OP Woodcraft

I had a fantastic week in September 2019 learning how to strip, prep, paint, wax, oil, stain and French polish two pieces I brought with me.I hadn’t done anything like this for about 12 years and these processes were new to me so I had lots to learn.Ollie is really nice and friendly and took me through all the steps I needed to do, and was always on hand to answer questions, share his knowledge and offer support where needed.Ollie knows a great deal about how to get the best finish and also shares which are the best products to use. It was so worthwhile doing the course and I know I could drop Ollie a message if I ever had questions in the future though his course notes are brill and I made sure to make notes and take pictures as I went along.It was totally the best thing I did for myself all year and I’ve told quite a few people at work about it :)The workshop is really calm and light and in a lovely location.I really couldn’t recommend it enough.

I really enjoyed the beginners' French Polishing course I attended. I came with two sentimentally precious old boxes in need of TLC and left with two beautiful, gleaming, delicately restored items. Ollie offers just the right balance of excellent tuition and communication, kind and patient attitude, friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and sensitive understanding of the emotional attachment to objects. I was unprepared for the therapeutic aspect of working with wood, and was quite blown away by seeing its inner qualities revealed through the stripping back and polishing process. A fantastic experience - thanks Ollie.

Attended a two day French polishing course with Ollie and thoroughly recommend it. Had a very pleasant two days stripping, sanding, sealing, polishing and waxing a £5 cutlery canteen which I had picked up in a junk shop, and came away with a beautiful shiny mahogany box which makes you want to stroke it every time you see it.Ollie is clearly extremely skilled in woodcraft and obviously loves his work- which makes for a very enjoyable learning environment. I came away wanting to understand a lot more about wood and wouldn’t hesitate to go back to Ollie to learn.

Having tried (and failed miserably) to French Polish, this course was a god send. Ollie is fantastic, friendly, professional and and tailored the course to my needs. Communication before, during and after the course was fantastic. Every step in the preparation and polishing was walked through and clearly explained along with a ton more unrelated but valuable tips on woodworking techniques to produce overall better quality pieces. I left with three pieces (I'd recently made) polished to perfection. If you want to learn how to French Polish, don't hesitate but book your course in this fully equipped workshop today!

Ollie has great talents - one of which is to teach to a high standard without being intrusive. The days spent with him were very valuable - and he was very professionaI indeed and very helpful. I had watched some videos in advance but had not done much French polishing or furniture restoration work. However, the course materials allied with the support given were enough to give me the confidence to allow me to obtain a good result on the table that I took. In such a short time I have clearly not done anything other than learn the basics, but I do feel that I could now tackle another piece alone. The time spent was of good value and of good quality. I might well go again.

We did the 2 day french polishing course. Each of us stripped, and polished a small Sutherland table. We learned and practised all the different processes including how to touch in damaged areas with wood pigments. Very enjoyable and good tuition and full details of products and prcesses provided in course notes. Before and after photos of our tables here..

Excellent two day course on french polishing with expert tutoring. My dining room chair turned out brilliantly! Ollie is a great course leader and a real professional.

I recently joined the Midcentury Furniture Restoration course at OP Woodcraft. I couldn’t commit to the full week, but discussing my pieces to work on, I was able to flexibly work over four days instead. Ollie guided me when selecting the right pieces to work on from the many items I have which have long awaited restoration. I learnt a huge amount over the days, learning as we worked, with a hands on approach. Areas covered included stripping back to wood, working with chemicals safely, sanding, and refinishing. Ollie was informative and knowledgable and happy to share his experience in a supportive and accessible way.The workshop is set in a very interesting site, worth a visit alone. I came away with a beautiful GPlan bedside table and set of Ercol Pebble nesting tables, all looking professionally stripped of their unfashionable stained look, back to the original factory finish. I came away feeling confident I could replicate what I had learned at home on the many other pieces awaiting attention.

I really enjoyed my 2 day course with Ollie and came away with a previously unloved piece of furniture I was proud of and appreciate every day! I gained a greater understanding and respect of the time, care and expertise needed to restore pieces of furniture and a MUCH better understanding of that process. For me the course was a great way to treat myself to something totally unique. I got to learn about something I have an interest in, apply myself wholly to it practically and learn from someone with a wealth of knowledge in the trade (and who is good company and has good taste in music :)) Thanks Ollie for your patience and accommodating the massive time gap between me putting my deposit down just before lock down, falling pregnant then waiting for my son to grow up a little before I could leave him for the course!