

"Well done you have made a great start to painting florals hope to teach you again in the Beautiful botanical Gardens"

Sue Hopwood reviewed: Watercolour Mastery An Intensive 4 Day Live workshop (2nd-5th Sept)

"Helpful, well-paced workshop with a good mix of demonstration, independent work and feedback. Learning how to layer colours was particularly helpful."

Art By Purnima responded:

"Well done you have made a great start to painting florals hope to teach you again in the Beautiful botanical Gardens"

Allison reviewed: Make a silver ring or bangle

"This was my first visit to Lucy's course. What can I say, fantastic. Lucy made me feel so welcome and I truly enjoyed myself. I did an Enamel course, making earrings and pendants on copper blanks and took them home. Lucy was a great teacher and I learnt so much in a day. Highly recommended. Thank you Lucy x"

Claire Havard reviewed: Silver jewellery making class for beginners

"We had a lovely day making jewellery. The instructions were very clear and Jonathan was very patient. We are very proud of our creations and would definitely recommend. "

Salt Way Silver responded:

"Thank you for choosing Salt Way Silver. It was a pleasure to help you and your mum with your silver jewellery. The stacking rings and earrings that you made are really impressive. Well done! Jonathan!"

Chris reviewed: Crafty Basketry's Willow Basket Making for Beginners/Improvers - Day Course at Cowshed Workshop, Tenterden, Kent

"I spent a day with Marianne last Sunday at the Cowshed Workshop and made an obelisk, plant stand and a dragonfly! Marianne is a kind, patient teacher who explains really well and I came home with 3 things that I am really proud of. A fun day in beautiful surroundings, learning an ancient skill."

Crafty Basketry responded:

"Thank you very much for your review, Chris. So wonderful to hear that you're loving your items. They look so amazing. Especially the cloche! Lovely. Great to meet your friends. You were a lovely bunch. Hope to see you again sometime. Many thanks and best wishes, Marianne"

Martin Sims reviewed: Beginners 1-day 1-2-1 woodturning workshop for 1 person

"Thank you to Simon at Blended Monkey for a fantastic day being introduced to the delights of wood turning. If you have been wondering what wood turning might be like, then I urge you to reach out to Blended Monkey - Simon's patience, direction and encouragement was the best way to experience wood turning for the first time. I ended the day with a fantastic sycamore bowl - something to remember the day and inspire further wood turning efforts. Thanks again Simon - likely to be in touch soon to learn more about the craft. Ride the bevel and keep those tools sharp :)"

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

"Hi Martin, Thank you for your (very prompt!) review. So glad you enjoyed your day. Your notes will be with you shortly and, if you have any questions or suggestions, please get in touch. -- Simon"

Annie reviewed: Silver jewellery making class for beginners

"What a great day! It was relaxed and friendly and Jonathan had the course pitched at just the right level for beginners making it really easy to understand what we were trying to achieve. We built up skills during the morning that allowed us to make our own silver jewellery in the afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed learning a new skill and think we were all proud of what we had achieved in a day - very wearable, individual jewellery. "

Salt Way Silver responded:

"Thank you for your very kind words Annie (and Sally!). It was a good day and great to see your confidence grow, and your designs become reality. Well done, and thank you for choosing Salt Way Silver. Jonathan"

Kate D reviewed: Bug box, family home pottery kit, DIY craft at home, takeaway clay fun

"My kids LOVED this kit, spent several hours making little big families and flower nests which they proudly presented to us as gifts... a mum wasp, dad wasp and 3 little kid wasps... just brilliant and very nicely packaged and described. Thank you.. we'll be back for more kits!! Ideal for rainy school holidays. "

Joseph Meadows reviewed: Rustic Stool Making Course, 2 days

"Loved it, attended with my girlfriend and we both enjoyed the experience. The instructor was very friendly and knew his stuff. I'm now on the lookout for some woodworking tools to expand on these skills at home..."

Stanwick Lakes Art and Craft Courses responded:

"Thank you for leaving us a lovely review. We are very pleased that you both enjoyed the course. Best wishes, The Stanwick Lakes team."

Hazel Clark reviewed: 3 hour Silver jewellery course

"Richard made us very welcome in his workshop and taught us how to make a silver ring by demonstrating the techniques on his own worked example. His step by step instructions were very clear and gave us confidence to do our own rings. It was a surprise to end up with a shiny, decorated ring after just three hours! "

Richard Hartley reviewed: 1 to 1 Bladesmithing or Blacksmithing

"My wife bought this course for my birthday. I'm glad she did. What a great experience. IAN WAS FANTASTIC. The whole day was interesting from start to finish and you go home with the hand crafted knife you make with your own hands. Thanks for making my day "

Phil Sutcliffe reviewed: Yorkshire Rose stone carving class

"My grandson and I had a fantastic day learning to carve with Helen. Would recommend the course to anyone who has been thinking about stone carving. Helen is a brilliant tutor, she is friendly, confident in her students ability (even when we weren’t!), is patient and makes you feel very welcome. Thank you for a great experience Helen "

The West Riding Stonecarving Association responded:

"Thank you. I'm glad you both enjoyed the day.😊"

Cath Daley reviewed: Small outdoor plaster hare sculpture kit (30cm) with full video instructions by Jo Garden Art

"We took 4 of the hare sculpture kits away with us on holiday for something to do with my severely sight impaired mother-in-law and my aunt. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were delighted with the finished “works of art”. My mother-in-law was particularly pleased as it is so difficult to find activities for us to all do together. The instructions were really clear and it was good that we could break it down into stages and do a little bit over the course of a few evenings. She wants to do another one very soon. Fab!"

