We’ve had a lovely year of courses and shows, meeting new people and sending them home happy, well-fed and with a chair they’re proud of.

It’s been busy with new opportunities: we’ve taught Danish cord weaving at the Festival of Upholstery, a seat weaving class at the St.Alban’s Upholstery School and have launched workbench plans in our online shop.

Thank you so much to everyone who has come on a course, at our workshops and elsewhere. Thanks also to those who have supported us through buying products in our new shop.

Our courses start again in March but over the winter we’ve got plenty to keep us occupied: a new chair design that will be offered as a course, production of our hard finishing wax and vice screws and the launch of custom made workbenches, available from our online store. We’ll have more details of all of these in the new year.

Course Dates 2026

We’ve published the dates for our courses for 2026 – they’re all available on our website. They link through to Craft Courses for booking.

So that we don’t disappoint anyone we always run courses that have bookings; if just one person books on a particular date then that course will run. Whilst this makes no financial sense whatsoever we feel that if people make plans in advance they should be confident that they’re not going to be disappointed.

That said, we’ve scheduled over 30 courses for next season and sometimes we cancel courses that don’t have bookings a couple of weeks beforehand if they’re close to another date that’s fully booked.

If you’d like a course for a small group and our dates don’t suit you please get in touch. If we haven’t had a booking at a time that does suit you we’re always happy to move things around.

Shows – 2026

We’ve really enjoyed the shows this year and though they take out weekends during the season we find them a lovely way to meet people who are interested in our craft.

Some of these dates are provisional because not all the shows we attend have confirmed dates yet. We’ll update them on the website if they change.

• 7-10th May Living Crafts, Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
• 14-15th June Cambridge Town and Country Fair, Parker’s Piece, Cambridge
• 4-5th, 11-12th, 18-19th & 25-26th July Cambridge Open Studios – right here in Great Wilbraham
• 8-9th August Cambridge Country Show, Stow Cum Quy
• 12-13th September The Wonder of Wood Fair, Burwash Manor, Cambridge
• 30th-31st October London International Woodworking Festival, LDE UTC, Royal Docks, London

If you think there’s a craft show within an hour’s drive of Cambridge that we should attend please drop us a line. We’re always grateful for new opportunities.

Workbench plans – available now.

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded or bought paper copies of our workbench plans. We’ve had some really useful feedback on these and we are looking forward to seeing some of the finished benches.

They’re available in six different sizes: three in metric, three in imperial. But they’re not just a straight conversion. We’ve designed the imperial and metric benches around the materials most commonly available in different regions and have worked out sensible sizes so that you don’t end up with something silly like a bench top that’s six feet six and forty seven sixty-fourths of an inch!

• 1m/3.5′ – ideal for chairmaking, small and easy to store but rock solid
• 1.5m/5′ – a good sized joinery bench but every piece is manageable when setting up or moving it around
• 2m/7′ – a bench big enough for any furniture project but with a top that’s still moveable by a normal human being

These benches have been designed with five principles in mind:

• Built from easily available materials with basic woodworking tools
• Only very basic joinery skills required
• Easy and quick to set up
• Every component must be light enough to move easily around your workspace
• Rock solid; the fact that it packs down quickly mustn’t make it flimsy in use

The plans include complete cutting lists for all pieces, a suggested tool list and instructions. Eventually there will be YouTube videos. We’ve finished the introductory video and working on the next 4!

Workbench vice screws

To help you along with your workbench build we’ve started selling the vice screws that we use on our benches. You can use a metal vice attached to the top or you can get a wooden vice screw from us.

St.Alban’s Upholstery School & Studio

In September we taught a one day workshop in seat weaving with Danish cord and seagrass at the wonderful St.Albans Upholstery School. Participants brought their own chairs that needed a new seat and we worked out a solution for each chair. At the end of the day 8 new seat weavers went home with a completed chair.

It was a really challenging and worthwhile day. Usually we’re teaching people to weave the same seat with only a slight variation in pattern so seeing 8 different designs go home at the end of the day was very satisfying.

