I very much enjoyed the course – and what a lovely place! So sorry about the extractor switch line – hope your young man managed to fix it okay!
Thank you for a very interesting and stimulating weekend. I went away full of enthusiasm and eager to attempt more boxes using the vast selection of wood that I have been lucky enough to inherit.
The course was brilliant and gave me more information and ideas than I could ever have hoped for. The WoodRat, Router Lathe, Lathe and many ‘extra’ tools that I’ve never used are about to hit eBay!
As a flute player (maker) and metal artist who has done a number of sculptural boxes/containers using woods and precious metals and gems, I truly appreciate your work – your attention to form, function and esthetic in all details is wonderful.
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the weekend – marvellous company and particularly good ‘tutoring’ with the just the right mix of information giving and experiential learning. And most importantly- Jane loves the box! Thanks again and I’ll be in touch for the week long session
Many thanks again for the wonderful weekend! I learned a lot and had great fun.
[smartHinge] – All I can say is WOW – these things install like a dream, and the quality is exceptional. I can highly recommend them…
Many thanks for a very enjoyable weekend. Having been self taught, I now realize how much more there is to learn from those like yourself and the others on the course. Thanks again for passing on all that knowledge and expertis
[smartHinge] – What can I say about those hinges? After fitting them I almost felt guilty. Like I had just cheated on an exam. It shouldn’t have been that easy. But it was and they were brilliant.
I still marvel at how skilful Andrew is, and can only be grateful for some of that skill set he was able to pass on to me. As well as being clever and articulate he is a thoroughly nice man. Anyone going on one of his courses is in for a treat.
Just a great big thanks to yourself and Hilary for the wonderful weekend that Geoff had with you. He has put two more layers of varnish on and has started to glue on the lining, he is so pleased with it you wouldn’t believe!
Thanks for the Weekend and all your hospitality, and are very happy that i finally attended the course,
[smartHinge] – Just wanted to let you know the hinges came in last week and they are “beyondgorgeous”. I will be ordering more soon.
I purchased a pair of Smart hinges and everything promised was true; the set up was simple and they really did fit first time, they are a pleasure to use.
[smartHinge] – Wow!! Beautiful!!
What an adventure! Andrew is a true master of the craft, and expertly shared and showed us how to reach new levels of craftsmanship … the classmates, Barry and Terry were great to spend time with, and we all left with a completed box ! Can’t get any better then that. Andrew gets an A+ for organization guidance and hosting …
Thankyou so much for an excellent weekend of boxmaking, you are a gifted teacher as well as artist/boxmaker. I acheived much more than I had expected as a novice woodworker. I definitely feel inspired to go on to do more and will be in touch …
The gorgeous flute case came yesterday, beautifully wrapped and quite safe. I am thrilled with it, thanks so much. My Haynes is now lovingly living in his new box!!
Hi Andrew …… it was a great pleasure to meet you too …I had the most wonderful time and enjoyed your course immensely. Thank you so much for a wonderful weekend!
Looking back now, what I got out of the 3 days was both confidence in how to do things and just superb techniques. I know all of these will stay with me – and there is no greater compliment of a training course than being able to say that.
[smartHinge] – the hinges fitted perfectly – I will say now the hinges you have developed are the only hinges I will use for any other box I make – they are fantastic.
… thanks again for a great couple of days – i really enjoyed spending time with you
your “book of Boxes” got me started on box making. It’s been five years now and i still feel like i’m learning.
I wish I had done this course with you years ago, I learned so much … many thanks for the weekend.
Thank you very much for your hospitality, the CD with the nice photo’s and the fine week we had in Acton Scot.
The course has been hugely helpful and I am progressing in my box making skills, even though slower that what I’d like. Thanks a lot for your time and patience!
[smartHinge] – Deliciously simple, superb!
Hi Andrew – I enjoyed your course enormously, many thanks. I thought you were due a few days off, but thanks for the notes.
Without doubt, it is the most beautiful flute case I have ever seen.
Many thanks for the course – it was really interesting; I enjoyed it a lot. My girlfriend was most impressed by the box and already has need of more! I’m off to Bali in the morning, thanks again for your patience and hope that you are tidied and rested from the weekend.
You’ve got a great set up, easy relaxed manner and you managed to answer all my questions. Maybe I’ll see you again to concentrate solely on concave sided boxes.
Your workmanship and skill of hand is excellent. I can only hope to achieve such quality.
Excellent workmanship, and beautiful woods, definately an art in it self.I would love to have your talents!!!
thanks to you for all your help with the arrangements for his Christmas present course! I appreciate the ease with which the booking was made, and I’m even more delighted that the course was everything I hoped it would be – and more!
