Contemporary Crafts courses in London
City Lit is the place to develop your craft. Throughout the year, we offer classes in Basketry, Bookbinding, Calligraphy and Mosaics. We have a range of courses to suit our students at every level — from introductory courses for curious beginners, to advanced long courses if you are a professional and you want to develop your practice.
Our studios are perfectly equipped which allows us to create engaging and interactive courses for you. All our tutors are experienced crafters, designers, and makers in their own fields. So as a City Lit student, you’ll get the benefit of learning from their working knowledge.
Our courses also make use of the City Lit Design and Digital lab creating craft courses with a digital element to explore the possibilities of working with traditional craft. Many of our courses are delivered online, offering more accessibility for learners.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
- Creative arts for bookbinding II: leather dyeing techniques
Course start date: Sat 13 Jun 2026Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sue DoggettSpend a day experimenting with leather dye and dyeing techniques. You will be introduced to methods of applying dye and a range of creative techniques such as resist, crackle and speckling, to use on bookbinding and other leather projects. Suitable for beginners.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Start bookbinding Course start date: Sat 27 Jun 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ina BaumeisterDiscover the art of handmade books! Three days of progressive projects will guide you through core techniques and prepare you to experiment, design and craft your own unique books.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Frame basketry Course start date: Wed 8 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Katie PriceOn this course, you will be introduced to the techniques and tools used in Frame basketry. With the skills you will be shown, you will be able to create either a small hand held basket or several samples in diverse styles.Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Creative approaches to design for bookbinding and book arts Course start date: Mon 13 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sue DoggettIf you already have technical bookbinding skills but want to kickstart, or develop your creative and design skills then this course will help you to develop ways of engaging visually with the content of the book. Through a series of practical exercises and activities, you will learn a range of creative thinking skills and ways to apply them to design for bookbinding. This course is aimed at bookbinders interested in design binding but would benefit anyone working in book arts who is interested in exploring a text visually.
Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Contemporary willow basketry Course start date: Wed 15 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mollie McMillenExperiment with unconventional willow baskets and structures, within a traditional context.This course guides you through new textures and forms using a variety of techniques from Europe and beyond.Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Try it out: calligraphy Course start date: Sat 18 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sharon ShawFancy having a go at this beautiful art form? This short weekend course will introduce you to two different calligraphy pens: a broad edge nib used for scripts such as gothic and italic and a flexible nib used for modern calligraphy and Copperplate.
Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £179.00 - Bookbinding weekend: notebooks and folders Course start date: Sat 25 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ina BaumeisterLearn to make single sheet folded books, a simple multi-section sewn book and a folded slipcase. This weekend course is an opportunity to make an exciting range of notebooks and folders and learn some useful bookbinding techniques. Suitable for beginners.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Calligraphy: Spencerian scripts Course start date: Mon 27 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Veiko KespersaksLearn how to use a pointed pen for writing in copperplate hand. Spencerian script developed from the English Cursive and stands out for its delicately shaded lowercase and prominent capitals. With very intense shadows, obtained with a pointed pen, it is famous for its fine lines, hand-made quality and romantic overtones. Suitable for both beginners and improvers, left and right handers.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Calligraphy summer intensive Course start date: Mon 27 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sharon ShawGilded initials make perfect gifts for family and friends. You’ll learn painting techniques and how to apply a PVA mordant and use real leaf. You will be provided with a number of decorative alphabet templates and then taken step-by-step through the stages of drawing, painting and applying real gold to create your own illuminated decorated letterform.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Try it out: bookbinding Course start date: Sat 8 Aug 2026 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kate RochesterDip your fingers into bookbinding. Learn a little about the materials and craft of bookbinding while making an attractive book to take home. A chance to discuss further study in bookbinding at City Lit.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Try it out calligraphy: modern copperplate Course start date: Mon 7 Sep 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Veiko KespersaksThis short workshop will guide you through the basics of Modern Copperplate Calligraphy, as influenced by historical copperplate handwriting. Once the artform of expert craftsman, calligraphy is now a popular artistic outlet, flexible enough to reflect the personality, style, and creativity of every individual – everyone can learn it and have a lot of fun while doing so! Suitable for left-handers and right-handers.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Basketry: weaving in willow Course start date: Mon 7 Sep 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mollie McMillenExplore basic willow basketry structures and weaves. This course will guide beginners through a simple project to make a small, round, functional basket.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Bookbinding: gold tooling on leather Course start date: Thu 10 Sep 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tracey RowledgeThis course is a great introduction to gold-tooling and the creative use of the medium. Learn how to gold tool on leather with various hand tools, using BS Glaire and gold leaf. All levels welcome.
Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £279.00 Concession £227.00 - Try it out calligraphy: brush lettering Course start date: Thu 10 Sep 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ivo GrantinsThis short course will introduce you to the tools, materials and techniques that you will need to start lettering by hand. You will focus on creating basic letterforms using a brush pen and leave having completed your own sample. Suitable for beginners or those wishing to learn a new calligraphy skill.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00 - Try it out calligraphy: formal and modern Course start date: Fri 11 Sep 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sharon ShawWould you like to find out about the difference between formal calligraphy and modern calligraphy? Come along to this session and have a go at writing both styles. Beginners and improvers welcome.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00
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