Giles Newman reviews

Eva reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Last weekend I attended Giles's pendant carving course. They are in a lovely location. Giles and Maddy were lovely and taught us so much about the carving skills, keeping ourselves safe and to have a great time. I came away with a lovely pendant and really enjoyed the day. I have already mentioned it to my friend and we may join them again next year for another day. Thank you so much Giles and Maddy. It has been very inspiring and have bought a carving knife and will definitely be practicing. Eva"

Giles Newman responded:

"Oh that’s so lovely to hear Eva! Thank you. I’m so chuffed that you enjoyed the day and especially that you will be carrying on with the woodcarving."

Bob Wadey reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"As a carving newbie I cannot think of a better way to start my carving journey. Giles and Maddie were excellent instructors with techniques and advice that I really feel has jump started my ability. The class was relaxed and friendly and we had a good laugh while learning. Very happy with my oak leaf and have already started carving at home. Highly recommended and if in doubt - look at what Giles has created, its mind blowing."

Giles Newman responded:

"This is such a lovely review to receive. Thank you so much Bob. It was a joy to spend the day with you and your fellow carvers and I’m so happy to hear that you have already jumped into your next project. Happy carving Bob!"

Mark kirk reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Amazing experience with a highly skilled carver. If you do not know of Giles it is worth looking at his amazing work. Many new skills learnt in a really nice space with Giles and his family being more than accommodating. Thanks for such an unforgettable experience. "

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much Mark. It was wonderful to meet you and share in on your carving journey. Happy carving my friend!"

Toby Carlsson reviewed: Art Spoon Carving with Giles Newman

"A great course. We spent a relaxed sociable day in a small group, going through the basic principles and cuts, coming away with a spoon to finish at home. Throughout, we had the benefit of tapping in to Giles' knowledge and experience. I don't think he will mind me referring to him as a bit of a wood nerd. Would quite happily repeat if the opportunity arises. "

Susan Heaton reviewed: Art Spoon Carving with Giles Newman

"Attended course on Saturday 8 June. A fun and enlightening learning experience enjoyed by both my cousin and I. Would highly recommend to anyone who was interested wood carving. "

Brenda reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"What a fabulous day. It was friendly, informative, a beautiful setting and Giles taught in a relaxed informal manner with plenty of questions, chat and laughter - and complete silence at times when we all focused on our carving. I would recommend this workshop 100%, as a complete novice I’ve learnt so much and came away with a knife and determination to take this up as a long-thought-about hobby. Also the hospitality from Giles and his wife was second to none - thank you. "

Martina Jarosova reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"If you're looking for an unforgettable woodcarving experience look no further. :) I highly recommend this course which I recently had the pleasure of attending. From start to finish, it was an experience filled with laughter, learning, and genuine camaraderie. The course takes place in Giles' cozy studio and thanks to smaller group size, we were able to connect and share our passions for nature and woodcarving. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, making it easy to dive into the creative process with enthusiasm. But it was our teacher who truly made this course unforgettable. Patient, passionate, and endlessly skilled, he guided us through every step of the woodcarving journey. I would not hesitate to book an advanced course when I get the chance. Thank you for the wonderful day! ☀️"

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much for your lovely review Martina. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you and to learn of your creative journey, to see your beautiful work and to share in such a truly enjoyable day. I do hope that you continue to carve and that you find a way to pull together all of your skills into your incredible jewellery creations. Thank you again!"

Nicola reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"My son and I attended the course yesterday and we had a fantastic day. Giles is self-taught and incredibly gifted and it was a pleasure to see his work and receive his guidance. His finished pieces are exquisite with such beautiful detail. The whole day was lovely and relaxed, and we learnt a lot about different wood and carving techniques, safety of using tools, and he showed us his first pieces of wood work from when he began his woodcarving journey. Giles and his wife are lovely people, really encouraging and a lot of fun. We had a great day and hope to visit again soon for an advanced carving course. We purchased our carving knives and have been practicing this morning on some other pieces of wood that we have and I’m really happy with everything we learnt on the day. Thank you so much Giles! "

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much Nicola! It was so lovely to meet you and Mikey and to spend such an enjoyable day with you both. I do hope that you continue to carve and push your skills even further. Thank you again!"

