Latest reviews

Hannah reviewed: Beginners Weaving Workshop in Brighton

"Thoroughly recommend! Was so lovely to do something different. Shiv was a great teacher, really patient and clear with her instructions. I went with friends and we all felt a great sense of achievement with our finished product. Some of us made wall hangings and others made coasters. Would definitely recommend if you fancy doing something creative. Thanks again Shiv!"

Robert reviewed: Blacksmith for a day with Adrian Woods: a 'Quirky Workshop' at Greystoke Craft Garden & Barns near Penrith and Ullswater

"What a fantastic day! Poker much admired and has a perfect home. Thank you all, will be back! Annie, a special thank you for a delicious and sustaining lunch….. couldn't think of a nicer way to cheer up an unpromising November day. All the best Robert"

Chris Wilkins reviewed: Painting animals in watercolour

"I thoroughly enjoyed my painting day with Liz, we covered many aspects of watercolour techniques that Liz has made her own and was very generous in sharing them with us. The animal eyes and tonal values were particularly useful part of the workshop."

Liz Chaderton Artist responded:

"Thanks Chris! So glad you enjoyed it. That’s the first time I’ve used the tonal demonstration in a workshop, so I’m glad it was useful."

Pam Shill reviewed: 4 day course in upholstery, soft furnishings or loose covers

"Just wanted to say a big thank you for last weekend. I was really looking forward to this upholstery course, but I have to say it exceeded all my expectations, I love your enthusiasm for the subject and how you teach, in particular how you stop whatever we are doing to come over and get us to observe when someone else reaches an important stage in their project. The accommodation and food package was also just what I needed, it was like home from home and enabled me to forget about everything else and concentrate on my project for the weekend. Thank you Carl for all the wonderful meals, you both make a great team and I hope to see you again in the future. Pam"

Hester Wain reviewed: A One-day Feltmaking Course to Make a Fabulous Felt Hat in the Beautiful Forest of Dean.

"Fantastic day making hats! Nothing like what I planned, but turned out better! Will be coming back to do more."

Andrew Terry reviewed: A One-day Feltmaking Course to Make a Fabulous Felt Hat in the Beautiful Forest of Dean.

"Amazing what you can do with a bit of fluff! Blue and pink stripes or spots with tassels! Fabulousness personified!!"

Gerard Feeley reviewed: Furniture upcycling workshop - 1 day

"Very good course. Hannah was knowledgeable, flexible and really clear and helpful. I was delighted with the piece I left with"

Tread Softly responded:

"Pleased you enjoyed the course. I was amazed how much you got done in one day and the final piece was superb ?"

Pierre reviewed: Crazy clay creations: hand-building pottery for children and their families

"My girls really enjoy their pottery sessions. Sally is very patient, kind and creative. The girls have developed fine motor skills around sculpture as well as the technical aspects in regard to the materials and creating pottery from concept to finished piece. They love going, and making things like fairy houses has been amazing. One of my girls made a little mug which she uses everyday at breakfast. A fantastic experience all round!! ?"

julie reviewed: [Re]new up-cycling courses with CleanStart: how to up-cycle a side table

"When I visited Clean Start last Saturday to do the day course everyone was extremely helpful and friendly. Willz was very professional and took me through everything step by step. We mixed our own chalk paint and mixed the paint to get my chosen colour. I was given a small coffee table to paint and was shown how to apply the paint/rub it down and re-apply the paint. Once dry was was taught how to distress areas of the furniture that would naturally be worn over time, giving an aged/shabby sheek affect. During each stage from start to finish nothing was too much trouble. I had a great day and I would recommend anyone thinking of upcycling either as a hobby or a business to book on this course! Thank you again Willz for a great day :)"

CleanStart responded:

"Thanks for your lovely review Julie! We thoroughly enjoyed having you in the workshop and were genuinely impressed with your finished piece! Your choice of colours and design choices were exceptional and I am sure you will be able to take the lessons learnt on this course and create beautiful pieces in the future! Thanks again! :)"

Nigel Chowney reviewed: Jewellery workshop for beginners (ring, earrings, pendant or bangle)

"Don’t be put off by the surroundings, with a maximum of four students Marion teaches from a snug but well equipped studio. Initially practicing on cooper, we soon progressed to creating our own unique silver ring. Course duration was just about perfect to finish our creations and the best accolade from a friend was that they looked like shop bought. Thanks Marion for a very enjoyable course and bringing out some previously unknown creativity - Highly recommended."

Ingrid Lackajis reviewed: Two day stone carving course at Chillington Hall

"I wanted to come back to stone carving after many decades and was delighted to find the opportunity, even more delighted that Miranda was such a great teacher. She explains tools and techniques as you go along, an understanding of your stone, and encourages you to see it aesthetically. My Thursday morning group is a wonderful, friendly group, and it is inspiring to see their achievements under Miranda’s guidance. Highly recommended."

Deborah reviewed: Introduction to Natural Dyeing, Mere, Wiltshire

"What a wonderful well prepared put together course. I could see how much thought and prep had gone into giving us as much info and practical to introduce us to the joy of natural dyeing. The day went so quickly, lunch was delicious and I’m totally in love with my samples. Thank you."

Elka responded:

"Thank you for the lovely review Debs, i'm delighted that you enjoyed the workshop and the venue. Very best wishes, Claudia"

Sue Gordon reviewed: Watercolour painting afternoon workshop - birds, animals & nature - with artist Laura Andrew

"I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon painting with Laura and two lovely ladies who I hadn't met before. Laura was very welcoming and it was lovely to see her art in the studio. Her enthusiasm and encouragement was inspiring and the atmosphere was relaxed even though we covered a lot of basic techniques in an afternoon. Thankyou Laura."

