Lampshade Making with Katrina de Toney of Lampshade Parade on Thursday 25th May. During this 3-½ hour course you will learn how to make your very own 30cm drum lampshade to take home with you. All the tips and skills that you acquire on the day will enable you to confidently recreate the steps at home to make more lampshades as and when you wish.
Katrina will provide all tools, equipment and materials required to make your drum lampshade.
The course is suitable for complete beginners as all steps will be carefully explained and demonstrated, along with all the short cuts, finer techniques and advice that will take your lampshade from amateur to professional!
This course accommodates 10 people.

Out of stock
In this workshop you will discover how to take fabulous photos with your smartphone.
We all walk round with a camera in our pocket these days and imagery is everywhere, so join us to discover how to stand out from the crowd and get the best from your phone.
The workshop will include taking photos, how to enhance them, lighting and composition as well as external apps and discussion about what you do with your photos afterwards.
This workshop would be perfect for business owners and those bloggers who use Instagram and Pinterest etc to promote their business as well as the casual photographer.
Jenny Kaye is a professional photographer and will share her hints and tips for creating stunning imagery.
This course accommodates 10 people.
Find out more about Jenny Kaye and the other workshop leaders.

Places Available
Join Caroline from Coco & Roses for a few hours of exploring & tasting fresh, seasonal, exciting and simple recipes for summer entertaining.
Caroline will share ideas and recipes for canapes, starters, sharing platters and puddings. Following the demo, you will enjoy a 2 course lunch with Caroline, tasting all the dishes and sharing ideas and tips.
Full recipe notes are included as well as welcome coffee & homemade cake and a goody bag.
This course accommodates 8 people.
Find out more about Caroline Wrench and the other workshop leaders.

Places Available
Vegetable Gardening with Julia Parker will cover all aspects of what to plant now for both a late autumn harvest and planning ahead for Spring and Summer next year.
Including herbs, vegetables and flowers, Julia will give advice and demonstrations of what and how to plant and where.
Having worked with Alitex Greenhouses giving online tutorials throughout lockdown, running her own vegetable garden design business and having co-authored a gardening & cookery book for children, Julia is confident, enthusiastic and wonderfully encouraging to the novice and green fingered gardener alike.
So, if you, like us were tempted by tomato growing, basil breeding or potato picking during our long summer at home, come and learn the top tips and insider guide as to how to make your plot (even more) productive!
This workshop will take place outside, under cover, safely and socially distanced. There will be access to toilets, hand sanitiser and masks will be available, if required.
Includes homemade refreshments and goody bag.
This course accommodates 8 people.
Find out more about Julia Parker and the other workshop leaders.

5 in stock
‘Inkspiration’ this workshop will give you a chance to explore and learn a new skill in a relaxed environment.
Judi Wymark, an experienced teacher and a practitioner of calligraphy and calligraphic art for a number of years and currently the official scribe to the Mayor of High Wycombe, will guide us in the art of Decorative Calligraphy where you will learn the skills to shape letters and create both a decorative label and a name card (perhaps as a gift for framing!), to take home with you.
All materials, paper, ink and nibs will be supplied and Judi will also have available packs of vintage nibs for sale.
You will be using ink and sharp nibs during this workshop, so we suggest that you wear an old overshirt and an apron to protect your clothes from ink stains.
This course accommodates 6 people.

2 in stock
Whether the place where you live is a mansion or a studio flat it is your ‘castle’, your anchor and your life under one roof. But does it currently feel like a place of welcome and comfort or more a functional collection of furniture?!
This short course, run by Charlotte Reynolds, aims to give a fun and informal introduction to Interior Decoration. Learn the principles of making the most of the space you have.
There will be a practical workshop putting together a sample/colour board for a fictional client.
Bring a photograph (if you would like!) of a room or area of your house that you feel doesn’t ‘work’, for discussion during the morning.
Refreshments, goody bags and all materials will be provided.
This course accommodates 5 people.
Find out more about Charlotte Reynolds and the other workshop leaders.

Places Available
Perhaps you have an event coming up or just want to learn a new and uncommon skill, this is a fantastic opportunity to create a beautiful hairpiece for yourself using millinery techniques.
Ellie Vandenbrekel of Ellie Vandenbrekel Millinery will take you through the process of designing and creating your very own, beautifully stylish headband, similar to the one pictured but of your own composition. Ellie has been working in millinery for 15 years, opening her own studio in 2016. She recently spent a year developing her craft in the Katherine Elizabeth Millinery Academy.
During this session you will be learning to work with silk abaca and how to create different shapes with this luxury millinery fabric which will adorn a padded velvet headband.
Pre-order your chosen velvet headband and abaca colours from the options provided. Beads, pearls and crystals in a wide array of colours will be available on the day.
Sewing skills are essential, as couture millinery is always sewn by hand. All materials will be provided (including a box to take your finished masterpiece home with you) but you may wish to bring an apron to protect your clothes
This course accommodates 8 people.
Find out more about Ellie Vandenbrekel and the other workshop leaders.

8 in stock
In this 3hr seasonal workshop you will be guided step by step, by Jay Nolan-Latchford, to create two beautiful pieces of art.
Midnight Sky is a gorgeous layered watercolour in shades of blue and Winter Deer is painted using inks and detailed with gold powder for a lovely sheen
Jay is a professional illustrator and award-winning tutor. She has worked as a freelance artist and also established her own design company which specialised in greetings cards and gift wrap, where her clients included, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, Selfridges and John Lewis.
Her popular classes are a wonderful way to learn to paint in a relaxed atmosphere with like-minded people.
This class is suitable for beginners upwards, there will be demonstrations and plenty of time for one to one guidance.
All of your materials and equipment will be provided as well as refreshments.
You’ll take home two completed pieces which can be photographed and used to print your personal Christmas Cards.
This course accommodates 8 people.
Find out more about Jay Nolan-Latchford and the other workshop leaders.

Out of stock
Learn the importance of the psychology of colour and how it affects our decorating choices.
Charlotte Reynolds, from Studio Portobello, will start the morning with a presentation showing how you can introduce and incorporate colour, pattern and texture to ultimately enhance your interiors and to ensure happy and harmonious living.
This is followed by questions and a general discussion session and ends with a hands on practical workshop where you can explore mood boarding.

Clare Sterland
What a lovely way to spend a few hours! Katrina guided us calmly through the morning and ensured we left proudly brandishing our handmade lampshades. Thank you for arranging a fantastic course Charlotte and for the delicious cakes and tea and coffee to keep us going. I will be back.