Craft workshops and a handmade shop in Cathays

Lark Design Make is a craft studio, handmade goods shop, adult education school and children's club, based at Lark Studio, 36 Dogfield St, in Cathays. Gemma Forde founded it in October 2018. She used to teach Design and Technology, studied Product Design at university and taught abroad before moving back to Cardiff. Sophie, the creative assistant, also helps run the studio, and the place has a studio dog called Gwen. In July 2025, the studio won the Wales Prestige Award 2025/26 for Craft Studio of the Year. The ceremony took place at Ashton Gate in Bristol, and Gemma went with her mum, Debbie, and Beth, one of the craft tutors.

The workshops are open to adults, children and parent-child pairs, and they run every day of the week. The main options include macramé (plant hangers, shelves, bottle holders and wall hangings), crochet, sewing, soap and lip balm making, tufting, candles, mosaics, leather, jewellery, and upcycling and recycling. There are also more advanced classes led by tutors, covering crochet, polymer clay, lino printing, stool weaving, silver clay jewellery, knitting, wire work and crepe paper flowers. Google reviews mention needle felting, copper wire modelling, candle making, soap, and rug tufting. Customers often praise Gemma's attention and the relaxed atmosphere. The studio has a 4.9/5 rating on Google from 139 reviews. The shop sells handmade products, yarn, macramé cord and wooden accessories.

The studio also hosts private events, such as adult celebrations, hen parties, baby showers, corporate creative sessions, and kids' craft club days during school holidays. For baby showers, which last 2.5 hours, the price depends on the group size: £36 per person for 6 to 8 guests, £32 per person for 9 to 12, and £30 per person for 13 or more. The minimum is 6 people. To book, you fill in an enquiry form and they reply within 48 hours. A £50 deposit secures the date, and the final invoice is due 7 days before the event. An extra hour for food, drinks and games costs £50. Private sessions on weekdays run from 10:30 to 13:00 or from 18:30 to 21:00. At weekends, the slots are 10:30 to 13:00, 14:00 to 16:30 or 17:00 to 19:30.

For getting there, the studio has step-free access from the main door, which has ramps, but the usual entrance has internal stairs. The toilet is near the main entrance. Parking in the area is limited and mostly parallel, so plan ahead. Paid council parking on Fairoak Road runs from 8:00 to 18:00, with the first hour free and then £1.30 per hour, and the paid bays stop charging at 18:00, when parking on the road becomes free. There is also a private 2-hour car park, Horizon Spaces, a four-minute walk away for £1.50, and free parking on Fairoak Road about seven to ten minutes on foot, near Roath gardens. Buses 2, 8, 9, 95 and X1 stop on nearby Crwys Road, and Cathays station is a 12-minute walk. Bute Park and the National Museum Cardiff are both free to visit and within walking distance, while Cardiff Castle is a 15 to 20-minute walk and costs £16 for adults.