The pilot course for Artichoke’s first free School of Furniture is now complete, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience for both the students and Artichoke.
The principle aim of our school is simple. Can we turn teenager’s ‘lights on’ to craft?
We set the school up to help inspire anyone who has a curiosity about craft (but has never experienced it first hand), or those who are perhaps not being fully engaged by subjects covered in school.
We are thrilled that not only all our students left having achieved the course goal (to make the wooden puzzle below), but they also left feeling inspired (and with all of their fingers!).
One student in particular is now exploring a career in furniture making following his time at Artichoke. This alone, was an outcome to be proud of and we look forward to helping to inspire him and others further in the years to come.
Special thanks to Artichoke makers Wilma and Inigo, and to our production manager John, for their enthusiasm in setting up the course and for teaching our first students. We’d also like to thank Axminster Tools for their generosity in providing our students with great hand tools to use during the course. Last but not least, thanks have to go to Kai Holmes, design technology teacher at the Kings of Wessex Academy in Cheddar, for providing such a great group of students (and for helping steer us through the minefield that is children’s education).
Other blog posts on how the school was set up can be found below. If you are a furniture maker and would like to set up a school yourself, we’d be delighted to invite you here to meet our course manager and course tutors and share what we’ve learned so far.
Learn more about our commitment to nurturing creative talent.