Launching the brand new Little Gems Creative Centre

Lockdown has been far from quiet for Little Gems Interiors! 

As well as carrying out lots of updates to the shop and launching our new website we have been hard at work creating the new Little Gems Creative Centre and we can’t wait to tell you all about it!

This new larger premises in Mount Bures on the Essex Suffolk border, is within easy reach from Sudbury, Colchester and the surrounding area and will be the permanent base for our courses in 2021 and beyond.  

Our lockdown aim was to find a new workshop location with workbenches and a classroom area, offering a safer working environment for everyone who comes along to our courses. We are delighted with the new location which is the perfect space for us to host all sorts of new creative and social get togethers, skill and craft courses and virtual classes and demonstrations. We can’t wait to get started!

Existing workshops focused on Annie Sloan techniques will continue, but further Chalk Paint and upcycling courses will soon be on offer, too.  

Once you’ve mastered the basics, Techniques 2 helps you explore your creativity further developing your flair for colour and style with decorative techniques.

To help you put your new skills into practice, we will now be offering a Paint Your Own Piece workshop as an extension to Techniques 1. 

Another new addition to our creative courses programme is An Introduction to Upcycling Furniture. The first of these courses will take place on 23rd June 2021 and booking is now open. 

Lots of our customers are keen to have a go at upcycling but are unsure where to start. So we have created this workshop to help people explore some basic skills for all upcycling projects, giving them the confidence to get started on their own piece during the course. There really is nothing more satisfying than taking an unloved piece of furniture and transforming it into something you can use again.

Our Chair Makeover workshop - another of our popular sessions - is returning to our schedule this year, providing an introduction to simple upholstery skills. Everyone who attends will be provided with a drop in seat chair and all they need to refurbish the seat, paint and style the chair, and at the end they get to take their finished piece home. 

If you want to develop your creative skills further to add real style and flair to your upcycling projects then take a look at our Decorative Techniques and Finishing Touches courses. 

Further craft courses and workshops will be added to the schedule throughout the year. 

With many people now preferring to learn from home, we are continuing to provide virtual options for some of our courses, too.

We have continued the Annie Sloan Big Paint workshop with new dates each month. Very soon we will be launching further kit based virtual courses, where you can participate in the group workshop or simply be creative independently if you prefer.

At each of the Little Gems Interiors creative workshops, all materials or tools are provided (unless stated) as well as light refreshments throughout. We have disabled facilities - regular width front door access. 

Come take a look....