Woodworking Course: Introduction to Furniture Building

Recent reviews of Woodworking Course: Introduction to Furniture Building

• 5/5 from Maria Angelopoulos, attended Sep 2026: Mark and Ben were great teachers. The class was very easy to follow and learned many new skills
• 5/5 from Andrew Main, attended Sep 2026: I'd like to thank Mark and Ben for giving the Sep 12/13 Introduction course such a positive vibe, pitching it at what appeared to me the right level of complexity. Like Goldilocks' porridge, they had to get the degree of difficulty "just right". Not too easy and not too complicated. Mark could run these courses under wet cement, in terms of how much he knows and has done to explain how things work. Ben meanwhile was doing his first ever course of this type and he acquitted himself extremely well, producing a succession of canny workarounds that allowed us (well, me) to do a better job than we deserved. Highly recommended.
• 5/5 from Andrea Ehlers, attended Jul 2026: Loved the 2 days building a side table and will be back to do more. I learnt a lot by 'getting on the tools' and found the experience really satisfying. I was really impressed with the table design that we were given - well ahead of my expectations - which added to the sense of pride in the outcome! Tim was a great workshop teacher - very knowledgable and explained the materials, tools and steps clearly. I couldn't have done without his help and guidance as well as patience to fix minor mis-steps to end up with a quite beautiful table.
• 5/5 from Anurati Krishnamurthy, attended Apr 2026: Tim is a passionate and supportive teacher who makes woodworking feel accessible and achievable. He clearly demonstrated how to create beautiful furniture using just a small set of hand tools, which was both inspiring and empowering. I especially appreciated his focus on reclaimed wood and the sustainable possibilities it offers. I thoroughly enjoyed the table-making process, and Tim’s guidance on making small adjustments really helped elevate the final result. It was a rewarding experience, and I walked away feeling confident and inspired to keep creating.
• 5/5 from Hester Raijmakers, attended Apr 2026: Fabulous class, can't believe we made an incredibly beautiful piece of furniture in 2 days. Tim our instructor was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, generous with his time and skills...I can't recommend this course more highly!! Will be back
• 5/5 from Xeni Kusumitra, attended Apr 2026: This is a wonderful course to learn basic woodworking skills and go home with a small stylish table. I learnt lots of tips and tricks. Tim, the teacher, was very helpful and observant. His encouragement helped me enjoy learning very much. I learnt what hand tools to buy to start making simple pieces of furniture as well, very valuable suggestions. I will definitely use those tips and tricks in my woodworking journey.
• 4/5 from Barry Costin, attended Apr 2026: Tim the instructor was great - nice manner, good at explaining things, patient, passionate and enthusiastic. He managed the time well. The time allowed for the course was fine - people could make errors or be slower than others and there was plenty of buffer to catch up or chat to others while you waited. The side table to be made is a nice design and made an aspirational object to strive for. A couple of different options for staining/oiling would be good - not everyone likes the yellowish finish of the Long Oil. Only negatives: * better lighting would be good - I was in a fairly dark area at the back and with overcast outside it was often difficult to see detail or shadows were cast affecting precision. * I know it is a commercial workshop but the toilet was pretty gross - dirty, lacking in hand towels, filthy door handles. * would be good to have a kettle and milk to make tea or instant coffee * the course details/instructions sent out ahead of the course made no mention of whether you needed to bring food/water and what breaks to expect.
• 5/5 from Eliza Hui, attended Jan 2026: Great class, lots of practical tips for your own home projects and a lovely little table to take home at the end. Tim was great, very knowledgeable and clear and there was plenty of time to get out all done. Would recommend!
• 5/5 from Rhoni Stokes, attended Nov 2025: Was given the course as a birthday present. Tim (the teacher) explained not only how but also why different techniques were used. This made it really useful for applying what we covered to other/future projects.
• 5/5 from Andrew Ugarte, attended Nov 2025: Tim was great. Room was suitable. Short a few tools though (plains, sanders etc) so a bit of waiting around but overall very enjoyable and great skills learnt for future projects.
• 5/5 from Felicia Kwok, attended Nov 2025: Freakin amazing, great teaching of theory and corrections!! Tips and tricks were great, and bery relevant. Success!