Thank you for a great four days, learnt so much …
I really enjoyed last week and think I learned a lot. Shropshire was a revelation I must investigate further. Many thanks again for making it such a positive course.
Your course was a real pleasure to attend,friendly, low key but practical and being able to ask those obvious questions that run alongside the different aspects is always important.
You struck exactly the right balance between letting us do the work, getting it done in time but giving the impression that there was plenty of time for questions and general chat (no shortage of that!)
I really enjoyed the two days we spent together. I learned more than you can imagine. Techniques, tools and masses of useful tips all covered in very suitable detail.
many thanks for the notes and indeed the whole weekend, which was excellent and has certainly provided me with new inspiration and many ‘tips n tricks’ to continue with my own modest efforts.
Thank you so much for the brilliant course last week end. I thoroughly enjoyed it all, and felt quite comfortable that with a little bit of help and training I should be able to put a reasonable box together in time.
Just to say many thanks for the weekend course; it was both enjoyable and productive for me in terms of new skills and techniques. It is also always valuable to see how others manage their workshop and tools. Four is a good number of people I think as you can see how others tackle things as well as adding a bit of sociability.
Andrew your art work is with total expression of beauty, i have seen your work from the books to the website and try to emulate your skill, i’m am gradually striving. I use imported timbers and veneers fro around the globe too, but just practising at present, well done to be so creative. Ki ora friend
I would like to thank you for an excellent course and I am so glad that I came on it before I tried to make a box.
Just a quick note to say thanks for your time and patience and for a great weekend. I am really pleased with the quality of box we managed to produce I such a short time.
Thanks Andrew I enjoyed the course tremendously now, hopefully soon, I will start to put into practice all the information you provided. I’m still getting my workshop ready but the end is insight. I look forward to your next newsletter.
Thanks very much for the course last weekend – absolutely brilliant!
[smartHinge] – Fitting instructions were first class and they went on quickly, without drama and look great
… I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you and the others, I gained a great deal from the weekend and I hope to produce my own fine boxes in the not to distant future.
[smartHinge] – They are beautiful and will make any box better.
Wow!!! I never thought some one could make such beatiful things. I´m impress. Really man, your work is amazing!
Many thanks again for a great (if exhausting!) weekend. I learnt an amazing amount. … I’m extremely pleased with the end product, especially in view of the number of techniques that were new to me. All credit to the teacher!
I enjoyed your company and that of the other students and considered the weekend very good value. Thank you
I just wanted to say thank you for the course last weekend. I expected just to make a box but I learnt so many things along the way. The time spent on scrapers was particularly helpful. Also, fitting the inlays was very satisfying.
I was really pleased to see you again and very much appreciated your help and patience. The time spent making another box and having the opportunity to be remindered of the process given on my first course was very enjoyable and helpful.
The only thing I can say is “WOW” what beautiful work!
Absolutely beautiful boxes – I fully appreciate them as I am a full time boxmaker myself. Maybe one day we’ll be fortunate enough to cross paths
Many thanks for an enjoyable weekend. A few more techniques to practise and I feel inspired to do some veneering and small box making … very many thanks.
Im really even more motivated now and have a better Idea of sorting my gear out. Once again thank you for the special weekend …
The boxes that you craft are amazing. I wish someone like you lived close to me and would teach me. Your work is inspirational to a young woodworker like me. Thanks
Hi Andrew! firstly, thank you very much for a brilliant weekend. I had a really good two days with you and learnt so much — I was still taking it all in when I was flying down the motorway. The other guys were great, and I think their enthusiasm and humour made for an exceptional experience …
I really enjoyed the two days and learned a huge amount in a short space of time (as well as ending up with a nice box). Thanks again for a great weekend.
many thanks i had a great weekend, that went far to quick, the course was very relaxing and i learnt loads.
I really enjoyed the course I have learnt so much from that weekend and I am definitely taking it up as a hobby
I would like to thank you for this weekend. Both Susie and I found it thoroughly enjoyable and it is all we have been thinking about over the last couple of days. We will certainly try to continue with woodwork and we have our fantastic boxes to remind us how it is meant to be done.
Andrew, firstly thank you very much indeed for running your wonderful course over last weekend and for your patience, tolerance and perseverance in watching over this particularly inept pupil, particularly whilst working his way through your stock of inlay strips.
I can honestly say I had the best experience I have ever had on a woodworking course when I came to see you.
I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend. It gave me excellent insights into the equipment and processes needed to make fine boxes… I feel I have gained some basic skills now but I will have to put in a lot of practice to improve them! You may see me back in the future some time for additional tuition!
Had an excellent time on the course (scouts and Louis XIV furniture not withstanding) and have had a chance to go through the photos and have enclosed some nice ones of you and the gang! When I came back from the course I felt full of confidence about all things wood …
Looking to come to you again next summer for further instruction. Really enjoying the box making made so much better by learning from the master.
