Latest reviews

Glenn Gooding reviewed: Blacksmithing, bladesmithing and metal craft

"My wife bought us both vouchers to celebrate our wedding anniversary and 6 months later we found time to attend Nigel's One Day Blacksmithing Course. It was a very cold December Saturday when we rocked up. Nigel is a true character, with a story for every occasion! But, what Nigel is, is a true artisan craftsman, with a wealth of experience in his trade and craft that shines through in his teaching. His explanations and demonstrations on the various items we got to make on the day are precise, yet relaxed and well delivered. Soon we were left to wield hammers and tongs to make our first item - a drop forged leaf key ring. What followed, complimented by an unexhaustible river of tea/coffee, came thick and fast. Pokers, toasting forks, acorn key rings were manufactured in quick succession. Everything made with Nigel's advice, help and good humour. As the day progressed, I asked if I could make a wood working marking knife. No problem and we set about forging it. At the end, the knife was exactly what I wanted and all hand made. We couldn't recommend this course highly enough - good chance we will be back, as there is a garden fire pit to be designed and made! Thanks to Maxine and Nigel for a great day."

Debbie Ide reviewed: Natural skincare workshops at Touch of Beauty (half day)

"I bought this course as a gift for my sister. Whar a wonderful relaxing afternoon we had, Sue was so attentive and we made and csme away with so many product's. Sue's knowledge base was great. We will be going back again. Thank you Sue"

Touch of Beauty responded:

"Thank you Debbie for your lovely comments. It was great to meet you both and I hope Kim enjoyed her birthday treat. Its a pleasure sharing with you all the natural ingredients and seeing all the products you make to take home with you. I certainly hope you will come again to Touch of Beauty. Thank you again. Sue"

Jeremy Stadward reviewed: Wood turning courses in the Midlands

"I have just spent a wonderful day with Mark on a 1 to 1 course which has left me exhausted but full of confidence and buzzing. He has an extremely good style of teaching, helping when it is needed and letting you get on with it when he thinks you need to stretch yourself a little. He will suddenly turn up behind you when you are making strange noises with the tools or when he sees, often from the other end of the room, the wrong sort of wood shavings appearing and say just the right thing to calm you down. I must say for a total beginner with zero confidence he has shown me that I can do things and that with a little bit of encouragement I can actually produce things that look good. I walked away that evening full of tea, he is a great maker of brews, encouragement and not a little confidence. Thank you Mark for an amazing day, I will be back! Great value and seriously relaxing in a funny way!"

Catherine Sikakana reviewed: Stained glass weekly classes in Sheffield (South Yorkshire)

"Very enjoyable. Martin is a great tutor, helpful and patient"

Jess reviewed: Bladesmithing Experience Day

"The instructors are amazing super kind Lovely course and loads of fun. Fully recommend."

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

"The instructors are amazing super kind Lovely course and loads of fun. Fully recommend."

Lesa Vaughan reviewed: Introducing Macrame Knots and Intricate Designs

"Mary is fantastic. Her knowledge of macrame is 2nd to none. I had never tried macrame before and had no idea what to expect, I bought the course as a present for my mum and we both attended. We have started getting crafty so this sounded perfect. It was a lovely relaxed afternoon, and Mary was so patient with us. I learnt a lot and found it easy, because of Mary’s instruction. We both had a lovely sampler to take home and have since created wall hangings and plant holders. It was a lovely afternoon, we both learnt a new skill and Mary provided the most yummy biscuits. I would advise anybody to give it a go."

Fiona French and Linton O'Riordan reviewed: Glass Fusing & Slumping Weekend - 2 Days

"We really enjoyed ourselves over the weekend with Jude - she shared her skills and expertise wisely and is a very motivating teacher. Vibrant atmosphere and well stocked studio - we learned many techniques. It would be worth going just for the tuition, but we also took home several lovely pieces we had made ourselves. This craft course is very accessible for people who like to focus on creative tasks for several hours - we came as a family pair and recommend it highly!"