Nothing says you’ve done a good job like being invited back and we’re delighted to be delivering another course in January. Keep an eye on their website for details.

If you don’t know St.Alban’s Upholstery School and Studio I hesitate to point you towards their website. 5 minutes of looking at their gallery can prompt either a career change or radical rethink of your interior designs – you have been warned!

A splash of colour

Our amazingly talented friend Jacqui Symons at Slow Lane Studio sent us some dyed Danish cord earlier in the year. We’ve been itching to weave it into a seat and finally found the time and the right chair.

This arm chair uses cord dyed with Brazilwood. The photos don’t really do it justice. It’s an incredibly rich and deep colour and gives the light ash and muted Danish cord chair a new dimension.

We’ve got several more samples to try before we work out what to do next. It’s unlikely that it will feature on a course soon because we need to test it for colour transfer (sitting on it in light coloured trousers!) before we can be sure it’s a complete success. But for the time being we’re delighted!

Jacqui published a book recently on natural dyes and pigments. It’s the culmination of years of testing and researching and is beautifully illustrated. Available direct from her website.

Hard wax

On every course we get asked about finishes: oil or varnish, shellac or wax? We’re always very hesitant to recommend finishes to course participants because we’ve been so unhappy with what’s available. Ideally a finish should be easy to apply, hard-wearing, non-colouring and easy to repair if it gets damaged.

This is called a unicorn finish.

We’ve used lots of different finishes over the years and have had acceptable results from shellac and Osmo Polyx Raw, mixed results from oils and varnishes and disappointing results from waxes.

As a generalisation the longer a finish lasts the harder or more time-consuming it is to apply. Lots of oils and varnishes give too much orange or yellow colour to the wood. Soft waxes are easy to apply but give little long-term protection to the wood.

So several years ago we started experimenting with our own wax recipe. Most furniture waxes are soft and contain beeswax or a soft microcrystalline wax. Most use a petroleum based solvent. Most are easy to apply but offer very little longevity or protection.

But there is an alternative. Automotive and marine wax manufacturers use Carnauba wax, a natural, plant-based wax that has a higher melting point than beeswax but is much harder and longer lasting. It’s what professional ‘detailers’ use to make supercars look shiny.

We started experimenting with a blend of Carnauba wax, beeswax and citrus oil to create a wax that is definitely a little bit harder to apply than traditional soft waxes but offers much better protection and longevity.

We’ve been using it on all of our workshop and household furniture for several years and have been tweaking the formula each time. Now we’re happy with the results.

It’s applied with either a burnisher or a grey pad, left for a few minutes and then buffed off.

We use it on its own or over other finishes if required. It gives a soft, subtle sheen and leaves the wood feeling smooth and protected.

The huge advantage of a finish like this is that it can be applied in one coat and the piece of furniture can be handled straight away. You don’t need to leave it to dry overnight and if it starts to wear you can easily top it up without having to sand it back.

We’ve got to work out the packaging details and then we’ll be putting it up on website: look for it in the new year.

As always, if you’re interested in coming on a course and you want to find out more please give us a ring (07778 397328) or drop us an email. You can book all of our courses through the links on our website. If our dates aren’t perfect for you or you want to book for a group give us a call; we can usually work something out. Don’t forget course fees include all materials, lunch and refreshments each day.

Enjoy your time in the workshop.

StJohn & Bryony

They’re here: Workbench plans!

By popular request (no really!) we’re delighted to announce the publication of our workbench plans.

We’ve drawn plans to build our rock solid, take-apart bench in 1m, 1.5m, 2m, 3 1/2′, 5′ and 7′ lengths with a choice of two different vices. You have the choice of metric or imperial measurements. They’re not just conversions of the measurements we usually work in, they’re designed from the ground up in each system. They’re available in our new shop here.

Each set of plans includes 6 A1 drawings, an A4 drawing and 11 pages of instructions. We’re now working on a series of videos for YouTube to support builders with the plans. The plans are currently available for download. Paper plans will be available very soon.