• 5/5 from Daniel Kimber, attended Aug 2025: This class was everything I hoped for! Tim, the teacher, was a true expert and easy on us beginners! Great to get fully focused on something new and different from my daily world -and I was very proud of the table i built -why wouldn’t you want to get among the trees?
• 5/5 from Benjamin Vella, attended Aug 2025: An amazing class
• 5/5 from Kathleen Allen, attended Jun 2025: It was for present for my birthday to share with my daughter.The teachers were great.I felt relaxed and I loved the quote "all mistakes can be fixed" I learnt about dowles, bevelled edges, plaining, filling and sanding. Thank you so much for a lively weekend.
• 5/5 from Kc Kasturi, attended Jun 2025: Excellent class! I really enjoyed the intensive two day hands-on workshop that concluded in creating a beautiful piece of furniture. I loved the focus on sustainable woodworking and the use of reclaimed wood to create pieces. The instructors were great and I want to especially call out Tim who was exceptional in his instruction and engagement! I would do a class with him anytime!
• 5/5 from Jenine Cahill, attended Jun 2025: Excellent class - my second one with among the trees. Great instructors - always fun.
• 5/5 from Samuel Beck, attended Jun 2025: Such a wonderful class with passionate and knowledgeable teachers. Great way to meet new people and the class teaches you a tonne of basics and tips & tricks.
• 5/5 from Antonella Schulte, attended Apr 2025: Absolutely amazing! I learnt a lot about working with wood, got to try a range of really cool tools and made an amazing table by the end to boot! Loved it! Mark and Tim were so lovely, so generous with their time and knowledge and were just all round brilliant. Highly recommended!!
• 5/5 from Ashok Dixit, attended Apr 2025: Great intro and got me back into woodworking. Tim and Mark are extremely knowledgeable and as a noob, saved my little table from disaster multiple times. Thank you for the encouragement and advice.
• 5/5 from Anita Tavernese, attended Apr 2025: What a fantastic class...challenging, fun and fulfilling. Tim and Mark were fantastic! Tim in particular helped me alot and was super patient and kind. Such an amazing craftsman...he has so much expertise its amazing...
• 5/5 from Jodi Knight, attended Apr 2025: Teachers were great. 10/10. We did the end table. Great instruction and we all ended up with super cool little tables. mark and Tim helped us fix all our issues, and having the two teachers was great for the class size. Some feedback - some of the benches (the new ones) are super light and when you have two people on them, they can move or rock, and that gets dangerous when someone has power tools. suggest some weights or bolting them down. Having some more clear signage on where things go could help with students autonomy, and also in pack up.
• 5/5 from Bill Simpson-Young, attended Jan 2025: I found the 2-day Introduction to Furniture Building an excellent class in lots of ways. The 2 instructors Mark and Tim were fantastic - both extremely knowledgeable, competent and great teachers yet both with quite different approaches and perspectives on the craft so it was always interesting. The project of making the table was well designed as it covered a lot of different challenges and techniques yet simple enough that everyone finished with a high quality product. There was also lots of opportunities to rry out different tools for doing the same thing to increase the learning. I learned a lot and am keen to do further courses at Among The Trees. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to start off trying furniture building
• 5/5 from John Caillard, attended Jan 2025: I learned lots of techniques and tips to help me make a table by making a little one. Mark and Tim were great instructors and very encouraging to those of us who had limited woodworking skills. I feel inspired to make the dining table I’ve been thinking about for the last few years. The course was fun and empowering.
• 5/5 from Mel Broe, attended Jan 2025: Great workshop! Excellent teachers, nice design to make, great atmosphere. Well timed and well worth the money.
• 5/5 from Catherine Sweeney, attended Nov 2024: Whether you are a complete beginner or a bit handy like me, this is an excellent course. The materials, tools, room and constant assistance and advice were excellent. In our group of 10, even the most challenged completed the project and did a good job. Also great to be offered on going help, just call. I'd recommend this course to all beginners of any standard. Luke
• 5/5 from Lisa Jackson Pulver, attended Nov 2024: This was the first time I had been to this class, and wished we could have made two of these lovely tables - they are perfect for the bedside. Mark is a brilliant facilitator, Tim his amazing technical support, the team combined made a powerful team that facilitated a varied group through this process with ease, laughter and left us all with a sense of achievement. Well done to Luke for running this course, well done to Mark and Tim for a memorable weekend.
