Phil Parkes Maille

Katie Wainwright reviewed: School Maille Making Workshops

"Phil came in to facilitate a series of chainmaille workshops with a group of our Year 5 and 6 pupils. We were impressed by the interactive nature of the sessions and the way he linked the practical tasks with the Welsh Humanities AoLE. Pupil engagement was outstanding, including some pupils with ALN or behavioural difficulties. As a result of pupil feedback at the close of the course, we've asked Phil to return next academic year to work with our next cohort of pupils. We'd highly recommend the sessions to other schools looking to enhance their provision of Science and Tech D&T and Humanities Welsh history 'what matters' statements."

Sorcha reviewed: A Day of Traditional Maille Making

"Extremely thorough instruction in all aspects of beginner maillemaking. Phil is an excellent teacher and very very patient. Even if you come to this course with absolutely zero prior knowledge and limited aptitude for other weaving-based crafts (like me), you will come away with a strong sense of the basics. For Reenactors or history geeks, it's worth the price for the opening lecture on different styles of European maille alone. Would recommend to anyone. "

Phil Parkes Maille responded:

" Thanks Sorcha, glad you enjoyed it and to hear that the 'theory' bit was useful too."

Richard Melhuish reviewed: Group Maille Making Workshop

"Phil is very knowledgeable and a great communicator, the history of maille making was fascinating. I can heartily recommendation this course. "

Phil Parkes Maille responded:

" Thanks Richard, it was a pleasure running this course with the group."

Kim H reviewed: A Day of Traditional Maille Making

"This course was so much fun! I wasn't sure what to expect, but Phil was a fountain of knowledge and experience that he was more than happy to share. He guided us through the process of making maille, from the very first steps of pulling the wire and making the rings to the later steps of weaving a panel of maille. He also taught us about some of the history of maille and how it was made in different periods, and we got to see some historical examples. Phil was really friendly and happy to answer all of our questions, even showing us how to repair our own maille armour for the future. The hours flew by. Highly recommended whether you're a reenactor, LARPer, cosplayer, historian, archaeologist, or somebody just interested in giving a new craft a try. "

Phil Parkes Maille responded:

" Thanks Kim. Hopefully the maille repair will come in handy and glad to hear you enjoyed the day."