Pleasing. Movement. Balance. Tone. Multi-dimensional. Thank you for sharing your work.
For professionals in a hurry, or home woodworkers frustrated by ill-fitting lids, smartHinge is a revelation, a real Eureka moment … worth the cost for a quality result. They will transform your boxes and boxmaking.
Congratulations. Speaking as a fellow professional woodworker, I am glad to know there are craftspeople like you who succeed not only in representing themselves so beautifully, but also in representing our profession with such grace and understatement. Thanks.
I can definitely confirm that both my wife and i thoroughly enjoyed our long weekend. The course was exactly what I had hoped for, so I am really very very pleased.
I am already missing the tranquillity of your workshop and your good natured tutoring … just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thanks again for a great weekend, I have left with inspiration and fond memories, not to mention TWO bespoke boxes ??
I had one of the best informative and enjoyable times of my life over the weekend, my head is buzzing with loads of ideas and information.
Looking to come to you again next summer for further instruction. Really enjoying the box making made so much better by learning from the master.
… my thanks about great box making days!
What a great week-end!! The weather,our accommodation at Cardington Moor and your course were all superb! I was really taken with the course which I felt was very beneficial, informative and interesting.
I would like to thank you for your time and hospitality that you showed on your course. I thoroughly enjoyed it … Everyone one at home has admired my box and I’m very proud of it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you, and achieved my aims of solving cross-grain construction, scraper sharpening, and oil/wax finishing.
All the tips and techniques that you taught us were fantastic. Really enjoyed it.
[smartHinge] – it really is a brilliant system
Just a note to say thank you for such an enjoyable weekend. I never thought that I could achieve so much in just two days. I am delighted with my box … thank you for your patience with my efforts.
Thanks for having me in your workshop for five days, Andrew. I enjoyed it immensely … I came away from the week with some valuable learnings – especially the ‘why’s’ of some of your ways of tackling tasks, your jig-based approach to simplifying and speeding up processes and your thoughts on keeping this particular type of box simple in design.
I just wanted to let you know that your handmade wooden boxes are among the finest looking I have seen yet. You are indeed a craftsman.
just a few lines now that the dust has settled, figuratively and literally, to say thanks again so much for the class a few weeks back. To say that I learned a lot and also had a lovely weekend would be an understatement.
Explanations as to the ‘why’ of things drove the message home and got me thinking and even dreaming of new projects in my own workshop. While inspirational might seem like hyperbole, that was my experience
Really enjoyed the weekend! You are a great teacher and your tips and tricks will be invaluable. I would really love to come back to learn more.
It really was a great pleasure to have some insight into your world of box making and learn to appreciate the skills, experience and craftsmanship that you bring to the subject.
[smartLock] – the quality of the lock and key is amazing – just what I was looking for!! … for all my future projects I will only use your hardware as it is so superior to anything else out there in the marketplace.
[smartHinge] – Just wanted to let you know I installed your hinges last week on a jewelry box made of padauk and ebony and they are just fantastic.
Inspiring to a budding box and case maker from Down Under. Often find myself viewing your gallery for inspiration – with many a “how did he do that?” moment mixed in.
Thank you so much for all your kindness, patience and guidance over the weekend. It was quite the best workshop I have attended.
Back in Australia now and almost settled enough to get the new workshop into action. It was wonderful to do the course and interact with you and the others. Very inspirational to spend time with a top craftsman.
Thank you for an excellent weekend – I really enjoyed the whole process and am looking forward to completing/finishing the box.
Thanks for a great weekend,i really enjoyed it and learned a lot.
Boxes truly do come to life in that workshop. I came back with a much greater appreciation the aesthetic side to box work …
Just to say many thanks for a most enjoyable and informative weekend. I have returned to Sheffield with renewed enthusiasm to try out the techniques learnt.
Thank you for a very stimulating weekend which I thoroughly enjoyed, so much so I’m already planning my own box.
My reason for coming along … was primarily to get started on making boxes to as high a standard as I could manage, but the course delivered on so many other levels.
[smartHinge] – … couldn’t be more impressed or happy with the smart hinge.
I am pleased to say that I completed the box in good time to present it to my wife for her birthday at the end of May and I think that it is fair to say that we were both delighted with the end result.
[smartHinge] – very nice and super-easy to install
First of all many thanks for an excellent course last week … the final result was thoroughly worth while.
Thanks for all this information and for an excellent weekend. I learned a tremendous amount and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Now I need to keep active with the boxes despite all distractions!
I completed my box and found the weekend very helpful and informative. I hope to get up next year for a one to one.
