Do something different: workshops, courses and games for 2013

Do something different: workshops, courses and games for 2013

11 January, 2013
by: Spoonfed Team

Fancy stuffing your own foxes? Or guerilla gardening your neighbourhood? 

January is a month where people give stuff up and get healthy. But it's such an unforgiving month (back to work, no public holidays in sight, frickin' freezing, etc) that it can break even the most strong-willed of us. And why should we give stuff up? We like that stuff. It makes us feel warm inside. Why not take something up instead? Stop moping, turn off Eastenders (it's no good without Derek anyway), and learn a new skill. It will be a lot more fun than the cabbage soup diet, we promise. 

Screen print
You don't have to be an artistic genius to produce a decent screen print and you don't have to spend a ton of money on equipment either. With a modicum of creativity and something called a squeegee, you can make your own awesome T-shirts and artwork. Based in Dalston, the Print Club London offer beginners workshops that teach you how to screen print your own designs, taking you through the whole process from digital image to pulling the squeegee (hehe).

Take up dominoes
We're going to let you into a secret here: nobody under the age of 50 knows how to play dominoes. It's something to do with matching the numbers up, but much like Papa Lazarou's imaginary language in The League of Gentlemen, if everyone just plays along and pretends to understand, you've got a pretty cool-looking game on your hands. Once you reach your 50th birthday, an old Cuban man in a panama hat will give you the rule book and swear you to secrecy, but until then, grab yourself a set and fill your boots.

Get stuffing
British taxidermy is thriving at the moment, with cutting edge artists like Polly Morgan and Kelly McCallum selling their stuffed works of art for a small fortune. If you can't afford to blow a few grand on a diamond-encrusted flamingo, then why not try it yourself? There are all sorts of beginners classes running in London from the Curious Managerie's one day squirrel course, to the London Taxidermy Academy's short evening and weekend classes for foxes, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds and rabbits. They provide all the materials and you get to take your mounted specimen with you at the end. Whether or not you pop a jaunty hat on him afterwards is entirely up to you. 

Brew your own booze
Sod going sober, we just need to drink better booze. The spirit connoisseurs at the Portobello Road Ginstitute offer a bespoke gin blending course, where you can learn about the history of gin, smell and taste all the botanical ingredients that go into into it and create your own personalised bottle of the stuff. They will then keep the recipe on file and you can reorder it as many times as you want. Good man Ginstitute!

Learn how to fix things
They really should have taught DIY in school, it would have been a heck of a lot more useful than Latin. If you're sick of forking out for plumbers and builders to do simple jobs around the home, then learn how to do it yourself. The Goodlife Centre run DIY workshops from beginner level; teaching home owners and tenants practical skills in drilling, plumbing, tiling and painting. 

Guerilla gardening
Ever felt like you were born a few decades too late? Guerilla gardening is good ol' '60s socialism for Londoners who must reluctantly bear the tag 'Facebook generation.' Shed your commercial ways, undertake a little illegal gardening for man's greater good and piss off your local council at the same time. All you do is find a patch of neglected soil (usually surrounded by concrete) and plant some flowers or vegetables undercover of night. For more information visit: www.guerrillagardening.org

Sew it up
Sewing is the new baking, at least that's what the creators of The Great 
British Bake Off are hoping, following the launch of The Great British Sewing Bee later this year. We have to admit, it's a useful and cost-efficient skill. If you want to learn or improve your needle skills, The Make Lounge in North London has loads of handy courses on everything from basic alterations to restyling vintage clothes, dressmaking and machine embroidery.

Be a better person
No one is perfect right? But there's nothing wrong with a little self-improvement. The School of Life offer workshops on how to realise your potential, be more confident, more creative, have better conversations and how to find a job you love. There's even a course on how to think more like Sherlock Holmes so you can finally solve the mystery of the stolen lunch.

More creative workshops and courses in London:

The Amazings
Make Lounge
School of Life
Drink Shop Do

Spoonfed Team