• 5/5 from Alex W, attended Nov 2024: ..........jnv
• 5/5 from Daniella Nasso, attended Nov 2024: - This was a birthday present that I received a few weeks ago. - I learnt a lot during the workshop. It feels so easy when you have the right tool, the workshop and people to teach you! Anyway I really enjoyed it. - Mark and Tim were really good, very patient and knowledgeable. Very good team! - The workshop and equipment available were very good with the right number of equipment and workbenches. Really good setup. - What I like the most? The people, working with wood, learning new skills.
• 5/5 from Georgia Verkuylen, attended Nov 2024: Great teachers - Mark & Tim - with clear instructions to really get the learnings you want. They gave excellent tips, techniques and finishes that were for each persons ideas in what they wanted to create. Really loved it and will come and do more courses.
• 5/5 from Tim Sharp, attended Nov 2024: A fantastic course with even more fantastic instructors. Exactly as you’d expect from its description. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back for more
• 5/5 from Mia Evans, attended Sep 2024: I loved this course - I learned so much! I am definitely a beginner but there were people of all skill levels there and it seemed everyone took something away from it. Honestly one of my favourite parts was making mistakes/seeing others make mistakes and getting to learn how you would fix them - such a valuable skill and something that’s made me intimidated to not want to make things in the past. Mark and Tim were fantastic teachers and I feel confident now to take on more projects in the future!
• 5/5 from Nick Glynn, attended Sep 2024: Great instruction and instructors! The Mark and Tim dynamic was fantastic and would, and have, recommend the course to others. A bit of understanding/use of tools is good and definitely helps the class go smoother!
• 5/5 from Helen Dengate, attended Sep 2024: What a fabulous weekend class! Highly skilled teachers - Mark & Tim - guiding us through the technical specifics from making a table. It was fun, inspiring and satisfying. Everyone made a successful product and learned skills to allow them to create future woodworking projects at home. So professional - I loved it. I am about to check out what other courses are on offer.
• 5/5 from Phoebe Moult, attended Sep 2024: Mark and Tim were great teachers, very knowledgeable and friendly. I am a complete beginner and was made to feel very comfortable. I was very happy with my table and learnt lots of skills that I can take with me onto the next project!
• 5/5 from Jake McLoon, attended Sep 2024: Mark and Tim were fantastic all weekend. Great skills learnt. Using most hand tools to get the finishes and focus on easy to access equipment that is cost effective to have at home
• 5/5 from James Smith, attended Jun 2024: Fantastic course no matter your experience. Well planned and delivered. Practical and focused on helping everyone to gain new skills. Great teacher and assistants
• 5/5 from Cal Peoples, attended Jun 2024: Mark and the other teachers were terrific very patient and genuinely interested in helping. I very much enjoyed my course. One recommendation might be to have a list of tasks so that people can keep track of what to do through out the day.
• 5/5 from Alexandra Kruger, attended Jun 2024: Thoroughly enjoyed the class. Mark is a great teacher - very knowledgeable and patient. He genuinely wanted to see us all succeed. He explained the steps clearly and made the class very accessible for beginners. Loved the magic trick.
• 5/5 from Raphael Lukaszewski, attended Jun 2024: Great class. Really enjoyable and fun to take home a real piece of furniture. Recommend!
• 5/5 from Jane Compton, attended Mar 2024: Great class. really well organised, and the folks running it were genuinely interested in how they could improve it. they gave everyone the attention they needed, and made it seem pretty seamless. that must've been really difficult with a random group. I'm surprised and so happy that I managed to come away with a complete side table in two very full days. course was excellent value for money. I was a total newbie and found I just had to pick up the tools/glue/wood and give it a go. everyone stuffed up something, and that was the best thing - it's hard to know how to fix mistakes when you are doing stuff on your own (this applies to sewing, baking etc as well as woodwork).
• 5/5 from Giselle Nixon, attended Dec 2023: Very fun and engaging class! Learnt a bunch of new skills with different tools & felt challenged in all the right ways. Mark was a great teacher