Happy New Year to Everyone!

We have welcomed in the new year with the first of our 2016 five-day Short Courses, which ran from 4th to 8th January.  Seven students joined us and we were delighted by their enthusiasm and the way in which they embraced an opportunity to try out all sorts of woodworking skills and techniques.

These included some wonderful handmade wooden hinges in various designs, all of them hand-carved …

… and some using ‘pyrography’, the art of decorating wood with burn marks.

One student, a trained silversmith, used his skills to create two stunning wooden boxes which he chose to embellish  with a beautiful ‘colony’ of soaring seagulls, cut from a sheet of silver metal.

The students also had the opportunity to learn the fundamental skills of cutting, sanding, oil-finishing and French polishing and how to make a small, upholstered stool – before relaxing in front of a roaring fire.

Some students take part in our Short Courses to ascertain that a full-time course in furniture design, making and restoration is right for them – and we are delighted that three of our January Short Course students will be coming back to join us as students on our full-time course starting in October 2016.  Full details about our Short ‘Taster’ Courses (and an application form) can be found here – and full details about our full-time courses can be found here.

Students who complete one of our Short Courses and then go on to sign up for our full-time, 30-week course are entitled to a full discount of the Short Course fees.