Latest reviews

Anne Leadbetter reviewed: Clay sculpture workshops - Monday evening

"I have attended four of Beatrice Hoffman's Clay Sculpture workshops and have enjoyed every minute of each one. I have been to weekend workshops and one-day ones, and in those few sessions I have learnt a massive amount about working with this fabulous material. This is mainly because Beatrice is an inspiring teacher, who allows her students to develop their own creative ideas whilst working alongside them to teach relevant skills and techniques. It is also a very relaxing and therapeutic pastime - the time just flies! She is painstaking in her advice and instruction and makes the sessions fun and enjoyable. Her enthusiasm is infectious and I have become very keen myself to produce more clay sculptures and improve my skills. I am looking forward to the next one, and would recommend her workshops to anyone, beginner or the more experienced student - you will enjoy it!"

Marty reviewed: Blacksmithing Beginners day courses in Yorkshire and the North East

"Got the course as Christmas present from the wife and my dad came along as a present from my mam. All we could say all day was best Christmas present ever! We had an absolute blast all day and it’s so nice to get an insight into a true art. We enjoyed it so much we are booking onto the rams head poker course in September!"

Hazel Young reviewed: Making a mosaic with slate

"The Slate mosaic class was excellent. Rachel was a great tutor and the set up was super with a good range of materials to work with help on hand and inspiration from many of Rachels pieces."

M. S. reviewed: Clay sculpture workshops - Monday evening

"I first came to Beatrice with my husband and daughter (all total beginners) for two private sessions. We all got completely absorbed and produced pieces that we were proud of. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed handling the clay and how calming it was. The studio and garden environment is very inspiring and I found Beatrice’s teaching style really effective, with gentle guidance and support that puts you in control of the process but with lots of support when needed; her eye and advice is invaluable to help point you in the right direction. I have now got hooked and have been coming to a regular fortnightly class for the past term. I am gaining so much from these sessions, both about shape and form but also about myself and the way that I work. Sculpting helps me to slow down and pay attention to detail in a way that I am finding very therapeutic."

Sculpture Workshops Oxford responded:

"Thank you , Anne! that is very encouraging!"

Diane reviewed: Bird sculpture - clay, paper, mixed media craft workshop

"A fantastic day. Went with my two children and my daughter was so delighted to have made something herself just like she might have seen for sale in art gallery."

NIKKI SZABO responded:

"Hi Diane, Thank you for coming onto the workshop, it was so lovely meeting you all. You and your children did a fantastic job and created some gorgeous pieces of art work. Well done! Because of your interest in the lantern workshops. I shall be adding it onto the website, sooner rather than later. So keep your eyes peeled and hopefully see you all again very soon! Best wishes, Nikki x"

Natalie Rowe reviewed: Have a Go Pottery: throwing

"I bought a 1-1 with Mary for my partner who has always had an interest in pottery but never tried it. Mary was so lovely, she had a real way of explaining things (and making it look amazingly easy with her demonstrations). She has great attention to detail and plenty of patience. As a complete beginner Mary was fabulous, but looking at some of her beautiful pieces, I don't doubt that she'd be a great inspiration and teacher to those just looking for the next step or a refresher course."

Emma Briscoe reviewed: Intro to 3D wet felting; make a small vessel using a resist with Purr & Wag It, Tabletop Workshops

"We had such an amazing day with Heather creating our 3D pieces. She explained the technique really clearly and gave us support, advice and the confidence to develop the basic method and try out our own designs all fuelled by Heather's delicious cake and soup. Highly recommended."

Emma Briscoe reviewed: Felt Pictures-Painting with fibres - intro to 2D wet felting/felt making

"We had such an amazing day with Heather creating our 2D pieces. She explained the technique really clearly and gave us support, advice and the confidence to develop the basic method and try out our own designs. Highly recommended."

Joanne reviewed: Inspired by Nature II

"Having attended Sabrina natural botanical dye talk, I can’t wait to attend the workshop to get some hands on experience. I loved the whole sustainability connection to nature and was surprised at how so much vegetable and plant kitchen waste can be used to make living colours. Sabrina is very knowledgable and passionate about the natural dying process and being environmentally friendly. I found the whole process intriguing how avocado stones and skins can make lovely pink dyes. Sabrina shared lots of samples to show how her botanical dyes can produce very different colours and effects depending on the natural fabrics used. The talk was very informative, relaxed and friendly."

Stephen Porter reviewed: Blacksmithing Beginners day courses in Yorkshire and the North East

"Thanks for a great day! Everything about it was good. A wonderful experience. Highly recommend it. Thank you! Steve Porter."

Shona reviewed: Beginners 2 sterling silver stacking rings jewellery course

"I had a wonderful few hours learning how to make my stacking rings. Sarah is a patient, encouraging and enthusiastic teacher and she made everything seem very straightforward. It was great to be able to leave with two rings that I made myself. Would thoroughly recommend this course!"

Shelley Kalewski reviewed: Annie Sloan Method with Chalk Paint for Upcycling Furniture at La Di Da Interiors - The Basics

"I really enjoyed this course. It was full of really good information and gave me the confidence to have a go at a few projects myself. Steph was really patient in answering all the questions. Already booked myself onto another course!!"

