Latest reviews

Vijaya and Rav reviewed: Beginners Pottery Day Course

"My wife and I attended the Potter’s wheel throwing for beginners. What a brilliant day, we didn’t want it to end! After a warm welcome we ventured into Mathew’s studio. Mathew is an excellent teacher. He gave really clear instructions on the wheels and we were soon centering the clay ourselves. The pace of the course was really good. Really good fun and lots of banter with Mathew. With both me and my wife on a wheel each, we got quite competitive, we pushed each other along. By the end of the day we had pots, bowls, jugs and some more bespoke pieces shall we say. We even got a chance to turn some partially dried pots too. Looking forward to seeing the fired pieces in a few weeks’ time. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone looking to try out throwing on a pottery wheel."

Mary Zoeller reviewed: Needle Felting - 3D Cats

"A fantastic class. Wendy was a friendly, patient teacher and we had a lovely afternoon making these little cats! The whole class achieved a great result with their cats thanks to Wendy's tuition. Very relaxing and enjoyable thank you."

JohnM reviewed: Crafts in the Valley - Beginners glass fusing workshops in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

"This was a very enjoyable course, which covered a surprising variety of work through the day. Starting off with practising cutting glass, we made a hanging star after adding the colour. We followed this with a coaster, a slump dish and, for me, cufflinks. We also decorated a small box to put smaller items in, as others had done earrings and necklace. Lots of help was given by Melanie, the tutor, who also treated us to cake and coffee. A lovely meal was had at lunch. So much packed into one day. Looking forward to a follow on course."

Debra Roberts reviewed: Chop & Stitch

"Wonderful informative evening with refreshments and giggles. Lots of choice on what to make, then step by step guidance. Ange has plenty of ideas is always inspiring allowing for your creative side to shine. Highly recommended for anyone. Debs"

Rebecca Rose reviewed: Silver Clay Jewellery Course

"Amazing, fantastic and very informative. Yolanda was a excellent tutor and we covered more than just silver clay. The classes are small and go at a pace that as a learner I could manage. I love my bespoke jewellery and look forward to going again soon."

Sarah Hartley reviewed: Landscapes in Fleece

"I would highly recommend Sally-Anne’s Willow Stag day course. It was my first time working with Willow and Sally-Anne made it so enjoyable with her teaching, expertise and patience. I’m looking forward to doing another of Sally-Anne’s willow courses."

faye slater reviewed: Furniture painting workshops / Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

"Nyree was a brilliant teacher who gave us a good mix of instruction and letting us get stuck in and experiment with paints. Her course was informative, fun and well worth it. I learnt so much. Faye"

Paint & Ink Studio, Surrey responded:

"Thanks for such a lovely review Faye xxx"

Judith Phillips reviewed: Wet felting / needle felting workshop: Private session with Zenia from The Lady Moth

"I would highly recommend this course provider. She was very flexible, organising a bespoke course for myself, my mother and sister. She brought all the necessary equipment, and helped us make a lovely owl each. She was clear with all her instructions and also gave great advice on how to shape the parts of the owl that had gone wrong to make them right. She took just the right amount of time and gave us each individual attention. It was a very pleasant, fun afternoon, and we are all very proud of our owls. She then left us the needles and enough skill to experiment by ourselves. Thank you so much Zenia for a wonderful afternoon."

The Lady Moth responded:

"Thank you :)"

Elizabeth Goldsbrough reviewed: Regular ceramic & glazing tuition and pottery wheel workshops Shetland

"I booked a 4 week pottery course for my mum and myself and we have had the most amazing time at Werxzovart with Sonje. She is incredibly skilled and we learnt so much. I'm not sure what we're going to do now on a Saturday! I would highly recommend the course for anyone interested in pottery or who wants to try something new (like we did). Thank you Sonje :D"

Werxzovart responded:

"Thanks for coming to do a four week course Lizzie and what a lovely review. It was a pleasure to do pottery with you and your pieces came out beautifully. I hope to see you and your mum again soon, come and do more pottery on a Saturday!"