Jo Garden Art responded:

"Thank you so much Cath - what a lovely review and it was heart warming to receive your email with photos of your family making the hares. Sculpture is so tactile and personal and I'm delighted your sight impaired mother in law enjoyed the experience so much. Jo xx"

Becci W reviewed: Batik - hot wax full day workshop

"I had a lovely day with Jane today learning about batik. Jane is friendly and knowledgeable about batik. I have learned so much today and will be looking at future courses soon. Thank you so much. I highly recommend taking one of these courses. You wont regret it. "

Jane’s Celebration Services responded:

"Thank you so much Becci for a lovely review. It was lovely to meet you, so glad you enjoyed your day. I hope you get your batik pot out at home and continue to explore this lovely craft. See you again. Jane x"

Kay & Bryan reviewed: Creative Vibe - Glassblowing Sessions

"We both loved this course - Ricky was such a patient teacher and helped us immensely. Would definitely recommend this course - we each came away with four beautiful glass pieces that we are really proud of. "

Buffy Tucker reviewed: Charcoal making and drawing at Walderchain Wood, Canterbury

"Peaceful day in the woods...primarily to understand how charcoal is made for drawing. I love drawing with charcoal, it's so versatile for expressing light, dark, subtlety...you can rub it back and rework and also emphasise line and tones as you wish. I had no idea I could make enough for my own use at my own home, and good enough quality. It's quite a mindful experience, as we also become attuned to the life of the birds and creatures around us. Mark is so informative about raptors in the sky above us, and the life beneath our feet too. The process of charcoal making is explained....the need to exclude oxygen, the timing, etc. The excellent tutoring by Kim allows all to experiment with mark-making if you need further familiarity with this medium. And invaluably, she helped us find a way into producing a drawing....what do you exclude, what direction do you take, what do you work into? Cristina's wonderful veggie food was most welcome and absolutely was perfect for what we needed...and it's a social experience, forged between likeminded people. Totally worth it. If you haven't sat in the woods lately under an amazing parachute canopy and gone home smelling of delicious woodsmoke, do it. "

Walderchain Wood responded:

"Buffy Thank you for your lovely review. Glad you enjoyed the day and got so much from in it. All the best Mark"

Michael Bonnici reviewed: Make a Wooden Tool Box

"The toolbox course provided a wonderful “maker” experience. The content, preparation, instruction, pace, level of complexity and support were totally appropriate for the young attendees. "

Ash & Co. Workshops responded:

"Hi Michael, thank you for your lovely review and so pleased you enjoyed the experience 😁 Many thanks, Jonty "

Martin reviewed: One to One Leathercraft Workshop

"Brilliant day learning about leather and how to craft it from a Master Craftsperson and excellent teacher. Really gentle teaching at my own pace and very much supporting self directed learning. I arrived full of questions and there was never a moment when I felt she was pushing me into just getting on with the task. Totally brilliant day. Thoroughly recommended."

Carolyn reviewed: Traditional Jewellery Making Workshop

"I had a wonderful day which started with a warm welcome ( and delicious coffee) on arrival. Ian is an extremely knowledgeable and talented jeweller who was patient, helpful and informative throughout. I left with a beautiful ring which I will treasure . Thank you both for a memorable day."

Goldwrightsjewelleryschool responded:

"Thank you Carolyn you made such a beautiful ring. A day to remember :)"

Caroline L reviewed: Willow workshops

"We had a very enjoyable and productive afternoon, creating an obelisk as well as a peony plant support. Extremely clear guidance in a friendly way, felt I learned a lot and am keen to make more. Sharon is perfect, providing the right level of support and training whilst keeping it fun. "

Sharon Pottery Classes responded:

"Thank you Caroline for your kind review. It’s always good to get feedback on the pace of learning, enjoyment and of course satisfaction with the results. We had a lovely afternoon and the weather was kind thankfully! I do hope you are able to make more supports for your garden, thanks again, Sharon."

Kate D reviewed: Mosaic Craft Kit - Green & Red Sparkly Dragon

"Made a wonderful present for my 8 year old dragon loving neighbour, beautifully presented and easy to follow instructions. Thank you!"

Montet Designs responded:

"Thank you for your lovely feedback! It's great that you enjoyed my kit and that it was a fab handmade gift for your neighbour :)"

Kate D reviewed: Mosaic Craft Kit - Turquoise Iridescent Dragonfly

"Kids absolutely LOVED making this and the results are stunning... thank you so much! A great way to enjoy a rainy day of school holidays. "

Montet Designs responded:

"I'm so delighted that you had such a great time creating my dragonfly mosaic kit! :) Thanks for your lovely feedback. Audrey "

Wendy Harrison reviewed: Beginners 1-day 1-2-1 pottery / ceramics workshop for 1 person

"Well! I had such a lovely day. Very relaxed and just lots of scope to develop and stretch ideas. Super teaching with really positive feedback making you feel like you can achieve anything! I still have lots of scope for achieving though …may have to come back a few times for throwing practice. Would thoroughly recommend the 1-2-1 day … and have been boring anyone who’ll listen to me about what a thoroughly brilliant experience it is. "

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

"Wendy, it was lovely to have you in the studio and I'm really pleased that you enjoyed your ceramics experience. I'm glad you felt you had the room to expand your own ideas (that's exactly what I like to encourage :-)). Would be happy to have you back for a throwing-only session. Take care and thanks for the lovely review! "

Cathy Kenyon reviewed: Make a set of stacking rings silversmithing workshop

"This was a great half day course, plenty to learn . A great teacher with so much knowledge and very experienced. I will definitely attend another course there."

Jen and the girls reviewed: Silver ring making workshop

"Thank you so much for a so wonderful day, we learned so much and are all thrilled with what we made. Highly recommended, thanks again "

Chris Lewis Jewellery Design responded:

"Thank you so much for your lovely review! Always a pleasure"