2635 Recreational courses

Bring along 2 pieces of furniture or boxes etc to restore which reflect your experience level & the skills that you would like to learn

A hands on, comprehensive wedding flower arranging workshops for beginners, DIY Brides or for those wishing to create beautiful wedding flowers for both the bridal ceremony and reception in fresh flowers, dried flowers or artificial flowers.

Learn the fundamentals of throwing on the wheel at this relaxing pottery class in London. Return to glaze your own pots and take home your ceramics. Plus Bring a friend for free.

1-2-1 Tuition ‘Learn something new and master your craft’Pattern cutting, making, design and business consultancy for Bags and Accessories Join us in the Hands of Tym Workshop, Oxfordshire (UK) for a day of learning and making. Learn directly from Leathersmith and London College of Fashion Lecturer, Georgie Tym. Who is 1-2-1 tuition for?1-2-1 tuition is ideal for those who want a tailor made session. An excellent choice if you’re looking to make a bag, pattern cutting, discuss your ideas or bag designs, or to engage in consultancy for your business. What to expect No matter your leather crafting dreams or goals, 1-2-1 tuition has you covered. Time: Sessions run from 10am - 4pm. There will be a light lunch served at midday and tea/ coffee breaks throughout. Location: Sessions can be run online or from the Workshop of Hands Of Tym in Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 9DH. Parking: Parking is available on the drive with easy access via the M40. Transport: Banbury train station is a 30 min walk. Trains run from both London Marylebone and Birmingham to Banbury in 50 minutes. We’re also well connected to Reading, Oxford, and Leamington Spa. What's included in the price? Materials are an ADDITIONAL cost. This includes all the leather, hardware and other materials required. There will be a selection of leather and hardware colours for you to choose from on the day or you may bring your own to use. Cancellation policy Easy - Cancellation and a full refund can be obtained up to 2 weeks before the course starts About Georgie at Hands of Tym During training at Cordwainers, London College of Fashion in 2010 I learnt how to design, make and manufacture bags professionally. Following a varied career in Accessories design and development across many roles and international brands I set up Hands of Tym in 2016. The courses I offer are suitable for all, from experienced to total novice. Come along to learn something new, and design and make your own leather bag in a day.

Learn to join wood together without nails or screws

This beginner to intermediate level qualification course provides a structured exploration of the world of wine and is suitable for both wine industry professionals and wine enthusiasts. Individuals on this course will gain knowledge of the principal and regionally important grape varieties of the world and the styles of wine they produce. Through a combination of tasting and theory, candidates will explore the factors that impact style and quality and learn how to describe wines with confidence.

Are you looking for a fun activity to reward your team? Join us and up to 10 of your team at one of our crafternoon parties and spend a relaxing afternoon painting and chatting.

In this fun and creative course, you'll learn how to use sashiko mending techniques to patch your jeans with elegance. You will learn the fundamentals of visible mending jeans, which uses simple stitches to create stunning patterns and designs on the cloth. A step-by-step demonstration and guidance on how to execute sashiko stitching on jeans will be provided. You must bring your own ripped jeans or work on the sampler provided by us. Join us for this enjoyable and relaxing course to experience the delight of visible mending jeans!

Private Stained glass classes for individuals, couples, families and groups where you get to design and make your own glass piece.

