Latest reviews

Sharon Brown reviewed: Beginners 1-day 1-2-1 pottery / ceramics workshop for 1 person

"I've always wanted to give pottery a try - especially the wheel - and this day course was perfect. Louise was a great teacher and very good company. The morning was spent trying out different techniques - I made a couple of pinch pots, a coil pot plus a slab work vase and wall hanging. It was great to try out pattern rollers as well as pressing different materials into the clay. After a lovely lunch which we were able to eat outside in the beautiful garden, the afternoon was spent trying out the pottery wheel. Personally I wasn't fussed if I made anything or not, as I was enjoying simply trying to make something and as expected it's a lot harder than it looks! I was pleased with how it went although I kept making the same mistake but was improving each time. I ended up with a couple of things that were half decent for a beginner so that was a bonus. It's hard work using the wheel and the backs of my arms were quite stiff the next day!"

Blended Monkey - pottery - woodturning - green woodworking - pole lathe - throwing responded:

"So pleased you enjoyed your creative ceramics day Sharon :-). It was a pleasure to have you in the studio and you grasped all the techniques really well. Your pieces are drying nicely and will be biscuit fired soon. It is quite full on doing an afternoon of throwing as we're not used to putting our hands and wrists in all those weird positions. You did really well and ended up with some lovely creations across all the disciplines of pinching, coiling, slab work and throwing. Well done!"

Jane Malone reviewed: Candlemaking for Beginners

"Thoroughly enjoyed this course, lovely mix of people, great tutor, wow, just loved everything we covered! Will definitely be trying on my own to make candles, probably get the book Rob recommended, watch out family and friends, loads of candles coming for special occasions ? Anyone can do it, it’s fun!"

Colette reviewed: Paper Quilling Art Course

"I really enjoyed this course. Great for beginners. At the beginning of the session Candice shows us the piece of work we will be learning, and although it seems daunting, Candice is very encouraging and explains and demonstrates each technique very well, and by the end of the session, we've completed our own little masterpiece."

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."

Angie reviewed: Single Rose Necklace

"The Silver Rose pendant is beautiful, and came very well presented and packaged. It even had a lovely free little jewellery pouch to store it in once unwrapped. It is approx 5g in weight and complete with the silver snake chain a total Silver weight of approximately 7g. As well as being gorgeous, it is also excellent value. I messaged Louise before ordering as the pictures showed two different chains, a snake chain and a finer looking chain. I preferred the snake chain and was pleased to hear you could choose either! Obviously the pictures are close up to show the detail, so the rose is smaller than it looks on the picture which is to be expected. But it may be helpful to prospective purchasers to add the measurement in the description? But this is in no means a criticism, I am very happy with my purchase and Louise is a pleasure to deal with."

Louise Anne Designs responded:

"Thank you Angie- I am so glad you like your pendant. Also, thank you for your feedback it is always helpful as it’s easy to miss detail .Louise ?"

Teresa Garcia reviewed: 3-day vintage lampshade masterclass including the ultimate guide to starting a lampshade making business

"I loved every bit of this course. Moji is a fantastic tutor. Extremely thorough in her teaching methods. I love that she photographs and videos throughout and these are part of the tutorials after the course has finished, giving students both visual and written help. Mojis studio was a relaxing and calm environment. I loved learning traditional skills and being given sound business advice. I look forwards to other courses Moji has. I would highly recommend."

Moji Designs responded:

"Dear Teresa, Thank you for your kind words! It was an absolute pleasure having you and thank you for choosing me to work with. I am so looking forward to seeing all your future projects and hopefully see you for another course. Best wishes, Moji "

Michelle reviewed: Needle felt workshop

"An amazing morning! I took my mum to the needle felting class and we had so much fun! Yvonne is very friendly and welcoming. The class was well thought through and we both completed our felt animals in the 3 hour workshop. I learnt so much and I will definitely come back for another class."