Scott B reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"This was a great experience and I am so happy that I did this course! It wasn't just a day of learning the nature of the wood, techniques and artistry. I also very much enjoyed the great conversation, music and hospitality. I very much recommend this course to anyone interested in wood carving and/or trying out a new hobby! 5 ⭐"

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much Scott. It was wonderful to meet you and to share in our interests of not only woodcarving but creativity, art, music and nature. Though I know you already have a great many things to occupy your time, I do hope that you make space and time to indulge in the pleasure that woodcarving can give and enjoy the gratification found in each and every slither of wood that you shave away."

Sian reviewed: Art Spoon Carving with Giles Newman

"This was a great course. I felt really welcomed. Being taught a new skill by somebody so skilled and passionate was a total privilege. I highly recommend this course. "

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much Sian. It was a pleasure to spend the day with you and to share my passion for woodcarving with you."

John Scott reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Can only confirm previous comments. Welcoming, relaxed, informative, enjoyable and eventually productive. V proud of my oak leaf pendant. "

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much John!"

Lis Kendray reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Absolutely fabulous course. Giles is welcoming, talented and professional. We all made something we were proud of, an oak pendant in my case. Whole atmosphere relaxed with lots of laughs, lots of learning and ability to go confidently to carry on carving."

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much for your lovely review Lis. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you all on Saturday and to share in such a fun day. I do hope that you all keep on carving."

Jacqui reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Thoroughly enjoyed the day which was relaxed, fun as well as enlightening. Giles is incredibly gifted and more than willing to share his knowledge. I’d happily do another course sometime. "

Giles Newman responded:

"It was great to meet you on Saturday. Thank you for making it such an enjoyable workshop and for your lovely review."

Mayu reviewed: Art Spoon Carving with Giles Newman

"I bought this for my partner as a gift but I went along so we can experience it together. I initially chose this purely based on location and I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it but afterwards I feel like I was really lucky in the course I chose. Giles was absolutely lovely and I like that his approach was more arty lead than just making a spoon. He knew I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not, so he was really encouraging as well as helpful. I loved the environment and how intimate it was due to the group being small. I am so glad I chose this course out of other ones because for me, the art aspect of it made it fun for me. And my partner loved the technical asps of of it. I’d highly recommend this course. It is worth every penny!! "

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much for your lovely review Mayu. It was wonderful to meet you both yesterday and I’m so glad that you both found your own connections with the art of woodcarving. I hope that you try your hand at relief carving as we discussed and that the techniques we shared can contribute. Thank you again."

Amanda Lewis reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"What an incredible day. I have no experience of wood carving and left the course with a beautiful hand carved leaf and armed with all the techniques I need to enjoy carving again. Giles is more than an incredibly talented carver - he is also an excellent teacher and a kind, wise soul. If you're even thinking about booking this course, do it -cannot recommend highly enough. Thank you Giles for a fantastic day that I will remember for a very long time."

Giles Newman responded:

"It was so lovely to meet you and to journey with you through your start in woodcarving. I cannot thank you enough for your kind review and I look forward to seeing where you go with the rest of your carving journey. Thank you Amanda."