As a box maker I am inspired and humbled by this beautiful work.
I had a great time with you over the weekend. It was fascinating to see how you create your boxes and how willing you are to encourage others. The mix of people was good too and I think we all got something different from the time.
Very interesting site. Keep it up. Poor old Henrietta; do you treat all your women like this!!
Thank you for your mail and the wonderful course. I really enjoyed the 5 days with you, and I think I learned a lot.
[smartHinge] – Andrew: I received my SmartLocks and SmartHinges and these are the highest quality I have seen. The beauty is unmatched except by their sturdy weight! I cant wait to get them cut into a box. These sir will make a fine addition to the quality of my boxes. Thank you sir!
[smartHinge] … the ease of installing compared to quadrant hinges is a great plus, as well as the general neatness, robustness and precision.
Greetings. I wanted to thank you again for the recent weekend course which was outstanding, inspirational and very well organised. As a retired psychologist I can attest that you certainly have mastered what is required to deliver such an event. Well done…I have and will recommend it to others.
I’ve finished the box and Kay is very pleased with it (that’s a few more brownie points then!) Thanks again for your great course, I came away with new skills, honed old skills, great tips, great ideas and wonderful memories
Andrew first of all let me say thank you for the wonderful weekend I hope to repeat it in the not too distant future. I think that I have change my whole approach to box making because of the ideas you’ve given me.
… i just got the box finished today (Sunday) – And getting lots of admiration. I really enjoyed the course and the relaxed and informative way you deliver it, plus the banter and the few tunes
I hope now that I will be able to take my box making to a much higher level using the techniques that you explained, so patiently, to us. I will certainly recommend people to take one of your courses when the opportunity occurs.
I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and if there is one thing I have learned about your methods Is that everything is in the detail and by yesterday evening the results of this were beginning to come alive.
– we could have dedicated the entire issue [of BWW] to the tips I learnt …
Personally, I learned an awful lot from the detailed information and guidance you provided. It was so much better that reading and video “learning” processes.
Thank you for an excellent weekend, I learnt an enormous amount and had a great time. Now Im off to the workshop too see how much I can remember…
[smartHinge] – the hinges are beautifully made and desinged thank you.
Your work is absolutely stunning! As a fellow woodworker, I can appreciate the talent and professionalism put forth into your work.
… thank you for such a brilliant weekend. We loved it! I am very pleased to attach some photos of our beauuuutiful boxes, fully lined and in all their glory! I hope you approve.
Hi Andrew, just wanted to say thanks for a superb weekend. The other half was very impressed with the box but is skeptical that I made it!
Rapture of raptures. Arrived via rocking horses near York. Adore boxes, adore wood, play the flute and early(ish) music myself. This is a wonderful site / sight.
… your case was a hit at the festival in Nova Scotia. Everyone from Chris Norman and Matthias Maute to Rachel Brown and Pat Olwell himself admired it a great deal.
I’m a total beginner, but now I feel a beginner with the confidence and knowledge necessary (here’s hoping) to be able to eventually produce similarly wonderful boxes at home. Or at least get started
We really enjoyed ourselves and learned so much – thank you for being so patient! Thank you too for all this follow up information – very helpful. I keep thinking about all those cuff links………madness! Hope to see you again soon.
… I want to thank you for a wonderful couple of days’ tuition. I’m very grateful for your time, patience and expertise, all of which you generously shared.
Thank you for a wonderful weekend. I am pleased we were able to use the bandsaw to cut out the joints and I was able to see the advantages of this machine
You have a very special environment you have created that allows you to be both creative – which you naturally are – and to be where you want to be in this increasingly stressful world!! The standard and quality of the work that you teach and produce is exceptional, and certainly sets the bar for any aspiring novices such as myself.
I am currently re-reading your “Boxes” book, which is a great reference book, especially more meaningful to me after having completed your course.
Just like to say thank you for the five days. I learned a lot – and produced a halfway decent box. Nobody has noticed the router runoff and I’m not about to point it out. A major tidy up is underway in my workshop and I’ll see what I can produce on my own!
I could hardly wait to get home and back to work. You’re a great teacher … in short, I had a perfect time, and enjoyed our discussions immensely.
[smartHinge] – They have turned up and look truly amazing.
For the aspiring cellist to spend three days with Yo-Yo Ma would be something special, certainly. For an aspiring box maker to spend three days one-on-one with Andrew Crawford is similar. Earlier this month, I had the pleasure to visit Andrew’s shop in Shropshire, and had such a great experience others might like to hear about it.
I had a fantastic weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed learning your techniques and working with the group.
It was great to see how you combine a number of interesting activities that on the one hand attract international customers but at the same time support the local economy.