Needle Felt Art responded:

"So pleased you both had such a fun session, with brilliant results, might I add. It would be great to felt with you both again, look forward to it ! "

Lorraine reviewed: Fab Foxes! Painting Workshop with Sue Gardner

"My course was kindly rescheduled for 14th May by Sue due to me having Covid and unable to attend on the original date . The day was absolutely 100% enjoyable from start to finish . There were 6 of us on the course and Sue introduced us to each other and made us all a cuppa before the exciting part began. I was a complete novice to painting (at age of 61 ), a few had experience in other mediums but I felt part of the class right away as we were all new to acrylics and the ‘Highland Cow’ experience. Sue took us all through the process of our creations very gently, layer by layer and her friendly warmth and encouragement was freely given to everybody along with plenty of tea and lovely cake. A relaxing day out meeting new people, tea & cake, lots of laughter and my own interpretation of the Highland Cow to bring home. Can’t wait to do another day of creating my own ‘masterpiece’ with Sue."

Sue Gardner Studio responded:

"Lorraine! How kind of you to take the time to leave your lovely review. Thank you so much, I appreciate it and I'm delighted to hear how much you enjoyed the day! You paint beautifully already! Hope to see you again soon :) Sue x"

Alison reviewed: Fused Glass Lanterns with Crafts in the Valley

"This was the second workshop I have been to. It is such an enjoyable experience and you get a lovely lantern at the end. Melanie is a very good tutor and a very generous host. I would recommend anyone to go. Don't think that you have to be artistic as Melanie guides you through every stage and all the creations look fabulous at the end. Looking forward to the Christmas workshop"

Sharon and Ross reviewed: Forge Your Own Wedding Rings- Blacksmithing Experience Day

"We had the most amazing day making our wedding rings. Jon was a really great teacher, and it was such a great experience. I was quite apprehensive as I haven't done anything like it before. With Jon's expert guidance the rings are beautiful and we will love them everyday knowing that we forged them together! I would highly recommend it or any of the other courses Jon offers. Thank you"

Carol Simpson reviewed: Fused Glass Lanterns with Crafts in the Valley

"I purchased this lantern workshop for my mum for Christmas. We were so glad I had. It was an excellent experience. Melanie was a wonderful teacher and explained the process in a way that was easy to understand and was very helpful if you needed guidance. There was a constant supply of tea and coffee plus a lovely selection of cakes. I would and have recommended to my friends and family. Thank you Melanie"

Isabelle reviewed: Making Wax Wraps

"I had a very relaxed and enjoyable wax wraps making session. Wendy is really nice, she explains clearly the steps and gives you little tips on the way, never interfering but keeping an eye on you. I made many more wraps that I expected, and they look better than the ones I had from shops, besides the pleasure to have made them myself ! Really worth it, and recommended !"

Jackie reviewed: One day Traditional Lead Stained Glass Course

"This was a really enjoyable day. We all created a stained glass panel. Cheryl is a great teacher, just the right mix of instruction and leaving us to have a go on our own. I would recommend this course to anyone of any ability level."

Cheryl Powling Glass responded:

"Thank you so much xx "

Wendy david reviewed: Make a copper bowl

"I bought a 'make a copper bowl experience', as a present for my daughter and me. I am so pleased I did. Lizzie was an excellent teacher with lots of patience. All the equipment was laid out ready for us. Every step of making the bowl was demonstrated and clear instructions given before we had a go ourselves. Lizzie was always on hand to answer questions or help, but didn’t take over. At the end of an extremely enjoyable morning, we were proud to be taking home two very beautiful, copper bowls!"

Aisling Syme reviewed: Beginners Ring Wax Carving Workshop

"So knowledgeable and super friendly; you'll have a brilliant evening. I'm signing up to another course asap!"

The Metalsmith responded:

"I'm so pleased that you had such a wonderful time! Your ring is going to look spectacular once in metal, and you'd be welcome back any time!"

Sarah Telles reviewed: Jewellery making with Precious Metal Silver Clay - Full Day Workshop

"Thank you so much for the one day silver clay jewellery making course I attended, it was fantastic, really well organised and with a small class of only four, gave plenty of opportunity for discussion and reflection. Charlotte was a brilliant tutor, I can’t quite believe I came home with such lovely pieces from a first attempt but it’s given me a real passion to take it further. Again, thank you."