From the introduction to the instructions:

“Our garage used to be a coffin makers’ workshop; in it there is a 10’ bench that is older than any living woodworker. It is built from whatever material didn’t make the grade for coffins and is hammered together with the random selection of nails they had to hand.

Despite the apparent lack of joinery, low grade materials and optimistic approach to bracing it survived life in a busy professional workshop.

Your bench will be better. It will have better joinery, more carefully selected materials and a better design. And you will put more time and thought into building it. So there’s plenty of room for error. When building it live by the phrase “It’s a workbench, not a piano.” When you’ve finished it don’t point out the errors to friends and family and soon you’ll forget where they are. If you get tear-out when you plane it: don’t worry. If you pull out a lump as you drill a through-tenon: never mind. These scars will blend with the clamp marks, the saw cuts and the glue spots that will appear the moment you start using it. Remember: “It’s a workbench, not a piano.”

The design of this bench has been evolving for many years. We run chairmaking workshops and so have built a lot of benches. With each generation they get a little bit better and this is the result.

These benches are designed for woodworkers who have a small amount of space and time to practice their craft. Space that is probably shared with bicycles, a lawn mower and a jet wash. They need a rock solid platform for planing, sawing and chiselling but have to pack it up and share it with the rest of their lives.”

Don’t forget we’re taking part in Cambridge Open Studios this month so if you want to come and have a look round we’re here between 10am and 5pm on the 12th&13th and 26th&27th July.

As always, if you’re interested in coming on a course and you want to find out more please give us a ring (07778 397328) or drop us an email. You can book all of our courses through the links on our website. If our dates aren’t perfect for you or you want to book for a group give us a call; we can usually work something out.

Enjoy your time in the workshop.

StJohn & Bryony

Coming soon: Workbench plans!

On every course and at every show we are asked about our workbenches. We’ve put a lot of thought and a lot of work into them over more than 10 years. Our most recent bench is at least the eighth iteration of a design that is always almost perfect! Just one more tweak…

So it’s time to stop procrastinating and publish the plans. We’re making these available in six different sizes: three in metric, three in imperial, all in the same set of plans. But they’re not just a straight conversion. We’ve designed the imperial and metric benches around the materials most commonly available in different regions and have worked out sensible sizes so that you don’t end up with something silly like a bench top that’s six feet six and forty seven sixty-fourths of an inch!

• 1m/3.5′ – ideal for chairmaking, small and easy to store but rock solid
• 1.5m/5′ – a good sized joinery bench but every piece is manageable when setting up or moving it around
• 2m/7′ – a bench big enough for any furniture project but with a top that’s still moveable by a normal human being

These benches have been designed with five principles in mind:

• Built from easily available materials with basic woodworking tools
• Only very basic joinery skills required
• Easy and quick to set up
• Every component must be light enough to move easily around your workspace
• Rock solid; the fact that it packs down quickly mustn’t make it flimsy in use

The plans will include complete cutting lists for all pieces, a suggested tool list and instructions. Eventually there will be YouTube videos but don’t hold your breath…

We’re setting up a shop page on our website: thequietworkshop.com and when that’s live we’ll send a very short newsletter round. Probably the end of June.

If you haven’t been on one of our courses yet but would like to see one in action then come along to…

Cambridge Open Studios

Every July, for the last 51 years, artists and craftspeople in and around Cambridge throw open their doors and invite you into their studios. It’s an incredible celebration of the creativity of the people in the area. 223 studios and 12 larger venues will be open over the four weekends of July. We’ll be taking part on the 1st, 2nd and 4th weekends: 5-6th, 12-13th & 26-27th.

We’re on page 62 of the guide. We’re listed as number 144 under my name: StJohn Starkie. The number has nothing to do with our workshop address which is 41 High Street, Great Wilbraham! We look forward to seeing you in July.