Thank you for your hosting a great course last weekend. Very enjoyable.
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed and valued the course this weekend! I came away with a fabulous box which everyone is really impressed with
Your approach to imparting woodworking skills is just right, an excellent combination of explanation, demonstration and hands-on …
Well, one day I would love to come back and learn how to make flute boxes. I managed to get a copy of your book on Amazon and it is beautiful and inspiring. Thanks again for a fantastic holiday.
What I gained the most was to try and achieve the highest quality workmanship, not to settle for second best. Also very informative to see all the jigs and little workshop tips and tricks.
We thoughrougly enjoyed the weekend, we certainly learned a lot, including what a fine pint shropshire lass is! As I mentioned I will, hopefully be coming back for more later in the year.
After having a few days to ponder the week and think about where I’m going from here with my boxmaking, I find I am more committed than ever. The week was just what I had hoped for and more.
That was the best woodworking course I have done – and I have done a few.
Thanks again for an enjoyable weekend. I hope to come back sometime for more guidance.
Thank you so much for all the knowledge you gave me last week. At the end of each day my mind was reeling trying to assimilate everything. Now I just need to get a press and some veneer……then I’m on my way! Both Elizabeth and I so enjoyed our stay in Shropshire, having never been to the county before we were delighted by how beautiful it is. We shall certainly be back.
Your course was most definitely the highlight of my trip and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I very much appreciated your teaching style too; patient, clear and logical.
… thank you for the time spent with you last week. I found the entire day most profitable and educational. Thanks again for a super day.
Thanks for your time and expertise during my visit, I feel I learnt a huge amount. It was a fascinating day and great to see the real art in the flesh.
Big thanks for the weekend course, I really enjoyed it … looking forward to your new websites and me getting busy in my shed.
I think you should take the credit for demonstrating with thoroughness the techniques, showing considerable patience, responding positively to lots of questions and dividing your time between the four of us and ensuring no one ever felt left out.
Your boxes are amazing, a mystery to me, and inspiring!
I write to thank you for your patience and attention during my stumbling progress towards making my first box. I learned much and now have to summon up the confidence to buy some equipment in order to replicate the result without your help.
I learned an incredible amount in the two days we had together. I think I will practise for a year or so, then come back and tune it up …
Hi Andrew – Just stopped by to see what’s on the menu today. WOW boxes, COOL BOXES!!! I know when I want a box that’s like no other I’ll look you up!!! I’m impressed!! Oh yea site looks great too!!! Keep up the great work Andrew, catch up with you later.
[smartHinge] – Your hinges are an absolute joy to use.
[smartHinge] – What would have taken me an eon to fit, were now done in around an hour and are so easy to install
I just had to tell you that I have both your books, and your boxes are incredible. I’m looking forward to your new book!
… it was very refreshing to get personal attention from you throughout the weekend. This is different from other furniture making courses I have been on where the course owner has been conspicuous by his absence!
I would not hesitate to recommend the course to anyone and if you have any potential clients who would like to talk to someone who has done a course do not hesitate to put them in touch with me.
Just a ‘quickie’ Andrew to say how much I enjoyed the weekend. Also how much I learnt; new techniques/approaches etc. invaluable.
i really enjoyed the weekend you are a very good instructer.
Thank you, I really enjoyed the course and learnt a lot that will start me on my way to a happy and productive retirement.
Thanks … for a great weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed the course (which I hope was obvious!) and learned so much in terms of technique and tools. I now have to put some of that into practice .. but it does at least provide another excuse to buy more stuff from Axminster…..
A very belated thankyou for the day I spent with you in October. I found it very stimulating and it has opened a whole new world to me.
Once your new book comes out I will purchase it as , your flute case that was at the show, I thought was the best thing I have seen in a while. Any way keep up the good work pal.
I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and found it to be everything that I had hoped for, and more …
I have learned much about precision woodworking: setting up machines accurately, attention to detail, getting up close with good light and magnifiers, not accepting near enough is good enough, careful use of abrasives to avoid spoiling detail, finishing carefully – and a lot of patience!
Thanks for a very instructive weekend! I am looking forward to finishing my box. Thank you so much for the clear instruction – you have opened up a number of techniques I had not previously tried which is great.
[smartHinge] – I have now successfully installed smartHinges on my first box. As you say they are very easy to instal and the end-result is extremely elegant.
A brief note to thank you for a brilliant weekend. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I came away having learned a great deal and I was particularly impressed with your attention to detail which is at the heart of excellent box making. I wish I had come to see you years ago!
I’m pretty sure both Eleanor and I enjoyed the weekend in equal measure – it was a terrific experience and we both emerged impressed with what you helped us achieve.