Cate Anderson reviewed: From fleece to fibre 2-day spinning workshop

"I really enjoyed this information and skills-packed weekend. I learnt such a lot. Spinning for the first time felt like reversing round a corner on your first driving lesson! But once I started to understand the component parts of the process, things fell into place more. Since getting home, I have tried out spinning three different fibre lengths, and am teaching myself hand-carding through YouTube. This is a lovely hobby and a great 60th birthday present from my family. Many thanks to Elaine for her wealth of knowledge and expertise."

Marion reviewed: Christmas Pudding - needle felting workshop with The Lady Moth

"My friend and I attended the owl workshop on Sunday. Absolutely loved it, this is the second workshop I have attended and it won't be the last. Thank you Zenia for making it so easy to follow and enjoyable."

The Lady Moth responded:

"Thank you :)"

Ruth reviewed: Stained glass focusing on engraving and painting in a professional artist's garden workshop.

"I cannot recommend Rachel's courses highly enough. She is welcoming, down to earth and her work is inspirational. She is a patient teacher and very adaptable to your own ideas or suggestions and able to gently give her own expertise when your own ideas need some help. We learnt so much, but more importantly had a lovely creative evening away from the stresses of our day jobs."

Jayne Stokes reviewed: Needle felting workshop - Create your own woodland creature

"What a wonderful way to spend a day. Denise is delightful, very calm and encouraging and helps you achieve the best results. The food was lovely coffee, lunch and afternoon tea. And to come home with a completed hare, which I love, was the perfect end to the day."

Crafty Gal responded:

"I'm so pleased you enjoyed your day, and love your hare so much, the first of many I hope!"

Judy reviewed: Beginner’s Soapmaking Workshop in Salisbury

"I've just spent a lovely day with Catherine in her new, light and airy studio and have really enjoyed learning about and making cold process soap.Catherine's teaching style is friendly and relaxed, her notes are good and her demonstration was clear. When I made my own soap she was very supportive with ideas for essential oils and other additives. I've cut my two lots of soap and am delighted with the results. I've already got an order going in for more supplies so I shall soon be giving soap away to all my friends. Christmas may be 'sorted' already ."

Marina reviewed: Willow Plant Supports (1 day) in the Peak District

"The days' course of willow weaving was excellent. Patiently instructed by Eddie, who explained techniques easily with practical demonstrations. I had a great time and learned the basics of a new skill, coming home with useful and decorative items. Thank you to Alison for providing a tasty lunch and homemade flapjacks and brownies! A brilliant day course."

Zantium Studios Ltd responded:

"Thankyou, Marina, for this glowing review. I seem to remember this course was given to you as a gift so I am delighted it lived up to expectations. Happy weaving! Alison x"

Victoria Pletzer reviewed: Wood turning tuition, New Forest, Hampshire (1 day, 1 person)

"Father and Son had a super day. My son learned so much, and was super excited to show us what he made. Highly recommended"

Chloe reviewed: Gelli Printmaking with No5workshops Group Booking

"I attended this class with my two nieces and nephew and we came away absolutely buzzing with excitement! It was a great class and Armi is a fantastic teacher. We learnt something really fun and new but also came away infused with confidence and full of ideas, plus handfuls of artwork to show off. Armi was incredibly welcoming and started off the lesson with a few drawing exorcises that got us going and gave us tonnes of confidence to start creating prints straight away. I've never done anything like this before and at the ripe old age of forty something discovered that I'm not actually so terrible at drawing after all! The young ones (teen's) had so much fun and declared it the 'best Christmas present ever'. My nephew showed his work to his art teacher at school who was most impressed and has been told that he can include it in his GCSE art portfolio. He has declared that printing his favourite medium. What more can I say? It was utterly brilliant, the setting was perfect and inspiring, Armi has the dream studio and it was an utter pleasure spending a few hours in there. Nothing compares to the generosity of those who share their knowledge and build confidence in other people; thank you Armi. :O)"

