Latest reviews

20 Jun 17'

Pam Ryder reviewed: Introduction to life sculpture in clay

"I have been attending Miranda's clay sculpting classes for 4 years now. I am not local to Amerton Farm and have an hour long car journey from my home in Derbyshire. But it's worth it! When I started I had only a few months experience of modelling with clay and had never been tutored. Miranda's style of tutoring is informative, encouraging and supportive. Miranda really knows her subject and I always come away feeling I have made improvement and have gained a better understanding of the medium. It's a very nice group and everyone is supportive of each other and there is not a hint of competition, so a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. I would recommend it to anyone seeking a creative outlet."

20 Jun 17'

Ian McFetridge reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Thank you George for an interesting day re-learning tooling techniques and learning some new ones too. Nice lunch and plenty of coffee makes for a good day! Never planned on making anything just happy to turn a lump of wood into a pile of shavings to practice creating a finish straight from the tool. Didn't quite get there on my own but almost so not too much sanding to do. Thanks again George for a nice end to the week!"

20 Jun 17'

Jane Spencer reviewed: Machine embroidery - stitch doodling with Julie Brand at Tigley Textiles in Worcester

"I had an amazing day doing free motion machine embroidery at Julie's beautiful studio. I had tried to teach myself before and got nowhere. Julie broke it down into simple, confidence building steps. Lots of top tips and advice regarding colour, fabric, composition, and of course, stitching. The end results were just beyond expectation. I caught a glimpse of some work on the table after returning from washing my hands, and thought 'oh that's lovely'. It was such a shock to realise it was my piece of work I had seen across the table. I left, wanting to go back again for another of the courses, but also feeling confident to do what I had learned again, at home. Julie is generous with her knowledge and advice and the lemon cake was gorgeous too! Thank you"

20 Jun 17'

karen reviewed: Intermediate woodworking course

"Absolutely superb course. Ciaran is a skilled and patient teacher with a gift for imparting his vast knowledge of furniture making to a mixed ability group. I was the least experienced of the group on the intermediate course, but learned a huge amount over the five days - particularly liked the course structure of demonstrations and time to practise before starting work on the final piece. Lovely group of people which - together with a non-stop supply of biscuits - made for a really enjoyable few days."

20 Jun 17'

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

"Excellent day all round. Blacksmithing couldn't be further away from my day job, but as an enthusiastic Youtube viewer I really wanted to try it out. I fear, however, I may have caught the bug, and am certainly looking at taking more courses, if not going the whole hog and buying my own mini-forge! Excellent hands-on teaching and guidance from Adrian and Andy, and managed to knock up a couple of acceptable pieces of metalwork by the end of the day - although more practice needed to hone the 'finesse' required to make truly beautiful things! Refreshments were excellent, as was the banter. Will definitely be coming again! Thoroughly recommend it"

20 Jun 17'

Kat Hill reviewed: Glass Fusing for beginners

"I did a bunting and mobile course and it was amazing and I’m now completely hooked. Gigha was a great teacher and was so patient and made everything anyone wanted to do possible. She showed us all the different techniques well but was more than happy to go over them again on a more one-to-one basis if needed. I was so happy with what I produced on the day and that was all down to Gigha. I would really highly recommend any of her classes and I really look forward to doing another course in the future."

20 Jun 17'

Andrew Browning reviewed: Intermediate woodworking course

"This is the second Course that I have done with Ciaran. As with the beginers course, the teaching was relaxed, enthusiastic and always positive. Ciaran is a real enthusiast for woodworking and teaching, doing both with consumate ease. I am still not sure how he managed to coax that coffee table out of me, but that he did, its self speaks volumes! The workshop is very well equiped with a bench per student and good quality tools which were always very well maintained. I have done other craft courses before and this has to rank as one of the very best. It is very good value for money; the inclusive lunch is excellent and the standard of teaching is of the highest quality. My only suggestion for the course would be to extend it to 6 days as there is so much to learn and enjoy it would make the course even better."