Thankyou for the wonderful weekend I would highly recommend this to any woodworker …
Thank you for a fabulous couple of days over the weekend. I enjoyed every minute of it and learnt so so much… I fell in love with your workshop and am inspired to revamp mine now.
Many thanks for the highly instructive and pleasant day …
I thoroughly enjoyed the few days spent with you (and Carsten). You made it a very pleasurable experience.
I am also delighted with the way the leather lining turned out it looks really plush. Once again many thanks for a really enjoyable weekend and a very satisfactory result.
i think your work is exquisit your a wonderful artist
Thank you for introducing me to the art and craft of box making.You are a most excellent and patient teacher.
thanks for the course, I’ve been genuinely chuffed with what I achieved.
Really enjoyed the course and learnt a lot … Your teaching style is superb!
your work is very impressive.keep the fire burning .i’m only 16 and i’m doing my technology coursework on jewellery boxes and yours is the 2nd best i’ve seen .good work
Hi Andrew – enjoyed course and proud of my box!
I was impressed with your set-up and I very much enjoyed the 2 days. It was amazing how you coped with one absolute novice and another who seemed to have quite extensive knowledge and technical ability. Many, many thanks.
Man I just love your work. It’s so very beautiful.
… thank you for a great weekend i really learned alot from it and will hopefully at some point be back for more.
Just a short note to say a big thank you again for a very enjoyable weekend.
Many thanks for an interesting weekend of box making. I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to seeing the box completely finished.
I had a really enjoyable and informative weekend. I found your approach refreshingly practical and am looking forward to finishing off the box. I’d be interested in doing a further course / private tuition with you next year so you’ll probably be hearing from me in the future.
The best woodworking course I’ve ever been on! Great workshop, really nice, genuine teacher, and the steak at lunch time was fantastic too!
… you are most definitely a master at your craft
Thanks again for all your help last week. I really learned a lot. It’s great to view the craft from another maker’s perspective.
I just wanted to say “Thank You” for having me as a student a few weeks back. I had a wonderful time attending and would enjoy another class of one-to-one when I’m back in the time zone.
As I reflect on the experience; my time in the Shropshire hills and your shop will long be remembered as one of the highlights of my life. Thank you so much for your hospitality, the mentoring and the friendship fostered over those five days.
last week did a 5 day one to one course with Andrew and had a fanatic time. Very good teacher, and lovely company.
Thank you for the wonderful box making course you ran in early March. It was a great learning experience.
Have to say just a very skilled teacher, accommodating , really knows his stuff and I have left with a new found awe of box making and resolve to continue onwards with I from here.
Thanks, Andrew – it was a very interesting group with great banter and I don’t think we minded about the bit of work to do back home. The snow certainly added to the fun, and the delays, but it helped to make a very memorable and worthwhile five days
Thank you for the wonderful weekend experience. William was very pleased with his birthday present, he is often indifferent and doesn’t show much interest in things (my dad is keen on him finding more active and sociable hobbies), so this was a big success!
Many thanks for a wonderful weekend of tuition. Marion and I enjoyed ourselves tremendously. It really is good to focus on something completely different and forget the trials and tribulations of our routine work!
thank-you for the 3 days of tuition. The one-to-one tuition was performed in a nice relaxed friendly atmosphere. A very enjoyable time spent in your work shop picking your brains and delving into your knowledge – which was expounded generously. Thanks for the course. It really was excellent. I did learn a lot.
Many thanks for your help and assistance during my two days. The relaxed approach suited me and your willingness to answer my questions appreciated. I have gained some invaluable knowledge that would have taken forever without your assistance.
It was a pleasure to attend the course. I wouldn’t change a thing!
… thank you for your patient explanation of how to construct better boxes and your attention to fine detail. We both came away with a better appreciation of our skill levels and how to improve upon them.
I got the case, and it’s beautiful, thanks so much! It’s almost too perfect – noone will believe it’s hand made! Everybody here will be very jealous 😉
thanks for weekend it was very enjoyable! You are a patient and encouraging teacher as well as an exceptional box maker.
It was great meeting you and spending time with a legend – I certainly left you with instilled confidence that I can progress with my box making skills.
Thank you providing the opportunity to make something better than any of the mistakes I have made in the past. I am sure that the final outcome will amaze my sisters!
… I just wanted to say thank you again for a great weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it very informative.
… thanks for such an informative, constructive and enjoyable course. The other participants added to the whole ambience.
One complaint; Andy grinds and makes really excellent coffee but I told him he really ought to do it on the hour, every hour! Seriously, a true craftsman very generous with time, knowledge and help.
… you are an excellent and very patient teacher. Really. Thank you!
Thank you for your generosity in authoring “Decorative Boxes”. Artist/authors so often hold back so called ‘secrets’. The depth and detail was a gift for which I am most grateful.