Sue Gate reviewed: 'Glass for the garden' with the Cheshire School of Glass

"My husband booked the Glass for the Garden course for me for my birthday. It was a fantastic day. I made lots of high end stunning garden pieces that I designed myself with Jennifer's help. I was thrilled with results. Jennifer is a lovely teacher with a lot of skill and advice. The best birthday present I've had."

lesley freeman reviewed: 1-to-1 tailored course with one of the UK's leading glass artists Jennifer Barker, at the Cheshire School of Glass

"My 18 year old daughter has just been on a one to one course with Jenny at the cheshire school of glass. She had a wonderful time designing and making. Jenny has taught at Art colleges for many years so understands the creative education system and is great with teenagers. Sophie is doing her A-levels at the moment , she benefited so much from Jenny teaching her we have booked another day. The course was catered specifically with Sophie's A-level project in mind so the work can be affiliated in to her course work. A brilliant experience. Sophie came away buzzing with enthusiasm."

Kate Davies reviewed: Mosaic workshop at Jackie Nash Art

"What a wonderful day! Jackie is an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher. I have little craft ability yet came out of Jackies workshop with an excellent piece of artwork. Jackie is so creative she makes it seem easy. Her workshop has a huge variety of materials to choose from which makes anything in your mind become a reality. On top of all that I found Jackie to be so friendly and welcoming. She offered a constant stream of cups of tea all day and even home made cake, she just makes you want to go back again and again!!"

Jackie Nash Art responded:

"Hi Kate Thank you so much for your lovely review. Really glad you had a good day. I love teaching my workshops so to receive your feedback reminds me why I love them so much. Jackie ?"

Suzanne Choi reviewed: Natural skincare workshops at Touch of Beauty (full day)

"I had a fantastic day with Sue at Touch Of Beauty, she was so full of knowledge and made the day so interesting. The goodie bag full of products I took home was tailor made to me and I look forward to using them all. It was a lovely experience and I would definitely recommend this class."

Touch of Beauty responded:

"Thank you Sue for your lovely comments. I`m glad you enjoyed your day at Touch of Beauty. It`s a pleasure to be sharing all the different natural ingredients and so satisfying to see all the products you have made to take home with you. Thank you again for choosing Touch of Beauty and hopefully you will come again soon. Sue"

Harriet reviewed: 1 day introduction to silver jewellery making - Ely

"Jonathon is a fantasic teacher, the day couldn't have been any better, i learnt so much and the handouts are brilliant too, i was a complete beginner when it comes to making silver jewellery so im incredibly proud of the silver ring i made. I will be returning for more workshops in the new year!"

Philip Latham reviewed: Wood turning tuition, New Forest, Hampshire (1 day) (2 people)

"I am new to wood turning and booked a day’s instruction with Graham Turner. It was everything I hoped for. A relaxed and informative mix of practical and theoretical instruction. The workshop was comfortable and Graham has an excellent set of lathes and tools. From the start I was able to follow Graham’s example working through a range of tools using different woods and quickly gained confidence. There was a welcome emphasis on health and safety and at the end of the day I was delighted to depart with a walnut bowl that I managed to produce, admittedly with a bit of help! A delightful man and a great day, I thoroughly recommend his course."

Vanessa reynolds reviewed: Felt Making Pictures -Introduction

"Absolutely loved this course! Informative and interesting with plenty of opportunity for discussion covering different materials and technique . Excellent practical demonstrations and the right balance of tutorial and practice. Will definitely look to attend further courses in the future."

Ceara Mongan reviewed: Introduction to candle-making as a business

"This was an excellent course delivered in a beautiful location. Jo made me feel very comfortable and explained the process clearly and thoroughly. I took home some lovely home made goodies that were absolutely beautiful when burned, and was provided with a beautiful lunch just to top off the day. I would definately recommend this course xxx"

The White Candle Company responded:

"Thank you! It was lovely to meet you and I'm glad you had such a good time. I hope you keep up candlemaking and do drop me a line if you have any queries. xx"

Emma reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"Such a lovely way to spend a day. I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make soap and creating my own packaging for it too. Jenny and Lynn were so welcoming and made everyone feel at ease. A total bonus, lunch was absolutely delicious and a lovely surprise birthday cake was a super treat, thank you ladies. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in making soap, or anyone who just fancies trying something new in a calm and relaxing environment."