If you’re a beginner bag maker, this Retreat is perfect for you. A whole weekend to immerse yourself in fabrics, stabiliser, professional techniques and tips to boost your confidence and your skills. Hopefully, there’ll be a lot of chat and laughter too! **This retreat is a little different from many others in that making a bag isn’t the point of the weekend, although you will indeed make one. The focus is on learning new transferable techniques and skills that you will be able to use on so many bags you make in the future. We have our own ‘Retreat Suite’ of rooms, including a spacious, light and airy sewing room which is equipped with a display screen so everyone can easily see demonstrations from a working viewpoint. We also have our own bathroom and kitchen facilities. If you wish, you are free to continue work after dinner and until as late (or early!) as you like. You will need to bring your own sewing machine, fabric scissors and any other favourite sewing tools, but everything else is provided. Come and join us in the exclusive Facebook group Bag Makers Retreat at https://www.facebook.com/groups/bagmakersretreat/ for all the latest retreat info, chat, gossip and more, plus a chance to meet other like-minded folks.  If you have dietary requirements, please tell me before you book, so I can be sure we can meet your needs. All meal main courses are included in the retreat fee, as are Saturday and Sunday lunches and breakfasts. Starters, desserts and drinks with meals are not included but the meals are so huge you probably won’t want starters and desserts anyway!! Tea and coffee is available whenever you need, but you do have to make it yourself!  If you’d like to stay an extra night or two, maybe to arrive on Thursday or leave on Monday if you have a long drive, let me know and I’ll check availability with our host. If you’d prefer to travel by train, we are happy to ferry you to and from the station, just ask. Please aim to arrive no later than 2pm as we have a lot of pattern cutting and fabric choosing to get through on Friday! Friday The fun starts here as you arrive at your weekend home-from-home – a beautifully refurbished, 4-star 18th century coaching inn with all the comforts you would expect. You’ll have time to settle into your own delightfully comfortable en-suite room which has all the anticipated little luxuries, before an introductory get-together with me and your companions in the sewing room at 2pm. You’ll be given your own copy of the bag pattern, which is very beginner- and domestic machine-friendly but which will incorporate a lot of features and techniques that are also in much more complex designs, making this an excellent springboard to any bag you want to make. Then you can wallow in the plentiful stash of fabrics to choose from, including some of my exclusive feature panel prints which aren’t available anywhere else. All the materials, interfacing, stabiliser, threads and bag hardware you need are supplied. As soon as you’re ready, you can start preparing and cutting out your pattern and some of the bag pieces so we can hit the ground running in the morning. After a superbly-cooked and substantial evening meal at around 6pm or so, you are welcome to continue working in the sewing room or to simply relax and chat there before bed. Saturday After an excellent breakfast, we can really start work adding to and adapting your bag pattern. You’ll work at your own pace from around 9am with no pressure – I want your weekend to be fun and not stressful! We will walk through the techniques together and I will be there the whole time to answer questions and troubleshoot any tricky bits. You’ll also have the chance to try sewing with faux leather , if you haven’t already, and we’ll explore ways and techniques to use and apply rivets.  Refreshments are freely available all day and you can take a break whenever you wish. A light lunch (with homemade cake!!) is also provided and we’ll have a short break in the middle of the day. The rest of the day will be similar to Friday – sewing, dinner at 6ish and more sewing if you wish to before bed. Do feel free to have a walk or just sit outside for a breather if the weather is kind. Sunday How can it be Sunday already?? Breakfast over, we’ll get back to work. You will need to allow a few minutes to pack and check out of your room, as it has to be made ready for Monday’s guests. Apart from that, it’s uninterrupted sewing (with refreshments and lunch breaks!) until your bag is finished. We’ll be heading off for lunch at 12.30pm or so. We have the sewing room for the rest of the day. If you don’t quite get done, there’s absolutely no need to worry as you’ll easily be able to complete your bag at home. If you finish earlier feel free to head home whenever you’re ready. Amongst loads of other hints and tips, you’ll learn – Interfacings – what to use and not to use Using stabilisers – which is best and why How to create a zipped pocket the pro way Adding a recessed zipper main closure to almost any bag Installing hardware Incorporating a built-in key fob Installing a rectangular base Sewing the bag together and topstitching A sneaky way of getting your bag right-sides-out without ugly seams! An easy way to add a zipper pull without tools Working with different types of rivet machine Faux leather on a domestic machine You’ll have handouts on all the techniques to take home. And I hope you have a lot of fun and make new friends while you learn!!  I never abandon my students at the end of the course so if you get stuck on anything at home, you are welcome to give me a shout on Messenger and we’ll sort out your problem together. The not-so-small print Book your place using the simple booking system below – just click on your choice of dates and go from there. The full price is £395.00. The deposit of £60 is non-refundable if you cancel but can, however, be credited towards a future retreat booked within the next 6 months. It is completely refundable if I or the venue cancel. The booking page only shows the Friday, but the course is running until Sunday. The balance of £335.00 is payable by approx 6 weeks before the retreat date and payment instructions will be sent to you in good time. Cancellations 4 weeks or less before the retreat date can only be refunded if someone on the waiting list can come instead. *Don’t worry that your booking confirmation may be headed Unicorn Studios – it’s just the site that I’ve run my booking system from for years… it’s not a scam!! *