19 Jun 17'

lynne griffin reviewed: Bowl carving day Green Fox Wild Crafts

"I have done a number of courses with Nadine as she is a knowledgeable and patient teacher who works hard to make sure everyone knows what to do and is safe doing what they need to do. I've been on courses with lots of people who are superb craftsmen and not particularly good teachers but Nadine happens to be one of those rare people who is both. The groups I've been in have been mixed ability and she has still made sure that everyone has gone away with something that they have produced. She has a good eye for detail and encouraging participants to stretch themselves. Would recommend her courses to both beginners and improvers."

19 Jun 17'

Louise Tate reviewed: Willow Piglet workshop

"I attended this course with my daughter and elderly mother. I can't stress enough how much we enjoyed it. The idea of making a piglet in willow was why I booked the course in the first place, I expected it to be interesting, informative and fun. It was all of this and more. That was down to Victoria. She is an excellent tutor; welcoming and friendly, knowledgeable and patient. She couldn't do enough to ensure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves. I'm planning to go back later in the year to attempt a reindeer. I'd highly recommend any of the courses for any age group or ability. If anyone is stuck for a different Xmas/birthday gift Victoria's the lady to contact."

19 Jun 17'

Lynda Clarke reviewed: Realistic and Adorable Needle Felt Animals & Pets

"Hi, My daughter and I attended the felting course on the 10th June, the course was brought for me as part of my retirement present and my daughter also wanted to come with me. We had a wonderful day and a super lunch thanks to Sophie's mother. The course surpassed my expectations and the dog I created actually looked like a dog. Sophie is a great teacher and I can truly say that I have a new hobby. I would certainly recommend the course to anyone great value for money, Sophie should charge a lot more. Lynda"

19 Jun 17'

David Brealey reviewed: Spoon carving for beginners with Green Fox Wild Crafts

"Thoroughly enjoyed my spoon carving course. Very informative and I was glad to be taught the full range of skills needed to carry on with my wood carving. (I am now addicted as warned) A very relaxed atmosphere and Nadine was very patient and taught us all at our own pace. I would definitely recommend this course to people with an interest in learning wood carving or even just for an enjoyable weekend in the outdoors."

19 Jun 17'

Tom Scott reviewed: StickMaking Classes/ Courses with Stuart Lawrence Northyorkshire

"Had a really enjoyable day with Stuart. He is clearly very knowledgeable and also very patient. Easy and relaxed teaching method, breaking things down into easy to understand stages and delivered with a good sense of humour too. Thanks for all the cups of tea. Go on. Give it a go!!"

19 Jun 17'

Alice reviewed: One day silver jewellery making in Worcestershire.

"Oh my word, this course and Jonathan are amazing. Not only did I make a couple of beautiful rings, I also learnt skills that I can carry on for future jewellery making projects. I would 100% reccomend the jewellery boat to absolutely anyone and I'll definitely be booking more courses!"

19 Jun 17'

E Uttley reviewed: Mosaic class

"We stayed at the B&B which was very clean and comfortable. The breakfast was superb and the location perfect. The workshop was very relaxed and friendly. We were guided all the way through the process with everything supplied and we all ended up with a piece of mosaic to be proud of. We sat outside in the lovely courtyard surrounded with flowers. The chocolate cake was lovely and Dawn was a great hostess."

19 Jun 17'

Sandra reviewed: Candle making with afternoon tea

"Thoroughly enjoyable day with Tracy. Very informative. Tracy is very patient and knowledgeable. A great way to spend an enjoyable Sunday. Great materials and handouts. Lovely lunch and plenty of refreshments. A bonus was the company of Tracy's 2 spaniels, Toby and Teal. I would recommend this course to anyone. 10 out of 10"

19 Jun 17'

Mark Wilson reviewed: One to one, One day, blacksmith course

"This was a birthday present from my wife and something I have always wanted to do. Suffice to say that I was not disappointed! I have nearly 30 years worth of mechanical skills and metal fabrication behind me and throughout the day I still learnt more things than I could imagine. The course is obviously very hands on, and be prepared to have to concentrate, have attention to detail and don't rush. You will be very pleased as to what you can achieve in a single day. Prepare to use muscles you didn't know about and to get cooked occasionally - all part of the fun! Well worthwhile and thoroughly recommended for anybody with a practical lean who wants to learn the basics of the art of forgework and blacksmithing. To do it properly takes years of training and practice, but for one day - can't be beaten! Many thanks."