Thank you once again for a really great three days. We learnt a lot and we have a real project to get on with. I hope we will do justice to the preparation.
First job is to get the bandsaw working properly – I tried what you said about finding the natural angle for the fence and already it is vastly improved …
The many techniques shown will serve me well in many different areas … Thanks also for your hospitality…. hope to meet you gain in the not too distant future for another class.
I am astonished at the craftsmanship and quality in your work
The box was greatly admired when I got home – many thanks for a great course!
thank you so much for the beautiful case! … Nicola is delighted with it, and her flute has already taken up residence. It’s a really lovely piece of work.
Andrew, loved your work at the Claremont Wood Show. Having previously disliked both boxes and veneering, I am now a convert
Thank you for an excellent weekend, much learned in good company. Accommodation at Wood Acton is to be recommended as are your local pubs.
Thank you for … a great weekend. I certainly learnt new skills …
Stunning work! As a fellow woodworkerette, I can appreciate the artistry, and creativity involved in the beauty of your work. I can tell it comes from within. Congratulations, and my compliments!
Many thanks for a very enjoyable weekend. Having been self taught, I now realize how much more there is to learn from those like yourself and the others on the course. Thanks again for passing on all that knowledge and expertise
I just cannot say how delighted I am with the result. That case just leaves me speechless. Together with the wood flute and Bigio head I have a lifetimes worth of cherish and gloat.
I would like to say thank you for such a wonderful course which I thoroughly enjoyed. I learned a lot and found you to be a patient and inspiring teacher.
[smartHinge] – My hinges arrived today and I have to say that they are fantastic.
Your designs are more then beautiful, they are art work in the purest form. I find myself visiting your site often for inspiration or to simply look over your collection. Simply wonderful.
Thanks for the course – totally brilliant. A very different way of working from that which I’ve done before, showing what is possible without traditional edge tools.
… I am extremely pleased with the result from your course. The rather subtle patterns in the veneer didn’t really come to light until I applied the Danish oil and then they glowed.
Andrew, first of all a big thankyou for a very enjoyable long weekend – certainly one of the best indulgences I’ve had for a long time and a most refreshing change from what I normally do for fun!
[smartHinge] – I just received these hinges and found them to be the easiest hinges to install that I have ever used.
I really enjoyed the weekend so I have asked my wife to consider a 5 day gold course for potential future birthday present
Many many thanks for an interesting and enjoyable three days tuition and especially for your flexibility that allowed us to cover a great many aspects of box-making. I feel well advanced in several areas.
Hi Andrew … thank you for everything last week i had a wonderful time and learned a lot …
Wow!!! I never thought some one could make such beatiful things. I´m impress. Really man, your work is amazing!
You are an excellent teacher who knows his subject and knows how to pass that information on to your students.
Many thanks Andrew I enjoyed your course very much,and will recommend it to anyone with an interest in woodworking I will come back for more!
I wanted to thank you for what was an excellent weekend. I was so enthused by the first introduction to box making that it has left me wanting more. I’m sure that I am not alone in being enthused by your passion for box making …
… I want to tell you that you helped me in ways that only you could have. My mind has been buzzing since I left your shop …
i like your shoes
Thank you very much again for your patient tuition. It was a great privilege to spend so much time with you, and to acquire so many skills. Do I have any criticisms of the course ? I cannot think of a single one. It was superb throughout.
Just wanted to drop you a line to say thanks for the tuition last weekend. Dad and myself really enjoyed our weekend in your workshop, and left feeling very inspired (and slightly daunted!) by the level of perfectionism that you give to your work.
… the three days spent in your workshop were wonderful and exceeded my expectations.
To my complete surprise, I seem to have arrived home with a desire to learn more and a rather nice looking box too. Nowhere near as perfect as one of yours, but a good first attempt i think. Obviously down to your expert skill in selecting and preparing the wood for us, to the care you took to explain everything and in setting your tools up so carefully that we couldn’t go too badly wrong.
Thank you for a most enjoyable and educational weekend course – we definitely came away wiser than we arrived and with ideas of how we might cost-effectively include veneer work in our products. The side discussions and notes were – and will be in the future – most informative and helpful. 10/10 for the coffee machine.
I had a brilliant weekend, learning a huge amount with a great deal of fun throughout … the two days passed so quickly thanks to you and the other guys.
Thank you so much for a splendid weekend—it exceeded my very high expectations! I am looking forward to using some of the techniques I learnt on some other projects.
I thoroughly enjoyed the two days.
Very many thanks … I hope the next course goes as well as ours did – I’ve certainly had many admirers of my box …
I just wanted to say a big thank you for your time and patience over the past few days. I thoroughly enjoyed the course, and will no doubt be back for further guidance.
