Latest reviews

1 Mar 15'

Emma Vann reviewed: A Day of Crochet Workshops - Broomstick and Freeform

"I had a brilliant day and am now the proud owner of three granny squares. I got home from the course and immediately started practicing my crochet stitches and I think I am well on my way to becoming an addict. The course was great fun and Sarah made everything easy to understand. I would recommend this course to anyone and can't wait to book the felt-making course that Sarah runs."

28 Feb 15'

Paula Broderick reviewed: Candle making workshops

"I had such an interesting, inspiring and enjoyable day and left with my head spinning with ideas. Everything was explained very clearly and every question answered. Thank you Angharad"

28 Feb 15'

Neil Roberts reviewed: MON 3RD AUGUST: ‘Cutting the Curd’ Cheese Making

"I would highly recommend this course to anyone who enjoys cheese or cooking in general. Although only a days course we learnt so much and is all easily doable at home. The course was well structured and easy to follow with all the recipes and background printed, so little note taking was required to be able to recreate the cheeses at home."

28 Feb 15'

Colin Burton reviewed: Blacksmithing courses

"I have done 2 of these 1 day courses with Lucille, and enjoyed them hughly, bringing back some long forgotten skills. Great teacher and very knowledgeable about how to translate your ideas into a tangible product by the end of the day. I now have 2 splendid bits of garden ornamentation, a Sea horse and an octopus. Highly recommended!"

28 Feb 15'

Shirley Mosley reviewed: Make silver jewellery using precious metal clay or silver clay

"Relaxed half day silver clay course yesterday. Really enjoyed it and found it very informative. Toni is a good teacher. Very helpful."

27 Feb 15'

christine w. reviewed: Realistic and Adorable Needle Felt Animals & Pets

"I attended Sophie,s needle felting course with no knowledge of the craft and by the end of the day came home with a wonderful little dog. It was a amazing standard considering I had never done this before. This was thanks to Sophie excellent teaching ,she explained, demonstrated and help us all through out the day. We were served the most delicious home made soup for our lunch, followed by an scrumptious fruit 'crumble made by Sophie's mother, with drinks and biscuits freely available throughout the day. Sophie is an excellent teacher, the course was fun, informative I would highly recommend this course. Christine w."

26 Feb 15'

Lisa Goldie reviewed: Introduction to Lampwork (glass bead making) for beginners

"The workshop with Helen is in a comfortable and relaxed environment. Her demonstrations are clear as are her instructions and guidance to aid the creation of the beads. In the time spent with Helen two of us produced four beads each, all using different techniques. I was really pleased to receive the finished beads along with the spacers to create lovely handmade bracelet. I would highly recommend this course and would happily return to try further techniques."

26 Feb 15'

Bernie reviewed: Wood turning courses

": Thank you George for a very interesting day on the wood turning course. I learnt a lot, and realise that there is a great deal more to learn. You are a very good tutor and conversationalist Thanks also to you wife Susan for her hospitality. Annie loves the bowl. Regards Bernie"

26 Feb 15'

Sharon Cherry reviewed: Realistic and Adorable Needle Felt Animals & Pets

"I went on one of Sophie's 'make a dog' courses with my mum and sister and absolutely loved it. Sophie is fabulous. Very patient, good humoured and kind. Even with no experience what so ever a little fluffy dog still emerged for all three of us. Her work is something to aspire to, she is simply a genius! I'll be ordering one of her designs too... she is able to capture a dogs character in seconds. Loved the food too, thank you ladies."

26 Feb 15'

Julie Rogers reviewed: Encaustic Art - What do you want to learn?

"Although I knew what encaustic art was I didn't realise how much was involved in making a work of Art. Mel's work is fabulous and I can now appreciate what goes into each of her pieces. We had a really pleasant day with Mel introducing us to the basics and we had great fun experimenting with the many different techniques. It was very relaxing and therapeutic and by the end of the day I had created something to be quite proud of! It was very enjoyable and different and would highly recommend you give a try! Mel's home made soup was rather delicious too!"

25 Feb 15'

Ilona Ramsay reviewed: Moulded leather rucksack

"Very welcoming before we began. Lots of help and guidance throughout the course without being condescending. The aim for those running the course seemed to be to ensure we learnt a lot of skills, picked up lots of hints and tips so that we could carry on to make bags when we got home and to have good fun whilst doing it. Most of all they seemed to want to make sure we went home with the best possible bag we could make. A lovely hard working team. Brilliant."

25 Feb 15'

Cloey Yeung reviewed: Blacksmithing courses

"A great day working with a very talented blacksmith and a pleasant atmosphere to work in. I took my husband there for Valentine's Day and we made an intricate side table. Lucille was more than helpful and guided us the whole way from start to finish. A very thorough and illustrative class and we both had lots of fun. Hopefully we will go again soon with another project in mind. A"

25 Feb 15'

Hazel Price reviewed: Encaustic Art - What do you want to learn?

"I was familiar with Mel's own fabulous Encaustic Artwork, so I arrived thinking that I would achieve very little of artistic merit after just a few hours - after all, Mel has been at it for some time. Mel patiently took us through some basic techniques, then moved on to some special techniques that were relevant to each participants' background and experience. It felt like we were all experimenting together and it was not only great fun, but very therapeutic too. Amazingly, we each achieved a unique style and widely differing pieces of work to take home. Mel was wonderful, her workshop brilliant and I came away with a piece of encaustic art to treasure! Thank you so much."

25 Feb 15'

Melanie Clarkson reviewed: From fleece to fibre 2-day spinning workshop

"I have really enjoyed my day with Elaine, she filled the day with so much knowledge, practical advice and know how, I would recommend to anyone wanting to learn to spin. Very worth while."

