2-Term Designer Maker Course

2 Term Designer Maker Course September 2025 (fully booked)  & 2026 (enrolling now)

This intensive 2 term designer maker course follows closely the schedule and ethos of our long established 3 term designer maker course. Our mission when planning this course was to design and deliver a course that gave all that attended an intense and rounded education in what it takes to become a Furniture ‘Designer Maker’. We wanted it to be open to students from varied backgrounds, with varied ambitions and with varied levels of experience. From total beginners to experienced makers and / or designers, the course was designed to push everyone to achieve great things. We were adamant that the mission of the course was to bring our students up to what we would describe as reaching professional standards as quickly as possible and not to cut any corners along the way. And the results speak for themselves. Our student pieces are spectacular and even under the closest of inspection reveal a high quality in both making and design. What’s more our students have gone on to work for some of the worlds leading workshops, have won numerous awards, set up their own ‘Designer Maker’ businesses and even won medals at the World Championships of Cabinet Making. Of course many others just went on to continue to enjoy furniture making as a hobby that will remain a passion for a lifetime. All of these outcomes are things we work hard to make possible and we are proud of the on going achievements of all our students. Each and every one becoming part of the ever growing Waters and Acland Designer Maker family!

Designer Maker Course Course Content

Our 2-term Designer Maker course has a clear set of goals. To teach the craft of cabinet making and furniture design to an exceptionally high standard whilst making  a series of beautiful pieces of fine furniture designed by award winning furniture designer Will Acland during the set project phase of the course and by our talented students during the self designed project phase of the course. All pieces will be designed and made to the highest of standards and will be taken home to be enjoyed for generations to come.

So how do we achieve these goals?

We achieve these goals through the dedication of our students, who often join us with no previous woodwork experience, in combination with a method of teaching developed over the last decade that builds high level skill, high quality design and that produces work made to exceptional standards.

Application process

No formal qualifications or previous woodworking experience is required  but a passion and energy for learning new skills are a must. So contact us today and we will inform you of current availability and send you the application form for the ‘2 Term Designer Maker course’ .

 

 A Brief Overview :

Term 1 ‘Total Immersion’

This is the most intense period within the furniture school. The first term is all about total immersion in all aspects of furniture making and furniture design. During this 14 week (term lengths can vary) term our designer maker students will devote hundreds of hours to learning the core cabinet making hand skills and wood machining skills. They will work closely and intensively with our vastly experienced workshop tutors and through the carefully designed set projects designed by award winning furniture designer Will Acland develop high level skills in areas such as tool preparation & sharpening, accurate hand planing, precision chisel work, marking and measuring, jointing, carcass creation, making and fitting doors and piston fit drawers, inlay, veneering and much more.

Running alongside this essential ‘core handskills’ training we run a series of ‘specialist training days’. We cover areas of furniture making that will both inform and inspire our designer makers. Topics such as laminating, shaping, carving, surface treatments and creative finishing, advanced veneering and marquetry, jig creation and much more are covered. These ‘hands on’ days are designed to expose our students to what is possible. To inspire. To sow the seeds of future designs.

And let’s not forget the machine shop and the use of portable power tools. The set projects are designed to introduce and then master the use of the machines in our machine shop. We are realists. We understand that ‘core handskills’ are at the heart of every maker of fine furniture but we also understand that woodwork machines and portable power tools are an essential ingredient in the modern designer makers studio / workshop. By the end of the first term our designer maker students will have received detailed training in the safe use of all the machines and power tools within the furniture school. Culminating in the wall hanging cabinet project which is made with a combination of hand tools and portable and fixed machinery. All the work within our workshop and school is finessed with hand tools. This combination of fine hand skills and the skilled use of power tools forms the basis of all that we do within the ‘pro workshop’ and furniture school. This is real life and often cutting edge furniture making.

Technical Design training is just as intense. Every project is drawn up on the computer. Starting with the simple ‘Chinese puzzle’ project, head CAD tutor Pete Craven walks our designer maker students through the use of Sketch Up and Layout. Workshop drawings, cutting lists and an order of process are created for each and every project made within the furniture school and this level of professional practise is insisted upon throughout the duration of the course. An essential ingredient in building confidence and self reliance within our designer maker students. The mission being to have at least one ‘self designed’ project meticulously designed, drawn up and ready to go before the end of term 1.