[smartHinge] – from now on, these are the hinges I will be using wherever I can.
Thank you for a great weekend that was most enjoyable and rewarding. Not to mention to meet some great like minded people.
As before I brought away with me some very useful tips and advice. All good stuff. Thanks for the coffee – always appreciated!
The weekend course I attended was an absolute delight. The three other guys on the course were a pleasure to meet, as was Andrew who’s calm careful explanations and demonstrations made everything seem so easy and logical.
Thanks, Andrew, for your fine craftsmanship on the flute case. It exceeded my high expectations. You’re a master.
I love the way you work- a man after my own heart; KISS- Keep It Simple Stupid as someone once advised me!! (Not that I’m saying it’s all simple….)
It was a great weekend and I have received lots of compliments about the box. Your book is very interesting.
… thank you for a great weekend, maybe at some point in the future I can return for the 5day box making class!
I thoroughly enjoyed your weekend course
… I am really motivated to get myself kitted up over the coming months and start making some wonderful book boxes.
Thanks once again for a really enjoyable couple of days. Excellent company! I found the content of the course very interesting, helpful and informative. I feel a lot more confident about tackling the new box!
I want to create something that is functional but pleasing to the eye….Your site, and your obvious passion and expertise, has inspired me to make an item that is something other than a rectangle with a lid….thankyou
This is a very nice website Andrew Crawford. I especially liked your “Treasure Island Jewellery Casket” Did you spell that yourself?
I write mainly to thank you for an outstanding weekend course. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, was hugely inspired and learnt a great deal. I have already started implementing various ideas in my workshop!
I was very proud of what I achieved with your expert guidance. The small group size was perfect. Being a less experienced woodworker, I learned so much and I’ll definitely be looking at using power tools!
All in all a great weekend which left me much wiser (also in things not to do 😉 and with a beautiful box. Just the lining now and it will be done.
Firstly,thank you for a most enjoyable course last week. The box that I made … elicited many positive comments.
Anybody wanting to make very fine quality veneered woodwork should go – its not just for people who want to make the finest boxes.
I’d love to come back next year to build a veneered box with a curved lid. Thanks again, Andrew, the days in your workshop were really helpful and it was a great pleasure to spend time with you.
I recently met Andrew Crawford, a maker of the most beautiful boxes and cases imaginable. I had Andrew make a case for a wooden flute with a one-piece body and footjoint. It is so gorgeous that I have to tell everyone about it.
Many thanks for a truly enjoyable time … Really looking forward to putting those new skills to good use.
Thank you for a most stimulating course – as much for the philosophy of how you approach precision cabinet-making as for the (not really) finished product! I think Jeremy and I in particular appreciated the perfectionist approach … you were very diligent in your answers to questions and we learned a lot from that.
Whether us humble amateur woodworkers can ever reach your standards depends on what we may have at our disposal, such as space, kit and determination to ‘go it alone’ without the benefit your guiding hand, but it is nevertheless very satisfying to see such positive results so suddenly.
Absolutely Beautiful Craftsmanship! Gorgeous!
Thanks once again for a very intensive enjoyable course, four participants seems to be the ideal working number, everyone gelled together quite well.
I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and am impressed with what I managed to do with your guidance. There is hope for this frustrated perfectionist!
I can’t thank you enough for the weekend course, I learnt so much and it helped me realise that this is something I would like to do full time.
[smartHinge] – awesome hinges, ingenious simplicity. they look great and so easy to fit …
… thanks for a great course at the weekend, I really did learn a lot.I can’t wait to complete the finishing touches to my box.
Both your work and your presentation of it are exemplary. As a fellow woodworker, writer, luthier, and musician, I commend you. Thank you for a delightful tour of your work and your soul.
I enjoyed myself immensely and I learnt a great deal from you. I really enjoyed the whole experience and I now have a lovely box to show for it!
Many thanks again for a revelatory two days. I’ve posted a longer thank-you on your facebook page in the hope that some other people may see it and be inspired to visit you!
Andrew – I just wanted to extend my thanks for an excellent day. I thoroughly enjoyed it and walked away considerably more knowledgeable and very enthused.
I want to thank you again for the good teaching and the practical information. I almost learned more in those two days than I did here in Belgium in a whole year.
Thank you for a really interesting and very helpful course. I have taken away many ideas and tips/tricks.
Can’t thankyou enough for the weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the weekend and it’s inspired some other ideas that I’m going to try.
I seen your work and I think it was beautiful, as I’m a shopfitting bench joiner you rarely see such beautiful work as yours. I have a keen interest in marquetry and inlay and after seeing your work it has give me the push to get back into fine work again.