Felix & Reuben Jewellery School responded:

"Hi Sarah, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the workshop. The jewellery you made was beautiful - you should be very proud of what you achieved! Thank you for the lovely review. Regards Charlotte "

Antony Dodworth reviewed: Tool sharpening

"I was very much looking forward to the course, as it had been some 35 years since I did any woodwork tool sharpening at school. Dave and his team made you instantly feel at home. I liked his honesty about sharpening, he showed you that amazing results could be achieved with very simple bits of equipment, all that was required was some time on you doing sharpening, which I got plenty of hands on practice over the day. I took 2 of my own tools along that had seen better days and looked like they had been used for removing nails, I learned how to make them look new again and left with razor sharp tools to take back home. A really enjoyable day. The time went quickly as you were always doing something."

Workshops in the Woods responded:

"So glad you enjoyed the day Anthony Dave and his team are really amazing hope we might see you again on a future course kind regards Rachel"

Sheran reviewed: Silver Clay Jewellery making class at Sandra Kerns Jewellery studio, Little Sampford

"Loved my day with Sandra learning all about using silver clay to make beautiful jewellery, I love the pendant and earrings I made. With Sandras excellent tuition I feel confident to try to make more at home."

Jane reviewed: Water Soluble Magic

"Jayne is an excellent teacher. She explains things really clearly and makes it fun and encourages you to experiment and 'have a go'. Treat yourself to some playtime!"

Lin Stokes reviewed: No Rules Patchwork

"I really enjoyed this course. It is a very creative dive into patchwork which brings out so many ideas. Jayne is an excellent teacher, her examples are wonderful, her instruction is lively and clear and it is so much fun to ditch the rules in No Rules Patchwork. You are able to work through each section at your own pace with videos and helpful links which you can return to at any time as you have unlimited time to complete the course. I would recommend any of Jayne’s courses."

Jean reviewed: Introduction to Traditional Leaded Stained-Glass Course, 2 days

"Really enjoyed the 2 day course Jo was really great at explaining the techniques & giving the background details about the craft She has great knowledge about the history of the craft & it was so good to have this explained as we progressed through the process"

Stanwick Lakes Art and Craft Courses responded:

"Thank you so much for your review and we are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed the course."

Bea reviewed: Create with a gel printing plate in Derbyshire

"This was a very useful course for improving my gelli plate practice. I learned techniques I have not used before and I had really pleasing results. The course is well balanced in relation to demonstration time vs 'do' time. Lots of space and time to practice. Thoroughly enjoyable course."

Liz Wellby - Artist, Teacher & Maker responded:

"Hi Bea, Lovely to hear about your day at The Slipper Studio and thank you for taking the time to let me know. It was good to work alongside a more experienced gel plate printer, seeing your approach to the technique and relieved that I could give you some new ways of working! I hope the masking with flowers and leaves, will send you in a new creative direction. Best wishes Liz Wellby"

Sarah McAllister reviewed: Landscape quilts workshop

"I just loved this landscape quilting workshop. Learnt so much from Jacqueline who is so attentive and supportive throughout the day. She was so helpful with every element of the quilts we were creating. It was also very good to chat and swap notes with the other attendees. I’ll definitely be booking more of Jacqueline’s workshops - so relaxed and creative. Can’t wait for the next one."

Bee-spoke Quilts responded:

"Thank you for your kind comments Sarah. It was a pleasure teaching you and seeing the landscape quilts develop during the day. I look forward to seeing you again for another workshop. I did warn you that quilting is addictive! "

Mike W reviewed: Introduction to Traditional Leaded Stained-Glass Course, 2 days

"A great experience with a helpful, personable and knowledgeable tutor in a pleasant setting. The materials and equipment were of good quality and sufficient quantity that there were few occasions when anyone had to wait. My fellow students were very friendly which made for a very enjoyable couple of days. As a bonus, I ended up with a small pane of which I am disproportionately proud"

Stanwick Lakes Art and Craft Courses responded:

"Thank you for your wonderful review. We are so pleased you enjoyed the course and glad that you feel proud of your creation!"

Jane B reviewed: Monday (Weekly) Bobbin Lace Making - Evening Mixed Lace Classes (Effingham, Surrey).

"A very enjoyable day and clear instructions from Tina as I resumed lace-making after a 10+ year break."

Tina's Bobbin Lacemaking responded:

"Hi Jane Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I was really pleased that you picked things up again so quickly, it is like learning to ride a bike. All in the muscle memory. Looking forward to seeing the progress at our next meeting. Regards Tina"