Chris Adams reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"The course was excellent. I've never attempted stone carving before but having seen a lot of it going on in the York Minster Stoneyard I've wanted to experience it. This course fulfilled that ambition 110%. The experience of the three day course will certainly add to what I can say about the skills of the Stone Masons and Carvers when taking the visitors around the Minster and the Stoneyard. Additional to all that I created a piece of garden ornamentation, that while hardly Michelangelo, I quite proud of."

Mike White reviewed: Clay modelling - sculpt a portrait head

"I thoroughly recommend the courses here and Miranda as tutor. In March 2018 we did a six-week one-morning-a-week life sculpting course and were both delighted with our progress, the instruction and model. The three-hour session was split into two: in the first we made a new model from scratch and in the second we worked on the same model, producing figures we are happy to display. I've just completed a six-week portrait head course that was a similar excellent experience. This time we built a single full-size head, adjusting and improving in each session until a good likeness was achieved. Miranda encourages students to look, and rotates the model frequently to give the different viewpoints necessary to see the whole form. I've adopted the building processes into my own practice; I've learned a lot and look forward to more courses next year."

Claire reviewed: Make a Windsor chair

"This was an excellent course and I thoroughly recommend it. As well as a beautiful chair I’ve come away with a whole new woodworking vocabulary and some wonderful memories of the pleasures of making something from scratch. Ben was a fantastic teacher and struck a great balance between letting us get on with using our newly learnt skills and being on hand to lend support and give us reminders and tips. I would definitely consider doing another course with Ben."

Myra Hutchings reviewed: Enamelled jewellery for beginners and improvers - fired glass jewellery techniques

"I thoroughly enjoyed the day and came home with three lovely necklaces for family members."

Linda Dominique reviewed: Painted Stained Glass (2 days) in the Peak District

"Homely welcome coupled with excellent tuition - I recently attended the painted stained glass weekend course. Alison and Pete make you very welcome in their home with tea, coffee, delicious home cooked lunch and cake in the afternoon. The course is held in their home with a purpose built studio for the class. The tuition by Jane Littlefield on this course was excellent. Covered all the basics and provided all the support that was needed for all delegates. Thoroughly recommended."

Zantium Studios Ltd responded:

"Dear Linda, Thankyou so much for your warm words. So glad you enjoyed the course and felt at home here. I will pass on your happy feedback to the lovely Jane Littlefield. Best wishes Alison"

Tamasin Ellis reviewed: Table Loom Weaving Workshop - Dobby & Rose

"Excellent course, professional, friendly and encouraging. A fantastic introduction to weaving and I am very eager to continue. Tamasin Ellis"

Anne reviewed: Bring Your Own Upholstery Project - 1 day workshop - Week Days

"This was an excellent course, from booking through to waving goodbye as I proudly left with my almost-completed chair. I had never done any upholstery before and was naturally a little unsure of what I was letting myself in for, but Sarah was very clear and reassuring when I contacted her in advance and the day itself exceeded my expectations. She has the ideal qualities for teaching: she seriously knows her stuff and has what seems to be unlimited patience and a calm, unhurried manner. With only 3 in the class there was plenty of time for detailed instruction and help. My 1930s chair is totally transformed - now I just need to give the other 3 in the set the same treatment!"

Martin reviewed: Wheel thrown mug workshop

"It was such a good experience to get out of London for half the day and actually make something with my own hands in Jack's beautiful studio in Petersfield! Jack is an incredibly patient and enthusiastic teacher, going through each step of the process carefully and then looking after you when you give it a go. I managed to produce three different pieces, which Jack will fire and glaze for me. I would recommend this course to anyone; my friends will be getting vouchers to attend for the foreseeable future!"