Latest reviews

5 May 17'

Niels Archer reviewed: Furniture Making - Cabinetmaking Fundamentals in East Sussex

"John's clarity, expertise and sense of humour. Pace was just right and facilities provided all you could need, including biscuits."

5 May 17'

Victoria reviewed: ‘Winter dream ' wool painting face-to-face textile art course in Worcestershire

"Such a lovely lady with a great talent! Passionate in her business which shines through into her incredible work!"

4 May 17'

Ray & Yoka reviewed: One day stained glass course

"I just wanted to say thanks for a lovely day last week. Anna and I really enjoyed ourselves and we are already thinking about the Copper foiling workshop sometime in the autumn. You are a real inspiration and I loved your place and your gorgeous dogs. I have put my masterpiece in my kitchen window and it looks great"

4 May 17'

Sooky & Julie reviewed: One day stained glass course

"A day with Cheryl learning some of the skills needed in stain glass window making was the perfect gift. We both had a great day and we even produce two really lovely window plagues which we will proudly display for all to see. Cheryl was a calm, encouraging tutor and a great cuppa tea maker too. The choice of different glass colours,textures,and density was mind blowing, and made choosing which to use a wonderful problem. Would we do it again -yes, would we recommend it to a friend -yes,and to a stranger too.”"

4 May 17'

Lindsay reviewed: Bespoke candle making workshop - Edinburgh

"Totally loved Kerry's candle making workshop.. really good fun and loved the finished article. Also really enjoyed meeting all the people at the workshop a great combination of different characters were doing the course. Temple is a lovely place and kerrys kitchen is the perfect location- amazing scones too - highly recommended!!"

4 May 17'

Naomi reviewed: Feather Crafting with Phabulous Pheasant

"Excellent tutorials by a lovely lady. Thoroughly enjoyed the class and have enrolled for another"

4 May 17'

Maria & Sarah reviewed: Introduction to candle-making as a business

"Jo gave us such a warm welcome to her idyllic home with a delicious latte. Jo was very informative and easy to talk to, we asked many questions which Jo was more than happy to answer. It was so nice to be taught on a one to one basis. We came away with so many lovely candles and were inspired to create more at home. Extremely good value for money and included a yummy homemade soup. We would definitely recommend to anyone wishing to try candle making."

4 May 17'

Richard Pugh reviewed: willow sculpture weaving workshop

"I have attended a few of Amanda's workshops now and am impressed with her knowledge and skills not to mention patience with us all. The sculpture workshop I found challenging but extremely rewarding as my odd shape eventually became a snake complete with several wiggles! On that workshop others made chickens,pheasants,cats,balls,obelisks and Amanda never once lost her cool and hopped about between us encouraging guiding and tweaking until we had all finished with great results. The cake was delicious!"

4 May 17'

Diane T reviewed: Can't crochet, won't crochet?

"Have been wanting - and trying - to learn to crochet for years without much success (books, online videos etc, not to mention a course in a busy, noisy shop - hopeless if, like me, you're hearing impaired!) But now I can, thanks to Yvonne's excellent half-day course. Perfect environment - warm, comfortable, welcoming and quiet - and being part of a small group helped enormously. Yvonne is such a good tutor: knowledgeable, enthusiastic and patient; she gave plenty of individual help and guidance, answered all our questions, and provided very good handouts. The course was excellent value too; I left feeling truly inspired and couldn't wait to crack on with those granny squares! Highly recommended - definitely a 5* course."

4 May 17'

Sarah reviewed: Make a silver ring or bangle

"I had a fantastic and insightful day with Lucy yesterday. I am a degree student, studying jewellery and metalwork and I wanted to perfect some of the skills that I already have. I chose to do some stone setting with Lucy and I learned so much in one day. I feel I have come away from the session with much more confidence and knowledge to apply to my own designs. Her expertise is invaluable and I will definitely be booking another session with her soon."

3 May 17'

Cathryn Smith reviewed: Making a stained glass leaded panel

"Had a great day with Caryl and 3 other stained glass novices. Only 4 of us meant that Caryl could spend lots of time helping us through the processes. We had quite a bit of practise time on plain glass before moving onto the real thing. I've never done anything like that before, but I really enjoyed it and felt supported right through to the end. Lunch was good (veggie and meat) and lots of teas/coffees throughout the day. I'd definitely recommend it and would like to do another one."

3 May 17'

Jamie Bransden reviewed: Stone Carving Workshop

"An excellent course - well designed for beginners, or more experienced people in the industry. Everyone left with a new set of skills and a lovely personal carving. I feel I can now use the skills I learned and work on making some of my own carvings at home. I think it's quite an achievement that Olly managed to get everyone up to that standard in just 2 days. Thanks!"

3 May 17'

Kevin O'Hara reviewed: Four day intensive beginners woodwork course

"I've just completed the four day intensive beginners course and absolutely loved it. Coming into the course I could barely saw in a straight line and at the end of 4 days I left with a beautiful piece of furniture that I still can’t quite believe I made. Ciarán is passionate about woodworking but also showing others that they can do it too no matter how little experience they might have. Ciarán’s background in teaching really shows, the class was perfectly paced and small enough that not only everyone got the help and advice that they needed from Ciarán but also got to know each other well, chatting and helping out where needed. I have come away with new skills and the motivation to build on them going forward. I would recommend this course without hesitation, oh and the lunches everyday were excellent!"

3 May 17'

Hayley reviewed: Improvers Hand Spinning - Next Steps in Hand Spinning - at All in a Spin

"Absolutely superb. What are you waiting for? Just book it! Dunja is a great teacher, very proficient and experienced in her craft and generally a lovely lady. The teaching was well organised but also relaxed, and we were always encouraged and supported. The farm is also very beautiful and I can't think of a better place to learn or a better teacher to learn from."

