The School of Stuff

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The School of Stuff

We run craft classes in upholstery, cabinetmaking, furniture restoration and more. The School of Stuff is a studio dedicated to teaching crafts in Dalston.

We started small, with ten happy years at Hackney City Farm teaching upholstery evening classes. Now we have added other core courses to our curriculum including, cabinetmaking and furniture restoration. Our core team is a handful of skilled working upholsterers, designers, furniture makers and furniture restorers. We are also all experienced teachers. Our aim is to keep the tuition rigorous but informal, with small class sizes.

15/09/2026

Spend your evenings picking up a new skill 🍂

Project Upholstery on Mondays is almost full, but we have good availability on Tuesday evenings.

We also have a few places left on Furniture Restoration on Wednesdays and Fine Woodworking on Thursdays.

Find the details at https://www.theschoolofstuff.co.uk/evening-courses/.

14/09/2026

Troo did an amazing job on a really challenging chair. Cool chair and cool choice of fabric. Bravo 👏

This is the sort of project you could tackle in our Modern Upholstery Techniques One Year Course.

Designed for people who plan to set up in business as upholsterers, topics include:

– modern upholstery techniques
– modern materials
– using an air compressor and staple gun
– advanced machining skills
– making cushions and loose covers
– making bespoke patterns, estimating
– setting up a workshop and marketing

Taught on Wednesdays. Term starts 30 September. Find the details on our website: https://www.theschoolofstuff.co.uk/courses/modern-upholstery-techniques-1-year/.

Email us at [email protected] for a detailed course outline

10/09/2026

Your tutor for this masterclass is john cross, a highly experienced furniture conservator, with a wealth of experience in making and restoring veneer, inlay and marquetry using hand techniques.

Veneer, Inlay and Marquetry Five Day Intensive | 14 – 18 September 2026.

Find the booking details on our website – link in bio.

07/09/2026

Lots of gilding missing on this little decorative chair ✨

Kinga filled the gaps with gesso, a slow and painstaking process.

Red clay bole covered the gesso, and finally gilt cream to finish the restoration.

Give something like this a go at Gilt Frame Restoration Five Day Intensive (26 - 30 October 2026).

Book before 13 September 2026 to save 10% with our earlybird discount. Find the details on our website.

05/09/2026

Spend a weekend with us learning the pleasant and satisfying technique of seat rushing 🌾

Bring a chair, or a stool, or if you don’t have one, we have a few at the studio for students to practise on.

The next one is 26 - 27 September 2026.

Find the details on our website – link in bio.

04/09/2026

A standout piece from Furniture Finishes Five Day Intensive👏

If you’d like to give something like this a go, our Furniture Restoration evening class starts again later this month.

Bring a piece of furniture and spend 12 evenings with us remaking, revamping, or reconfiguring it.

You can learn traditional restoration skills in this class, or learn how to revamp or upcycle a piece of furniture, antique or modern. Or, if you are really adventurous, make new furniture from recycled old furniture.

Term starts 30 September. Find the details on our website.

Reel by

01/09/2026

Final call for next week’s Gilding masterclass with Rian Kanduth ✨

You’ll learn two traditional methods, water gilding and oil gilding, plus how to burnish and polish a gilded surface, and how to tone the gold for an antique finish or to match existing gilding.

Bring something of your own to gild or work on sample panels.

Introduction to Gilding Five Day Intensive | 7 – 11 September 2026

Find the details on our website.

29/08/2026

This chair was a tour de force. It took a while but what a result! 👏

If you’d like to get stuck into an upholstery project and take home something lovely, join our Project Upholstery Evening Class. Monday evening is almost full, but we still have good availability on Tuesdays.

Term starts 28 September 2026. Find the booking details on our website – link in bio.

21/08/2026

Roll up your sleeves and spend five days with us making a tired piece of furniture lovely 🔨

Learn how to bring your piece back to its former glory, and pick up practical skills you can use on future projects too.

The next one is 1 - 5 September 2026.

Find the details on our website – link in bio.

19/08/2026

Final call for Autumn term evening classes 🍂

Choose from:

Project Upholstery on Mondays and Tuesdays
Furniture Restoration on Wednesdays
Fine Woodworking on Thursdays

Book before this Thursday, 20 August to save 10%. Find the details at https://www.theschoolofstuff.co.uk/evening-courses/. See you there!

Address

73-75 Shacklewell Lane
London
E82EB

Website

http://www.theschoolofstuff.co.uk/

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