19 Jun 17'

Charles Hessin reviewed: Make Scented Candles & Tealights

"Came here in a group. A great experience. I chose geranium essential oil, smelled lovely. Very happy with the candle."

19 Jun 17'

Sue Parker reviewed: Make Scented Candles & Tealights

"Went to this candle class with a few family members and we loved our candles. Had so much fun and the teacher seems to know a lot."

18 Jun 17'

Edward Bird reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"My wife and I attended a Saturday "Blacksmith experience day" which she paid for as a gift for my 65th birthday. The course was great fun and very creative, we both made a poker to start with and then collaborated on a garden sculpture which was finished by five p.m. and we took it home finished due to all the help from John and his team of Spencer and Olly. It was a hot day but refreshments were provided and lunchtime meant a visit to a local pub for a drink and a meal (all included). The premises are a genuine working environment that works all week on commercial projects and gives courses when appropriate. If you are interested I cannot recommend this highly enough."

18 Jun 17'

Alison Harvey reviewed: Bookbinding using leather and marbled paper, Frome - Somerset. Private Tuition

"The book I chose to restore was an early C19th Shakespeare. I was amazed as Stephen helped me take it apart, preserving the beautiful leather and the endpapers. The work of restoration started with patiently stitching flaps to which to attach the covers. We rebuilt the spine and I finished by tooling the volume number on it with a punch. Despite being challenged by trying to draw a straight line with a pencil and ruler, and able to make a mess of any worksurface and get sticky fingerprints on anything, I am very pleased with the finished product. There was a chance to observe the projects on which Stephen was working: the meticulous restoration of beautiful, and badly damaged, book and to look at the samples of materials he holds, including endpapers he has made himself. Stephen is a patient and generous teacher: I suspect his experience working with children with special needs fitted him to work with me when I got frustrated with my efforts. He makes sure that you do the work yourself to solve each problem and never takes over, but guides you past each hump and makes sure it remains fun at all times. Highly recommended."

18 Jun 17'

Isabel and Mark reviewed: Wild pottery workshop - dig your own clay in the woods, bonfire/clamp kiln firings

"A big thank you for a truly memorable weekend. We enjoyed every element of it and really appreciated your calm, present and measured delivery, that allowed us to get the most from our wild pottery experience."

18 Jun 17'

Claire reviewed: A 2 day throwing and handbuilding weekend at an established pottery in the New Forest.

"My husband and I had a wonderful day with Jo. Beautiful setting, excellent and knowledgeable instruction, delicious homemade food. Over all a really relaxing and fun day. Jo is patient and kind, making it a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere. We were really pleased with how our pots turned out and looking forward to picking them up after the final firing."

18 Jun 17'

Barabara reviewed: Embroidery Hanging-"Stitch for the Soul" with Julie Brand at Tigley Textiles in Worcester

"A most enjoyable day. Julie's expertise and encouragement resulted in a lovely piece of work to take home."

18 Jun 17'

Jean Evans reviewed: Embroidery Hanging-"Stitch for the Soul" with Julie Brand at Tigley Textiles in Worcester

"Wonderful day- Really enjoyed the company, the people, the setting and the whole experience, many thanks Julie!"

18 Jun 17'

Helen Murphy reviewed: Embroidery Hanging-"Stitch for the Soul" with Julie Brand at Tigley Textiles in Worcester

"A lovely relaxing day with wonderful lemon cake and iced drinks. wonderful tuition- patient with humour and a gorgeous work of art to take home at the end of the day."