Comments, Feedback & Testimonials

Student Testimonials from Courses in Janet's Studio in Somerset

“Thank you for such a wonderful three days in your weaving studio and for all your calm, patient and enthusiastic tuition.  I am hooked ……”

- Harriet Anderson, Oxfordshire

“I would like to say how rewarding the course was and how much I learnt from you in a short space of time.  I feel confident that I can begin basic patterns now and improve with practice.”

- Kathryn Moore, Peterborough

“Thank you for a wonderful weekend.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  I have been coming to you for nearly six years.  It has revolutionised my weaving and expanded my horizons”

- Jo Andrews, London

“Thank you so much for a fantastic weekend.  From the weaving to the beach excursion, it was a perfect illustration for ‘Natural Time Out’."

- Marie-Claude Cousin, Berkshire

"Just a quick note to thank you very much indeed for your hospitality over the past two days.  I really, really enjoyed the weaving, and actually everything about the couple of days was memorable."

"I have washed the material already and it has survived!"

- Lis Coates, Gloucestershire

"Thank you for all the advice and instruction about double weaving.  Really enjoyed your workshop and when I have consolidated all you taught me will come again.  Also enjoyed the company of your other "students".  Look forward to seeing you in the future."

- Ann Clarkson, Gloucestershire

“I was one of four students all working on slightly different things and at different stages in their weaving pathways. I wanted to understand 8 shaft block weaves and did come away with a firm grasp of the incredibly simple principle that its just two lots of 4 shaft weaves! Once that sunk in I was away and feel confident that, for the moment at least, I could design something myself from the weave structure point of view. The colour possibilities would take a bit of doing and a huge amount of sampling, but at least the structure would be firm bedrock."

"Janet’s studio is tucked away behind her cottage. All the old cottages have “disconnected” gardens reached by winding back alleys from individual back doors. Samuel Taylor Coleridge the Romantic poet was a resident in the village for several years and you can easily see why he chose this particular spot. Nether Stowey is a lovely village. For those of you in the USA, it is a fairly typical large Somerset village with tiny old cottages set alongside a road with a stream running down the side. Do have a look at the website. It’s gorgeous!"

"Janet’s Garden Studio is in a patch of ground that was once a series of tan pits. It’s important to remember that all these pretty villages with their well-kept cottages were once full of industry, which we nowadays would relegate to industrial sites because of the environmental damage they cause. It’s no accident that the tan pits were adjacent to the millstream, which now babbles merrily down the village street. When Coleridge lived here that stream would probably have been orange from tanning liquid. Although I wouldn’t advocate a return to that, it was a good feeling practising our age-old craft of weaving in that environment. It has a kind of honesty and direct connection with the weavers and other craftsmen and tradesman who once would have made Nether Stowey, and thousands of similar villages, self-contained communities. It’s the way we should be going as far as possible – a natural extension of the “eat local” campaign is “buy local” and then “make local” – as far as possible.”

- Lesley Prior, Devon

Student Testimonials from Courses Held at Other Venues

“Without a ‘shadow’ of a doubt a brilliant workshop! Thank you for the excellent Shadow Weave workshop you held for the Berkshire Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers. We each came away having learnt so much with many new experiences to consider and feeling very excited to continue with our projects.”

- Denise Neville, Berkshire Guild – Shadow Weave course

“The feedback so far is that everyone bar none enjoyed your course, found the way you put theories across easy to understand and understood the practicalities of the work"

- Audrey Durrant, Cornwall Guild 4-shaft Double Cloth course

“Thank you for both the Shadow Weave course for the North Cheshire Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers and the Association Summer School in Chester. You have opened up a whole new world to me.”

- Sue Christian, Shropshire

"Thank you so much for giving us a very special evening on Tuesday. It was wonderful to see and handle such a huge array of superb fabrics and to listen to your very fascinating account of how they came to exist. The colours and textures are truly inspirational."

- Margaret Mainwaring and Solent Embroiderers Guild, Hampshire

"As promised here are the comments about you/your course from the feedback forms from students attending your ‘Moving from 4 to 8 shaft’ weaving course at the Association of Guilds Edinburgh Summer School 2011

• "Very enjoyable and I have been given sufficient resources to allow me to continue to study in a more leisurely way at home"
• "Excellent. I have learned so much and know that I have so much more to learn."
• "10 out of 10 for content, structure and deliverance."
• "Excellent."
• "Very good. Janet is an excellent teacher."

- Doreen Marsh, Edinburgh

Some Recent Comments from Master Class Students

"This course was all I hoped it would be.

Janet's teaching methods are excellent. She is a very experienced weave designer and teacher and covers the whole area of weave design very comprehensively, but with flexibility.  She tailors the course very well to match students' varying experiences, requirements and interests.

The whole course is challenging and Janet sets high standards so you have to be prepared to put in a lot of effort, but you get out what you put in.

The studio is a superb teaching environment and a great resource of books, magazines and materials.  It was greatly appreciated that we could come and go at anytime outside the main teaching day.  

The village of Nether Stowey and the local area are wonderful - what a joy to visit such a lovely place on a regular basis and Janet and her husband Nigel were so friendly and welcoming."

- Pam Hall, Cumbria. November 2014

"This is the best course I have ever attended. My aim was to learn to design and I feel I have achieved this 100%."

- Mirja Woollard , Devon. November 2014

"The course has equipped me with so many tools and more so has convinced me that weaving is what I want to do. Now I've just got to make it happen.  You"re such an inspiring teacher - thank you."

- Andrea Klar, Austria. January 2015

"Thank you for Master Class – it has been a truly amazing experience, one which taught me more than I could have hoped and has given me the chance to explore my creativity."

- Joan Scriven, Surrey.  June 2013

"Thank you so much for your time, enthusiasm and patience.  I have learnt so much, more than I thought possible in two years!  Very best wishes, may Master Class go from strength to strength."

- Marilyn Burton, Bristol.  January 2013

"I am now preparing my first warp for something that is not an assignment!! It is a scarf for a friend's 60th birthday and based on his colour preference with a bit of brightness thrown in, as I did not want it to look too beige.

I have enjoyed going through the process of planning the design focusing on the
- choice of yarn
- weave structure (based on the eight shaft samplers)
- colours (from the colour wheel and card winds to consider which contrast to use and in what proportions)
- The sett (based on the different samplers using the same yarn)
I have been able to plan out the whole thing and come up with a design and now I am doing it. Very enjoyable and I have no worries about putting on the warps now.

I really feel that I have made a leap forward after the last workshop session, and that it has pulled all the things that we have been working on together and set me up to be able to design from start to finish."

- Sue Briggs, Taunton