The mystery ingredient in this most intensive of times within the furniture school is creativity. It is important to us. We encourage it. We teach it. We inspire our designer maker students to express themselves and to develop their own design style. From Holly Acland’s drawing classes to Will Acland’s regular small group and one on one design development sessions our mission is to empower our students to make considered design choices. To create pieces of beauty and integrity. To create the antiques of the future. To develop their own design ethos. To become true DESIGNER MAKERS.

 

Term 2 ‘Building Confidence’

So our designer maker students now have excellent core hand skills. They are confident around woodworking machinery. They are proficient in the use of design software. They understand processes and professional practise within a designer maker studio / workshop. They are fizzing with design concepts and importantly they have ‘self designed’ project 1 ready to go. But we don’t take our feet off the gas. As soon as our students start making the first self designed project they move on to start working closely with award winning designer and head design tutor  Will Acland on their next project. This is the pattern that continues throughout term 2. Designing and making ever more complex pieces of furniture in conjunction with the tutors within the school. Will leads on design and Pete Craven leads on CAD and project delivery. Each project being designed alongside Will Acland in the design studio. Each project being made with one on one guidance from our amazing workshop tutors in the bench and machine rooms. Each project being designed for good reasons. To introduce new skills. To embed core skills. To practise traditional and contemporary furniture making techniques. To build confidence in all areas within the workshop and school.

The specialist training days continue but their focus changes. Less focus on the technical aspects of furniture making and more towards design, inspiration and for those wanting to turn pro, starting your own designer maker business. We organise trips to galleries and exhibitions as well as visits to other designer maker workshops and timber suppliers. The purpose of these trips are clear. It’s to empower our designer makers. To build confidence and to show them that the dream of becoming a true designer and maker of fine furniture is very much achievable.

By the end of this second term of the Designer Maker Course our students will have completed a series of set projects. Created a number of beautiful and highly crafted pieces designed by award winning furniture designer Will Acland and will have designed and made stunning pieces of their own to be sold or taken home to be cherished for generations. It’s an intensive 2 term course but our students reach great heights through the combination of dedication, hard work and the provision of high quality education and facilities.

Whether you want to become a professional furniture maker or find that high level hobby that will become a passion that burns for ever more this 7 month course is well worth considering.

 

Designer Maker Course — Term 1 in detail : Life at the bench

Having given you a brief overview of the full 2 term course let’s now take a closer look at what life looks like within the bench and machine rooms during that intensive first term.

We start with the basics of hand tool preparation and use. We obsess about these core skills as they are the building blocks, the foundations of all fine furniture makers. These skills are learnt via the making of a series of small objects such as an octagonal cutting board with chamfered edges and the Chinese puzzle project. We strive for excellence even in the making of these simple objects and through close supervision and expert guidance we give our students the ability to hit these high standards. Our method for tool preparation and use really comes into it’s own at this point. Our students gain control of their tools and look back at those tough hours at the flattening and sharpening station with a new level of appreciation and understanding.

Within weeks we move on to the first major project. A beautiful table with exposed joinery which is a fine example of our method of teaching. We combine the making of a beautiful piece of fine furniture designed by Will Acland as both a sophisticated teaching aid but also as a work piece that will bring joy to whoever is lucky enough to own it. This project builds on the core hand skills. We use it to to introduce a number of key jointing methods and our students cut mortise and tenon, half lap and bridle joints both entirely by hand and also with the aid of woodwork machinery and portable power tools. The results are stunning and the joy of completing a piece to this standard after such a short time in the school is an exciting moment for our students.

 

The next project re focuses our Designer Maker students on hand skills through the making of a dovetailed box with mitred lining and carved lid. Dovetails! Often seen as the true test of craftsmanship and a joint even experienced makers often shy away from as any mistakes are on show for everyone to see. But as with all our teaching we feel through a combination of teaching methods refined over the past decade and the dedication of our students we can really hit the mark. And so much of the teaching up to this point has been about exactly that. Hitting the marks. Accurate marking and measuring, sawing, pareing with chisels and the creation of beautifully refined shavings with hand planes. All these skills are used and developed further during this box making project. Add to this relief carving training and the making of a hand carved lid and this project really does represent that fun and rewarding combination of skill and creativity.

