The Green Wood Guild
location_on London
local_activity classes: Woodworking
5.0 (95)
7k followers
London's centre for the traditional craft of Green Woodwork.
Our classes give you hands-on experience and in-depth tuition in the fundamental skills and techniques of green woodworking. These are suitable for total beginners and each workshop revolves around a beautiful product to make yourself and take home!
Classes
11 to 17 years
Reviews
(95)
Shanna • Apr 2024
Wonderful carving class suitable for complete beginners or potentially amateurs of similar activities (ex. I whittle, but found the wood and knife techniques to be very different for this type of carving!). The class was the right size to allow interaction / questions during the instruction component, and to enable help during practical execution. 3h was just the right length to carve a spatula and potentially a quick butter spreader on the side.
Douglas • Apr 2024
A really great experience, would recommend it to anyone!
Tim was very welcoming and an amazing teacher. Every step was explained perfectly to allow us to really take ownership of the making process.
Ended the day taking home a lovely new stool and a lot of new skills!
Michael Hemy • Apr 2024
Making a stool
Tim’s teaching through each of the stages was incredibly well explained, methodical, he was always willing to help, safety was paramount.
The workshop is well resourced, a welcome inclusive and friendly atmosphere.
Very good value for money!
We loved the joining and shaping best.
Looking forward to making a bench
to match our beautiful stools on the next course.
Michael and +1 x
Naomi • Jan 2024
I was given a Greenwood Guild bowl carving workshop as a birthday present, and it was one of the best gifts ever! Had such a fun and satisfying day learning how to use tools to make my bowl. It was a really relaxed, friendly environment thanks to our teacher Tim, who is fantastically knowledgeable and an all round lovely person.
All the materials were provided and I came home the proud owner of my own hand made bowl.
Stepney City Farm is a perfect location (and the cafe is very nice too).
Would recommend to anyone looking for a chance to exercise their creative spirit.
Maryanne McGinn • Nov 2023
Thanks to Tim and Alex for running this well paced and enjoyable class; there was plenty of technical help on hand, I learned lots of new things here, and everyone went home with a handled knife which they had made themselves.
I appreciated the emphasis on safety at all times, the good lighting, and the readily available refreshments.
I have to mention also the great venue at Stepney City Farm: nice cafe and lots of sheep and goats frolicking in the fields.
Richard Goody • Nov 2023
Great fun with a nice crowd of novices (like me!). Really helpful, knowledgeable experts ( thanks Tim and Alex) who definitely made the whole knife forging process a success for everyone. Nice City Farm setting with Cafe and farmers market on site. Brilliant day :)
Georgia • Jul 2023
Really nice teacher, lovely venue and had a great time creating my spatula! Thank you
Charlotte Turner • Jul 2023
2 ClassBento workshops attended • 2 reviews
This class was great, set in a beautiful workshop on Stepney City Farm, and led by a really engaging and fun teacher. Everything was clear and explained well, and we all learned a lot. A really satisfying way to spend a day and highly recommended- and conveniently right next to a farm cafe for lunch afterwards. Looking forward to using what I made once it’s oiled!
Ciara Johnson • Jun 2023
I can’t recommend the stool making workshop enough. Tim was incredibly friendly, easy to understand and gave great one on one support to all. I thought I’d botch it but was pleasantly surprised! I think it’s great value for money based on the amount you cover in the time given and you get a handmade stool out of it!
If you’re deliberating, I’d say just give it a go. The group was really lovely, and max people is 6 so it’s not too full on in number.
All in all, loved it and going to do more!
Federeico Nannini • Apr 2023
Great Sunday! Really enjoyed Tim’s workshop and all the tips learned around traditional wood work. Don’t pick this course if you expect mechanical tools and glue, this is really about the essence of the material and how to treat it according to its natural properties.
Jamie Laws • Mar 2023
Tim was an excellent educator and all round down to earth person. Very approachable and clearly passionate about woodworking, answering all related queries in detail and in layman’s terms. Explaining why we used certain material and tools. Would highly recommend to anyone (coming from someone with no woodworking skills or background). And you come away with a new statement piece for your home. Also nice being in the setting of Stepney City Farm, really created that extra bit of immersion, rather than a generic municipal style building.