Jackie o'kelly reviewed: Necklaces, handmade beads, ancient fresco-style, papiermache recipe

"A Thoroughly enjoyable day making the bead necklace from eggboxes. With step by step instruction of how to do each stage, the final results were beautiful, all very unique necklaces and earrings! Our tutor Eleanor was very interesting and very hospitable!"

Lucy Grant reviewed: Painting with wool & silk fibres - Feltmaking

"Fantastic day. Learnt such a lot and Barbara was super. Thank you so much. Will definitely be returning to learn some more skills."

Feltworld - Creative Arts responded:

"Thank you Lucy, Looking forward to teaching you the next level of feltmaking techniques. Barbara"

Liz reviewed: Small needle felted animals or pictures

"Had a splendid day and created what i consider to be a very good hare. Very relaxed and supportive atmosphere with all you need provided and as much or as little guidance as you need. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Barbara as a teacher."

Feltworld - Creative Arts responded:

"Thank you Liz :-). Loved your cute hare. If you want any advice on refining the detail, please let me know. Barbara"

Kirsty Sneddon reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"A fantastic day in beautiful surroundings, and the warmest welcome from both Lynn and Jenny. I loved the relaxed atmosphere and everyone was very friendly and we all worked well together. Refreshments throughout the day and a wonderful lunch. So glad I booked my place and highly recommend to anyone looking to start making homemade soap. I'm not the most creative, but the craft table had so much choice, I loved the packaging I made for my soap Thanks again ladies for a wonderful day. Kirsty"

The Arienas Collective responded:

"Hello Kirsty. Thank you so much for your lovely review, and glad to hear you enjoyed your day with us so much. We believe there's a creative inside everyone just waiting to get out - so it's great to know that you surprised yourself with your gift wrapping skills! We thought you did amazingly well. Hope to welcome you back another time. Lynn :-)"

Sarah South reviewed: Introducing Macrame Knots and Intricate Designs

"Myself and my two teenage daughters completed this workshop with Mary yesterday. Mary was a good teacher, and generously provided us with tea and biscuits. She gave us 1:1 support and all three of us were very pleased with the little wall hangings we made and brought home. My daughters have instructed me to buy macramé materials so they can make more, which will hopefully get them off their phones and ipads. Thank you Mary."

Craig nisbet reviewed: Making a mosaic with slate

"Rachel was fantastic and very welcoming. Everything we needed was provided and were spoiled for choice with so many options of different slate and glass available. Rachel’s instruction was excellent, and she was happy to give as much or as little input as you wanted. Would definitely recommend, thanks again!"

Bee reviewed: Customised Resin Crafting with Cricut Workshop

"Absolutely fantastic day. Really informative and fun. Good ground knowledge now to carry on independently and explore this amazing craft further. Clare was so lovely and very patient with us all, highly recommend this course. Another big plus was having a shop on site, so can purchase all you need to carry on at home. Thanks Clare ? Waiting on the info for the jewellery day, need to come back!"

Resin8 responded:

"Yay - thank you so much!!"

Jess Hughes reviewed: Blacksmith experience day in Bristol with Joanna Williams, Fire Iron Art

"What a great day - Jo and her workshop are truly inspiring. I learnt loads. Excellent tuition, safety, encouragement and expertise. I highly recommend this fabulous course. Do it!"

Fire Iron Art Blacksmithing responded:

"It was a pleasure to teach you Jess! You picked everything up really well and created some great pieces including your stunning Dragonfly sculpture. Best wishes Joanna"

Jo Martin reviewed: Two day needle felting a wired armature animal

"I really enjoyed this course at Clearspace studios, the other participants were really friendly and it was all very professional with great facilities and lovely refreshments and a lovely local cafe for supplying lunches. Karin is an excellent inspiring teacher and gave me the confidence to make a needle felt otter. She was very generous with her knowledge and equipment and this was reflected in the amazing felted animals that were made over the two days. I am really looking forward to trying my new skills out at home now."

Graham Aymes reviewed: Bladesmithing Experience Day

"Very interesting everything was explained well from the forging of the blade to final grinding and finishing by polishing. I have used knives for the past 60 years but I have never had one as sharp as the one I made. It still cuts a sheet of paper cleanly by holding the paper on edge and slicing it through. I can recommend the course. Many thanks. Graham Aymes."

Graham Aymes reviewed: ** SPECIAL OFFER ** 10% off - Bladesmithing Experience Day - Wiltshire

"Very interesting everything was explained well from the forging of the blade to final grinding and finishing by polishing. I have used knives for the past 60 years but I have never had one as sharp as the one I made. It still cuts a sheet of paper cleanly by holding the paper on edge and slicing it through. I can recommend the course. Many thanks. Graham Aymes."

Lesley Nisbet reviewed: Making a mosaic with slate

"Thoroughly enjoyed this course. Rachel was great and gave as much or as little direction as each individual wanted. She is very knowledgeable and has a lovely encouraging manner. Though this was my first time working with slate I was delighted with the tile I produced."