About

West Dean College is CRAFTS: the classroom is the studio; the desk is the bench; and the pen is the tool.

Guided by the utopian vision of founder Edward James, who gifted his stately home to be a college for furtherance of the crafts and creativity; skills that he saw as under threat in postwar Britain, the college is the place where the makers of the future are trained.

Through an unrivalled deep immersion in traditional and contemporary practice and making, experienced tutors and West Dean students transform raw materials into beautiful things: books, musical instruments, timepieces, furniture, metalsmithing and ceramics.

West Dean: Craft Here, Craft Now presents a collection of objects, crafted by emerging makers, and shares the hidden stories behind their making. Through images, showreels and live demonstrations, the hours of painstaking skill needed to make a piece of fine furniture, carve a viol body from solid timber or transform sheet metal into a beautiful timepiece, deploying often under threat crafts, is brought into stark reality.

Mesmerised by the making? Experience the joy of making with West Dean’s series of Short Courses and Taster sessions. From bookbinding, to automata, leatherwork and more, you can try something new and Make Your Mark.

West Dean: London Craft Taster Sessions

Thursday 15th May 10:30 – 13:00, 14:00 – 16:30 – Pamphlet Bookbinding Workshop

Friday 16th May 10:30 – 13:00, 14:00-16:30  – Mini Patchwork Collage

Saturday 17th May 10:30 – 13:00, 14:00 – 16:30 – Automata Making Workshop: Tinned Automata

Sunday 18th May 10:30 – 13:00, 14:00 – 16:30 – Experience Leather Working

London Craft Week Short Courses

Monday 12th May 10:30 – 17:15 –  Art Textiles: Stitch with Found Objects

Thursday 15th May 10:15 – 17:15 – Couture Micro-Beading Embroidery: An Introduction

Friday 16th May 10:30 – 17:15 – Introduction to Bookbinding

Saturday 17th May 10:30 – 17:15 – Weaving on a Backstrap Loom

Sunday 18th May 10:30 – 17:15 – Introduction to Tapestry Weaving