Things take a slightly different turn with the next project as we introduce veneering, marquetry, laminating and vacuum forming, jig making and the use of more power tools in the creation of a three legged ‘Tri Table’ with marquetry top. Yet again this beautiful piece of fine furniture was designed by award winning designer Will Acland and will be our students to take away and enjoy for many years to come. But although our students take away these beautiful work pieces it’s the skills that they learn that are most important and it’s during this project that we start to combine traditional hand skills with what you may describe as more advanced furniture making techniques. We start to look at jig making for jointing and shaping. Components are laminated and formed in a vacuum bag or membrane press. Veneering and marquetry fundamentals are learned in the creation of the circular table top with striking marquetry design. This project is packed full of interesting and informative techniques. And the results are stunning.

At this point in the course we feel it’s time to get serious in the machine shop. Much of the time up to this point has been spent at the bench. Really drilling down and refining skills with hand tools in combination with some power tools and other workshop equipment. But in the making of our ‘wall hanging cabinet with sculpted shelves’ project we really focus on the advanced and very importantly the safe use of woodwork machines. We start this project with a trip to purchase timber. Each student selecting the fine boards that will make up this final piece. The following days will be spent in the fully equipped professional machine shop. For each machine we will work towards ‘sign off’ as a safe and competent operator. Components are machined and dimensioned before we return to the bench room for jointing, shaping and final construction and finishing. So many elements of the training come together during this project but door fitting, edge profiling, bandsaw veneer creation and fine furniture finishing are a few highlights.

So in just 1 intense term our Fine Furniture Maker course students have focussed intently on a perfect combination of traditional hand skills, the use of both portable and fixed power tools / machines as well as traditional and contemporary furniture making techniques. And the results are there for all to see. A series of beautifully made pieces of fine furniture. Designed to bring joy for generations. Designed to aid the teaching of high level furniture making skills. Designed and then made to act as reminder to all our students as to just how much they have learned. As a statement of the quality that can be achieved through that joyous combination of hard working student and dedicated teaching.

Self designed phase

During term 2 the Designer Maker students are in what we describe as the ‘self designed’ project phase of the course. They work closely with design tutor Will Acland and workshop tutors Graham Loveridge, Tim Smith and Peter Craven and develop ever more sophisticated and challenging projects. Each project allowing the student to explore specific areas of interest, new making techniques and to increasingly professionalise their approach to furniture design and build projects. The high level of tutor input remains as our students strive for ever higher standards. It really is amazing to observe the quality of workmanship and designs produced during this exciting time in the school.

So get in touch…

I hope these pages have given you a feel for what life on our 2 Term Designer Maker Course would be like. It’s over to you now. If you would like to know more or you want to start the application process then get in touch. Send us an email and we will respond to any questions and send over an application form.

If you would like to visit the workshop or arrange a meeting via phone or zoom just get in touch. We welcome these visits and feel proud to show off what we have created here in the beautiful English Lake District.

Remember, with only 6 places available on each course you will need to book well in advance. So don’t delay and make contact now.

2-Term Designer Maker Course Highlights

• Tool selection, preparation and use.
• Learn the Waters and Acland sharpening method.
• Create a series of small ‘skill building’ objects such as cutting board and Chinese puzzle.
• Gain control of chisels and planes.
• Accurate marking and measuring techniques.
• Understanding workshop drawings.
• Cut joints by hand and machine.
• Project 1 Low Table with exposed joinery.
• Surface treatments and wood finishing.
• Adhesive selection and use.
• Project assembly.
• Dovetail masterclass.
• Project 2 Dovetailed box with mitred lining.
• Hand shaping and relief carving.
• Veneering and marquetry fundamentals.
• Design and use of moulds and formers.
• Vacuum bags and membrane presses.
• Selection and cutting of laminates and veneers.
• Laminating components.
• Project 3 Tri Table with circular marquetry top.
• Advanced veneering and marquetry.
• Advanced wood finishing techniques.
• Jig making for portable and machine tools.
• Full machine shop training.
• Selecting and purchasing timber.
• Project 4 Wall hanging cabinet with sculpted shelves.
• Door fitting and hingeing.
• Edge profiling and shaping.
• French polishing.
• Wood turning.
• Steam bending
• Self designed projects exploring advanced design and make techniques…