Woodworking Saturdays

Woodworking Saturdays is a hands-on making and carpentry workshop for 18 to 26-year-olds, run at the V&A South Kensington Learning Centre. It's a monthly drop-in session that runs from Saturday 25 April to Saturday 28 November 2026, with each one from 10.30 to 13.00. The whole thing is free, so you can pop in without spending a penny.

The idea is simple: you learn practical building skills and work alongside other creatives to make a different wooden object every session. Over the course of the programme, you'll turn out things like stools, shelves, lampshades, picture frames and chairs. There's seat-pad weaving on the programme too, and the whole run culminates in a showcase of the work on 28 November.

Two people designed the sessions: artist Sebastian Chaumeton and Adobe Creative Resident 2026 Shanti Bell. Chaumeton is a multidisciplinary artist and autodidact who up-cycles found objects into sculpture, delftware ceramics and mixed-media painting, with work grounded in craft, play, humour and the handmade. He graduated from Chelsea College of Art in 2019 and has exhibited internationally, from London to Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong. The workshops sit within the V&A's wider creative programme for young people, which ranges from calligraphy and virtual reality to illustration and photography.

It's a good one to keep in the back of your mind if you're in that 18-26 bracket and fancy getting your hands dirty. The sessions are at the V&A South Kensington Learning Centre, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL, on Saturdays from 10.30 to 13.00, monthly from 25 April to 28 November. Entry is free.