Shows this year

We had a lovely time at Living Crafts Fair at Hatfield House. If you haven’t been before we thoroughly recommend it; we’ll definitely be back next year. If you missed us there you can catch us at one of the following:

• 14-15th June Cambridge Town and Country Fair, Parker’s Piece, Cambridge
• 5th-6th, 12th-13th & 26-27th Cambridge Open Studios – right here in Great Wilbraham
• 9-10th August Cambridge Country Show, Stow Cum Quy
• 13-14th September The Wonder of Wood Fair, Burwash Manor, Cambridge
• 24-25th October London International Woodworking Festival, LDE UTC, Royal Docks, London

If you think there’s a craft show within an hour’s drive of Cambridge that we should attend please drop us a line. We’re always grateful for new opportunities.

Stools

The simple stool courses are our most popular. This two day course started with the little one rung milking stool but more and more people are asking to build them bigger. When you book this course on craftcourses.com it will default to the smallest stool. If you want to build a stool that works well under a dining table or as a bedside table choose the option to add timber for a 50cm stool. If you want it to work well at a kitchen counter select the option to add timber for a 70cm stool. These are nominal heights for the leg blanks. The seats are actually at about 46 and 64cm respectively and have been designed around long-standing conventions that suit the majority of people and living spaces. But you can always make them shorter!

Adding rungs means a bit more work rounding legs, drilling mortises and cutting tenons so it’s a slightly longer first day but you get a beautiful piece of furniture that fits your home.

As always, if you’re interested in coming on a course and you want to find out more please give us a ring (07778 397328) or drop us an email. You can book all of our courses through the links on our website. If our dates aren’t perfect for you or you want to book for a group give us a call; we can usually work something out.

Enjoy your time in the workshop.

StJohn & Bryony

Come and visit our workshops in July!

We finished the expansion of the workshops over the winter and are now running all of our courses with six participants. If you don’t have the chance to come on a course why not visit us one weekend in July? This year we’re taking part in Cambridge Open Studios and invite you to come in and see what we’re doing. There might even be biscuits…

COS has been running for over 50 years and is an annual opportunity to meet artists and craftspeople in their studios. This will be our first year opening our doors for this event and we’re really looking forward to it.

There are several local artists in the Wilbrahams and Fulbourn who will also be taking part and they’re very much worth a visit so if you’re free for a weekend in July come and see us.

We’ll be open from 10-5 on both Saturday and Sunday of the 5/6th, 12/13th and 26/27th. We’re running a course on the 19th and 20th so we won’t be open for visitors then but look forward to seeing you on any other weekend in July.

Course Dates: 2025

Loads more courses and more spaces on each course. Our course schedule for 2025 is now on our website. There might be a couple of tiny changes but if you book a course we won’t change that date.

Shows this year

We’ve had a couple of changes to our show calendar and are delighted to have been accepted to Living Crafts Festival at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. If you haven’t been before it’s worth the trip; it’s one of the biggest and most diverse craft shows we’ve been to and has an unparalleled range of workshops and activities.

• 8-11th May Living Crafts Festival Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
• 14-15th June Cambridge Town and Country Fair, Parker’s Piece, Cambridge
• 9-10th August Cambridge Country Show, Stow Cum Quy
• 13-14th September The Wonder of Wood Fair, Burwash Manor, Cambridge
• 24-25th October London International Woodworking Festival, LDE UTC, Royal Docks, London

If you think there’s a craft show within an hour’s drive of Cambridge that we should attend please drop us a line. We’re always grateful for new opportunities.

Books

We often get asked for book recommendations. Whilst there are lots of books about building Windsor Chairs there are fewer that are great for ladder backs, post and rung and rush-seated chairs. The two I got started with are often available used and are both an excellent introduction to the craft. They’re by no means exhaustive though. When describing the process of building the legs of a chair one of the authors writes, “Turn or otherwise round the legs…” which leaves plenty to the imagination. A little face-to-face instructions won’t go amiss!

Jack Hill’s book is often very reasonably priced but copies of Langsner’s book are sometimes eye-wateringly expensive. Setting up a search on Abebooksco.uk is worth doing.

What’s for tea?

All of the food on our courses is hand-made by Bryony. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu as a patisserie chef so her standards are rather high!

As always, if you’re interested in coming on a course please give us a ring (07778 397328) or drop us an email. You can book all of our courses through the links on our website.

Enjoy your time in the workshop.

StJohn & Bryony