Nicholas Gardiner • Jan 2023
Fabulous experience, really knowledgeable, friendly and inclusive teaching. A relaxed atmosphere to spend a day and walked out with something I’m really proud of.
Robbie Hopper • Jan 2023
Good teacher and good pace. Easy 5 stars
Kate Pemberton • Jan 2023
This was a great class – lots of fun. The teacher was excellent, very clear and friendly. I love the setting on the farm in the middle of the city. We were offered tea or coffee and biscuits too! I am very pleased with my spatula and would enjoy doing further woodworking classes.
Donna Blackburn • Jan 2023
2 ClassBento workshops attended • 2 reviews
Loved it and the teacher was brilliant Plus we got tea and biscuits ! Can’t wait to do more !
Junjie Lu • Nov 2022
This is my second time here. Tim is nice as always, and the venue is well equipped. I am very satisfied with the stool! This workshop left a super good memory for me!
Skye Corewijn • Nov 2022
Such a good day! Tim was a great teacher, super helpful and patient. It’s amazing to walk in with no experience at all, and leave with something beautiful you’ve made. Makes for the perfect gift for someone who enjoys working with their hands.
Claire Mitchell • Nov 2022
What a great class, I can't believe I made a stool in just one day! Tim is a great teacher and supports you throughout the whole workshop and gives you lots of information so you could go away and make your own stool at home if you wanted to. I really recommend classes at the Green Wood Guild, plus you get to see the animals on the farm in the breaktimes.
Junjie Lu • Nov 2022
It was a great woodworking class and a very fulfilling day! Although this was my first time doing it, with Tim's help, I got it done and I think it's pretty good. It's on a farm, everything is so good. This course is for everyone!
Rob Lake • Oct 2022
A fantastic day. Tim’s a great teacher, and Stepney City Farm is a great location. Altogether a very rewarding experience,
Alexander Lovell • Oct 2022
I made a bench to fit my balcony. It was a work out physically and mentally. I have come away with new skills, new friends and a new bench! What else can you wish for?!
Francis Marshall • May 2022
A fantastic day that, quite simply, flew by. Tim is a great trainer. He took us step by step through the process of making our bowls and Kuska cup. He was patient and extremely helpful. The workshop is set up really well and I never knew that there are so many tools that can be used for wood carving. Thank you
Daniel Brady • May 2022
Tom was a great instructor. He gave us the important information and training without overloading us, and he was happy to explain more, answer questions, and help us achieve specific results with our knives. He kept us moving at a good pace, and rather than rushing the folks whose knives were progressing slower than others he simply helped us catch up so we could all stay on track together. I would love to take another of his workshops, if he does any others.
The woodcraft workshop at Stepney Farm is a small space but well-suited to classes like this, and the atmosphere of the farm itself really sets the tone for a day of woodcraft. All materials were provided and more than adequate for our purposes.
The workshops at the Green Wood Guild are expensive, but I don't think they are unreasonable for the experiences I've had. You're paying for 8+ hours of personal instruction from an experienced craftsman, plus the cost of the materials and exclusive use of the woodworking studio and its resources. You also get to take what you make, not just what you learn. So if you're like me and can afford to spend money on passions but aren't certain woodcraft is for you, I'd recommend these workshops: the instructors are quite passionate about what they're teaching you, so even if they don't end up passing along their passion to you, you'll at least have a good time.
Charlie Woolley • May 2022
A really engaging and challenging day learning new skills and developing techniques. Fantastic location.
Patient and communicative instructor.
Most important of all we got to make a knife! Highly recommended.
Ramone Anderson • Feb 2022
I had a really great experience at the workshop. It was my first time woodworking and Tim made it enjoyable and gave me techniques and information for taking woodwork further if I so wished. The workshop is on a nice little city farm with a really nice cafe on site (although the cafe is a tad pricey the food was tasty!). All materials were provided by the workshop and I walked away with a wooden bowl that I carved myself and I couldn't be happier!
