Welcome to the New School of Furniture Making
Evening, Weekend & Short Woodworking Courses in East London
Unlock your creativity and craftsmanship with our expert-led woodworking and furniture-making courses, with hands-on instruction in traditional joinery, and hand tool skills.
Whether you’re a complete beginner or a more experienced maker, our small classes give you the confidence to learn woodworking.
Create beautiful, functional pieces from sustainable materials while mastering joinery, finishing, and more - all in our supportive and inspiring East London workshop.
We also offer woodwork gift vouchers, experience day vouchers, and course gift cards - perfect for giving the gift of creativity.
Featured Course
Description
Over two days you’ll make a Japanese-style bench, combining simple, elegant joinery with a practical, functional design. The frame is constructed using housing joints and dowelled screw joints, two classic joining techniques in traditional furniture making.
You’ll practise core hand skills including planing, chiselling, sawing, sanding and finishing, and learn how to shape timber with care and precision.
Suitable for all levels, from complete beginners to those wishing to refine their skills. All tools and materials are provided, and at the end you’ll take home a bench you’ve made yourself.
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Support, skill, and inspiration.
Whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced hand, we provide guidance, encouragement, and space to develop your craft at your own pace.
Testimonials
Alexandra
"Amazing course, designed for people of all experiences. You get to do lots of things and use lots of tools/techniques, all helped by the fact that Emma is a fantastic and patient teacher. Tea and biscuits through out the course a lovely addition. Now I have a fantastic Japanese stool to go home with and I will definitely be back for another course or 3! Fully recommend!"
Clare
“I recently did the stool making workshop and absolutely loved it. The pace of the workshop was perfect, the group really friendly and I had a gorgeous stool to take home at the end of it. I’ll definitely be looking to book onto another course soon. Thank you ! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️”.
Yu Xin Y
"I did the weekend Japanese bench course with my partner recently and had such a great time. Emma is very skilled at her craft but also a great teacher, and clearly demonstrated step-by-step the fundamentals of sawing, chiselling, assembling and polishing. I came away with a newfound appreciation for furniture making and love that we got to bring our own benches home (Emma's design!) Worth every penny and would 10/10 recommend."
Rachael
“I’d never used a chisel before this course, and now I’m building furniture I actually want in my house. The tutor is patient, funny, and full of knowledge.”
Emma Leslie
Alongside running the school, her award-winning practice brings a knowledge of current trends in woodwork to her classical training as a cabinet maker.


