25 Feb 15'

Sarah Hannah & Brian reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Hi George, Just a quick note to say thank you very much to both you and Mark for a very enjoyable wood turning experience day. Dad, Hannah and I were really pleased with the bowls we each produced under your expert guidance. Both yourself and Mark made us feel really comfortable in your workshop and we really felt we learnt a lot about the basics including safety in a fun and friendly environment. The day was a really good introduction for us and we are all keen to have another go at this, even considering buying a lathe between us. I would definitely recommend both yourself and Mark to anyone thinking of taking wood turning up or just for a one off experience as we had a really great time. We should also add a big thank you to your lovely wife who also worked hard to provided a tasty lunch and copious cups of tea and coffee. We will keep an eye on your website for upcoming courses and will hopefully see you again soon. We would love to learn how to make a cake stand if that's possible in a day? Thanks again Best Regards Sarah, Hannah & Brian"

24 Feb 15'

Roger Cann reviewed: Wood turning courses in the Midlands

"My wife bought me a two-day woodturning course with Mark for my 60th. The two days were the most interesting I have spent for a long time. Marks tuition is thorough and he doesn't do 'second-best'. His attention to detail is such that you really get the feeling of actually learning something. His tips and tricks were great too. Now to put it all into practice! Thanks Mark for a most enjoyable two days..."

24 Feb 15'

Michelle reviewed: Realistic and Adorable Needle Felt Animals & Pets

"I attended Sophie's needle felting course on how to make a small dog . I had some experience in needlefelting but learned some really great hints and tips on how to improve my technique. Sophie is an excellent teacher, the course was fun, informative (the food was also great!) I would highly recommend this course."

24 Feb 15'

Janet Griggs reviewed: Fabric flower workshop ( Latex and Nylon )

"We produced the most amazing flower designs at The Making Boutique and we were so impressed with the level of teaching, hospitality, the beautiful workshop and above all the fantastic bouquet that we created. Completely recommend this workshop and we will be back for more soon. Thank you so much."

23 Feb 15'

Denise Cook reviewed: 2 Day Silversmithing and Jewellery Making Course

"Absolutely brilliant. Ian is so supportive and encouraging and lunch is always fantastic."

23 Feb 15'

Annette Smyth reviewed: Realistic and Adorable Needle Felt Animals & Pets

"I recently attended Sophie's course and would highly recommend it to everyone. Sophie and her Mum are the most welcoming people I have met. Although a little daunted at first, Sophie guided us all from loose bits of wool through to finished individual dogs. Sophie is an excellent teacher with an amazing amount of patience. She explains everything thoroughly and is always on hand in case you need a little extra guidance. The lunch was amazing ...thank you and I would love to attend another workshop soon Thanks for everything"

23 Feb 15'

Ruth and Keira reviewed: Alex Allpress Pottery School: Learn to throw on the potter's wheel in Mid Wales

"My daughter and I had a wonderful day at the studio learning to make different types of pots and bowls. Although we were complete beginners we were able to make some lovely pieces by the end of the day due to Alex's fantastic teaching. The highlight was definitely using the potter's wheels and although we got messy it was so much fun! Alex and Blue couldn't have been better hosts, lunch was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone who fancies having a go at pottery."

23 Feb 15'

Adele simpson reviewed: Realistic and Adorable Needle Felt Animals & Pets

"I attended one of Sophie's learn to needle felt a dog courses with my mum and sister (great gift idea!) Id tried it a few times at home and my mum and sister were complete beginners but like to sew - we all came away with 3 very unique little dogs to an amazing standard considering our abilities!! A testament to sophies teaching... One of the things we loved was the freedom to create your own dog rather than being forced to make something you weren't onterested in. This makes you learn faster and care more- especially if you use a picture of your own dog. Sophie goes above and beyond to her students from the pre course emails, her greeting, homemade food and drinks, the day itself then after the course she continues to be super helpful providing useful information about wool and suppliers. The whole day on Saturday was fantastic! I can't fault it and would highly recommend that anyone should attend. So if your unsure... Trust me and go! Sophie is a natural teacher, very open and not at all intimidating or hard selling her own commissions. I've learnt so much and think I've found myself a new exciting hobby. (I'm not usually crafty Thank you Sophie."

23 Feb 15'

Catherine reviewed: Moulded leather rucksack

"A brilliant course. We used techniques which we'd learned on other courses, the bag making course in my case, and over three days created a beautiful moulded leather backpack. Gaynor and Enya were very good tutors, and Elizabeth was very helpful. It was great fun as well, with a terrific group of people."

23 Feb 15'

Ross reviewed: Spoon carving (Two Day)

"This is an excellent course which packs plenty of knowledge into what feels like a very relaxed and laid back weekend. The notes that are provided cover all things you may forget to write down and Martin has an array of tools to try. I would recommend this this course strongly to anyone looking to pick up a new hobby ."

23 Feb 15'

Bonnie Blake reviewed: Realistic and Adorable Needle Felt Animals & Pets

"My mum and I attended one of Sophie's courses one Saturday and all though i was nervous about going to start with as soon as you see the location and meet Sophie you instantly feel at ease. Sophie and her mother are easily two of the nicest people you could wish to meet and kept us all fed and watered with homemade hearty food and cups of coffee and tea while we felted and had a good laugh with the whole group, it really does feel like a day out with a group of friends. As well as this you gain the knowledge of the different wools and the skills in how to make these little dogs and before you know it your taking home a whole new hobby. I wouldn't hesitate for a second in recommending Sophie's courses and can not wait to do more myself!"