3 May 17'

Hayley reviewed: Beginners Hand spinning - 'From fleece to fibre’ - at All in a Spin

"I can't speak highly enough of this wonderful workshop and Dunja's superb and patient teaching. As a complete novice, I didn't think I'd get very far on a one- day course, but leaving there with my hand-spun skein of yarn was so satisfying and inspiring! I learned so much in a short time, but it was also very relaxed and soothing. The surroundings are also beautiful. I highly recommend this course."

3 May 17'

Mark and David reviewed: One day welding course: an introduction

"Two of us had an excellent day with Julian who is a really friendly and welcoming person who immediately put us at ease with the new tasks of learning the basics of welding. First we discussed what we wanted to obtain from the day then we spent a short time going over the theory of the different types of welding technologies and techniques. Then we spent a very enjoyable day with lots and lots of hands on practical training that was always explained in a clear and understandable way. We covered all the basics of MIG welding and spent a little bit of time on ARC but we both feel able now to confidently go and buy our welding machine and set to mending and making stuff. Overall a very enjoyable day and I thoroughly recommend the course. I plan to rebook for another day to cover GAS welding."

3 May 17'

Tony Tanner reviewed: One day welding course: an introduction

"I recently attended a one day "Introduction to Practical welding "course . A wonderful day!!! Julian is a very interesting person with a very friendly and relaxed manner who makes you feel very welcome from the outset. He has a fascinating mix of creativity and craftsmanship and is dedicated teacher as well as an artist /craftsman who was totally committed to ensuring that by the end of the day I would have a good working knowledge of MIG and "Stick" welding and sufficient ability to embark on creating metal sculptures in stainless steel. The course is individually tailored to fit individual students goals and after about an hour of introductory theory, the rest of the day was spent in practising different types of welded joints.I practised for hours ,learning to join metals of different thickness and profile in different ways, but interspersed with regular tea breaks which made for a great learning experience. Although the course was scheduled to finish at 5.00pm it was 7.00pm by the time I left as Julian was determined to help me make the most of the opportunity! I left feeling inspired and determined to put what I had learned to good use as soon as possible. The course is great value for money as well as a very interesting learning experience and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to acquire a good basic level of welding ability in a short time."

3 May 17'

Toni Pickering reviewed: Basic to advanced knitting workshops in Leeds City Centre

"Ann is a friendly, welcoming, informative teacher who was not only great at the job in hand so to speak, crochet, but was great company also. The 2 hours provide a great starting base/practice time for the skills that Ann teaches you and the surroundings of the tea room are fantastic - staff were friendly and the loose tea I chose was fantastic. This course is excellent value for money and would recommend to anyone starting to learn crochet. Thank you very much."

3 May 17'

Ian McIntyre reviewed: Plaster mould making for slip cast ceramics with Ed Bentley

"I worked with Ed on a research project as part of my doctorate studies with Manchester School of Art, York Art Gallery and the British Ceramics Biennial. I have a number of years experience in ceramic design for production but Ed's industry know-how and refined model/mould making skills were exactly what I needed to visualise and test some of the ideas. When I hit technical sticking points and needed a soundboard he was passionate, enthusiastic and jumped straight in. I'll be working with him in the future for sure."

3 May 17'

Judith Clegg reviewed: Weekend Workshop and Retreat - Curvaceous Railfence

"Course/teaching- thought this was a good project as it was achievable in the time and also involved revisiting basic skills and learning new ones. Sheena coped admirably with a mixed bunch of students. Her good humour never faltered and she had time to help each of us especially at crisis points! Sheena manages to instil confidence and "can do" attitude in her students, a rare quality indeed."

2 May 17'

Andrew Hazlewood reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"I went on this course with my son and had a really enjoyable day. We both got a lot out of the course and Chris was a great teacher, explaining and demonstrating as we went. Would recommend."

2 May 17'

Cat Oliver reviewed: Two day stained glass workshop - lead panels or garden sculpture

"I have now been on two of Gigha's courses - one for Tiffany glass making Christmas decorations and the other for stained glass lead panels. Both days were brilliant, I learnt new skills on each day, found it to be a challenge but enjoyable. Gigha's instruction is excellent - she's very experienced with stained glass and has a really nice way of teaching people. The lunch is good too and the location is beautiful. Thanks Gigha, I will hopefully be back!"

2 May 17'

Katie reviewed: Pottery making party in lovely seaside studio

"My friend and I had a wonderful day and learnt a lot about working with clay. We both love the things we made and felt very looked after by Jenny in her beautiful Studio and home. Thank you Jenny"

2 May 17'

Cressida Downing reviewed: A fabulous introduction to fused glass - one day course

"A great day that's been really well thought out. We started with introductions (including to the studio dog - Boo) and plenty of hot drinks (available throughout - good range) and then Siobhan told us about how fused glass works and how the various different techniques produce different effects. We got straight in to a small piece (bit of a trial run really), it was definitely not as easy as she made it look! It was a lot of fun though and i ended up with something that looked more or less what i had in mind. We had a lovely fresh buffet lunch then got stuck in to a bigger piece of our choice in the afternoon. There were plenty of different colours to choose from, and a lot of help as needed. Siobhan has a knack for pushing you past your comfort zone slightly which is actually exactly what you need. I would recommend you come with a vague idea of what you want to do - although there are plenty of books and inspiration all around. We got an email with the images a few days later - it was great to see how they all turned out and i'm looking forward to getting the finished pieces soon."

2 May 17'

Prof Chris Oliver reviewed: Two day stained glass workshop - lead panels or garden sculpture

"Great course as a novice. Gigha was very caring and responsive. I would certainly attend again. Well done & thank you!"