Pete Bioletti reviewed: Art Spoon Carving with Giles Newman

"Apart from thoroughly enjoying the course I have come away with so many valuable techniques to practice. Giles not only introduces you to extremely useful techniques but also explains his methodology in context of his whole approach to the creative process. This has opened a whole new way of approaching the process and has given me a lot more confidence in my ability to be creative and let my imagination "run" Having seen his work up close I now have an appreciation of his tremendous talent and brilliant creativity which ranges across a number of disciplines including photography, drawing and wood carving. He is very passionate yet realistic about the art and emphasised a number of times that his methods and techniques are what work for him and there is no overall "right way" which has to be adhered to. This is such a refreshing and realistic approach and frees you up to concentrate on the creative process once, with his methods as a base, you can go onto developed your own style and technique. His method of using the carving tools is not only very safe but also energy efficient which reduces fatigue which, we all know, can lead to cuts!! I would not hesitate to recommend taking the chance to work with Giles. Alongside his beautiful carvings, his tremendous enthusiasm is inspirational. Many thanks again Giles and Kate for your hospitality and the use of your light and very comfortable workshop. "

Miranda Cowan reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Giles is a natural and provides a warm, welcoming and supportive learning environment. There was a genuine open approach to sharing of experience. I will be definitely be joining Giles again as feel he is a great mentor in supporting my own process in whittling / carving."

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much Miranda. It was such a pleasure to spend the day with you and Melanie and to share knowledge and experience in woodcarving and so much else. I very much look forward to seeing you again in the near future."

Melanie Louise reviewed: Art Spoon Carving with Giles Newman

"This weekend I had the pleasure of attending a Pendant Carving workshop with Giles Newman, he is a master craftsperson in fine art wood carving! I have affectionately named my pendant carving the Grubby Moth! After 6 hours of carving I came away with a lovely oak pendant that I'm very proud of (it's slightly grubby from being handled by my sweaty hands for so long ?). There was a lot of "white knuckle" carving with a super sharp knife going on! This workshop really tested my patience and determination. I usually work in a much freer, faster and more colourful way. It's worth challenging yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes, and this workshop helped me do that. It was an amazing experience to be in Giles' beautiful studio, which is purpose built in his garden. The carving process requires you to work slowly and steadily in a mindful, meditative way to carefully, and calmly carve your creation. There's no scope for rushing this process, I had to rein in my slap dash tendencies, which is a good thing! I carved a small moth, and came away with some useful life, and craft skills as well as my little pendant. I highly recommend Giles' workshops. It's a real privilege to work with an artist who has absolutely mastered, and created new dimensions within his craft form. His wood carving really is out of this world!! He is also a very knowledgeable, humble, wise, sensitive guy with a gentle and encouraging teaching style. Check out his work if you need anymore encouragement to attend one of his courses. It really is amazing, and all carved with one very small, very sharp knife and a massive amounts of love, skill and patience."

Giles Newman responded:

"Wow! I cannot thank you enough for this lovely, very kind and thoughtful review Melanie. It was a real pleasure to meet both you and Miranda and to share my carving techniques with you. I do hope that you will both continue to carve and that it will in some way find a place in your lives along with the other crafts that you do and that you teach. My thanks and best wishes to you both."

Denise Brown reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"A very enjoyable course carving oak leaf pendants under the encouraging and watchful gaze of master woodsmith Giles. A lovely, cosy workshop with welcoming hosts and copious tea…couldn’t ask for more really! Best of all, was the chance to see some of Giles’s amazing work close up - truly inspiring. It was such a relaxing and creative day, I came away with the confidence to start carving another pendant at home. I would highly recommend this course."

Beth reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Loved every moment! Giles and his wife are very welcoming and he is a great teacher, very willing to share his techniques and experience. I will hopefully book another course this time maybe spoon making."

Giles Newman responded:

"Thank you so much Beth. It was lovely to meet you and I hope that you continue to find peace and pleasure in your carving journey."

Terence sullivan reviewed: Wooden Pendant Carving with Giles Newman

"Just come back from a course with Giles and I must say it was absolutely fantastic. Giles and his lovely wife make you welcome and at ease from the start. The way Giles engages with you and how he explains the methods he uses are easy to follow. Never having done any wood carving before it was great having someone to encourage you and also taking the time to show you how to solve small mistakes was refreshing. Thank you so much."