Edna reviewed: Make a silver ring or bangle

"I have been working on Silver earrings and felt a bit flat and lacking in inspiration on how to elevate them from being ordinary and functional. I was worrying needlessly though. Lucy encouraged me to work on prototypes for the stamens and before long I was buzzing with enthusiasm and inspiration. This could only come from someone who is a master of their craft."

Marcia Cameron reviewed: Two day stone carving course at Chillington Hall

"I love this saturday morning stone carving course, it's a great way to escape after a busy week. I had no experience at all of stone carving before I started here, but with Mirandas expert tuiton I started off with simple achievable 2 dimensional designs and have progressed to more complex 3 dimensional pieces. All tools and materials are provided. Friendly bunch of like minded people."

Marcia Cameron reviewed: Green Man clay sculpture course

"Great course at the Amerton Art Studio. Parking on site is free and there's a cafe and shop or take your own lunch. In the art studio tea and coffee and biscuits are provided. Miranda the tutor gives great instruction and really gets the best out of you. Lovely friendly group. Tools and everything you need is provided, maybe just take an apron if you think you need one."

Marcia Cameron reviewed: Introduction to portrait sculpture

"Fantastic instruction! On a day course I sculpted a portrait head, I'm amazed at what I achieved in a day. Friendly group and good to spend time with like minded people of mixed abilities. Tea, coffee, biscuits and cake provided. Cafe shop facilities on site or take your own packed lunch. I can thoroughly recommend this course."

Melanie Roan reviewed: Watercolour on canvas

"Liz is a great tutor, creating a lovely warm, relaxed atmosphere conducive to making us creative. She’s well prepared and clear in all her instructions and has the perfect balance of encouragement and constructive critique."

Liz Chaderton Artist responded:

"Thank you so much for taking the time to review the weekend. I’m glad you enjoyed it and hope to see you in 2020!"

Alice reviewed: Mosaic/chat/create! with award winning mosaicist Emma Abel

"Thank you for such a wonderful day - I thoroughly enjoyed being a bit creative. I thought the workshop was fab - you have a lovely teaching style and it’s made me inquisitive to learn more - I will be back!! Your tuition was clear and methodical throughout and I understood what I was aiming to do at each stage. What I enjoyed most was the time out to do something creative, learning something new, your informative teaching style, your ideas and huge range of tesserae."

abelmosaics responded:

"Thanks so much Alice for this feedback, I really enjoyed taking you through the mosaic process and seeing the Bee come to life!"

Diane reviewed: A complete introduction to felt-making

"My friends and I enjoyed a very interesting day on a fe!ting course at Hilary's house, in its beautiful setting. She was very knowledgeable and encouraging and inspired us to make a good selection of felted objects, using different techniques. A goody bag was also included so that we could embellish our artefacts at home. We were delighted with our achievements.. which far exceeded our expectations. We would thoroughly recommend this course! Thank you, Hilary."

Sally Price reviewed: maltese limestone carving at mount pleasant gardens

"A fantastic two days in September spent in beautiful surroundings doing something I thought would be very challenging. It was challenging but in the best possible way. Andrew was a very supportive teacher, I never felt I wasn’t doing well and he steered me to create something lovely. It was physically tiring but not as tough as I expected, mentally it was actually sort of comforting. I definitely want another go at creating from stone. Left tired but happy and cannot recommend it highly enough."

Peter reviewed: Introduction to life drawing

"First class tuition. Miranda knows her stuff! What I like about her teaching is she helps the student to see where they are going wrong for themselves. She allows the student to correct their own mistakes rather than doing it for them. Very important in the learning process. I feel my progression each week. Excellent course, excellent tuition, in a cosy venue, with tea and biscuits. What more could any student want!"

Candi Roach reviewed: Saturday Silver Clay Jewellery Workshop at Ransom's Pavilion, Hitchin 9.30am - 12.30pm

"I thoroughly enjoyed this 3hr class. Tuuli is a great teacher and showed us step by step every process so that it was easy to follow. There was such a large variety of gorgeous stamps, prints, letters and natural moulds/textures to choose from, the difficulty was trying to decide which ones to use! I came away with a lovely pendant which I was able to personalise with letter stamps along with some earrings and another small pendant. I’m so pleased with what I made and it looks really professional. I can’t wait to try making more items at home and I’m sure I’ll be back for another workshop with Tuuli soon. Would highly recommend this course to others."

Tuuli Parker responded:

"That is so great to hear Candi! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such lovely feedback. It is greatly appreciated. Hope to see you again soon!"

Natalie Jones reviewed: Evening Glass fusing workshop with Paula Andrews

"Such a fun and relaxed evening, crafting and having a good chat with other like minded people. Would definitely recommend this for a couple of hours mindfulness."

Kevin reviewed: Screen printing on glass

"This course is fantastic! Jim is a really great and patient teacher and made a huge effort to get the best out of all of us, regardless of our printmaking experience. I took the weekend course after not having printed in any medium since school and still came home with some lovely prints. Jim is very open in giving advice and sharing his personal tips and trips for getting the most out of screenprinting on glass. The classes are intimate and you get a lot of chance for input from Jim on the course. Definitely would recommend to new and experienced printmakers alike."