Alexa reviewed: Gelli Printmaking with No5workshops Group Booking

"A fantastic & inspiring workshop from Armi! We had a wonderful morning doing some initial drawing exercises followed by a well demonstrated lesson in creating mono prints. Armi showed us a small powerpoint & lots of samples to give us inspiration before we started creating! She has an extremely well stocked supply of exciting papers & ephemera that we were able to use in our designs. The studio is absolutely gorgeous, with generous space to work in. Combine all that with some amazing cake & coffee.....just a wonderful creative morning! Can't recommend it enough!"

no5workshops responded:

"thanks for your review on craft courses"

Peter Grundy reviewed: Glass Fusing with Enamels - Two Day Course

"I'd previously taken two one-day glass fusing courses with Steve at St David's and have just returned from a two-day course at his new studio near Totnes. There's definitely a huge advantage in the two-day course because you get to see the test pieces you made on the first day before you start to make the main piece / pieces on the second day. This enables you to make technical and design changes and gives you a better chance of making something much nearer the surprisingly-good than the mother-in-law-Christmas-present end of the spectrum. The courses cost money - although given Steve's expertise (is there anybody better at fused glass in UK?) and the cost of the materials they're also very good value - so it's a good idea to go with one or two ideas as to what you want to make that you've thought through quite carefully and then to follow Steve's advice. He knows how to strike just the right balance between encouraging you to follow your inclination and guiding you away from anything unrealistic or impractical. He's also endlessly kind and patient and has the knack of creating a really enabling and friendly working atmosphere. There's also a wider choice of pubs and restaurants in Totnes than in St David's and it's a fun place in the evening. And, unlike St David's, there's a railway station, although the train timetables last weekend were largely advisory. Would I go again? A week would be ideal of course, but the one-day course, or even two days if you have the time and can afford the cost, are both great learning experiences. Wonderful, in fact!"

Gill Sharpe reviewed: Clay Day Workshop

"Thoroughly enjoyed my day here at Fired Thoughts, the atmosphere was very relaxed, teaching very professional but not overwhelming, the demonstrations were splendid, and the management of the day given that there were six of us was superb. Lunch was an added bonus, provided by the farm shop, and coffee and biscuits throughout the day were most welcome. I was pleasantly surprised to end the day with four separate items to eventually bring home with me, and I’m sufficiently excited by it to want to do more. However, it seems I’m in the majority, as trying to find a regular spot on a course seems to be impossible! I would thoroughly recommend this day to any budding potters."

Sue Whelan responded:

"Thanks so much for the review, so pleased you enjoyed the day."

Chris reviewed: Introduction to candle-making as a business

"This was an excellent course! Jo is a wonderful teacher with a real infectious passion for her craft. Jo taught us that there is a lot more to candle making than sticking a bit of string in a blob of wax; this is more akin to chemistry and is highly involved. Did you know that that is more than one type and size of wick?!?! I can highly recommend this course, it was really good fun."

Charlotte reviewed: Introduction to candle-making as a business

"Myself and my husband spent a lovely time with Jo. As complete novices, Jo very patiently guided us through the candle making process and we came away with a selection of gorgeous smelling candles, melts, tealights and hangings. It was so hard to choose from the selection available, but I went with rock salt and driftwood , jasmine and honeysuckle and, my favourite, sweet orange and chili pepper, while my melts were green tea and lemon grass. We had a fantastic time and would highly recommend."

Pam Harrington reviewed: From fleece to fibre 2-day spinning workshop

"As a complete newcomer to spinning, this two-day course was a perfect opportunity to learn techniques and practice them. Elaine had lots of knowledge and advice to share, and also provided a delicious lunch. It was fascinating to learn how a raw fleece can be turned into beautiful yarns. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to spend a weekend learning how to spin in a fantastic Lakeland setting."

Laura Kelly reviewed: Paint The Tree of YOUR Life art & personal development

"Brilliant course! Learned so much from my painting and how what I painted reflected who I am and what I want for myself. Helped put me back in the correct direction for me. I never regarded myself as creative before but Kassi has shown me that I am. I am also no artist but that does NOT matter so don’t let this put you off if you are like me. This course is brilliant for just letting go and finding you, so go for it. ❤️"

Silvia reviewed: Sculptural Needle Felting in the beautiful Conwy Valley, North Wales

"I really enjoyed the course. The teacher was very helpful and friendly."