Curious Creatives Retreats
Who are we?
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Andycraft-Retreats was the brainchild of Andrea Waters of Andycraft-Beads and 2021 saw the third annual craft retreat at Kingham Hill School. It was at this event that Andrea announced the well-earned retirement of herself and her husband Ken. This was great news for Andrea & Ken but sad news for the Craft Retreats.
Fast foward to today and we are able to proudly announce that Andycraft Retreats shall continue under the umbrella of Curious Creatives Craft Retreats.
We're sure that you will agree, this is very exciting news indeed!
Check out the links below to find out more about the tutors, their courses and, most importantly, how to book your place.
What Crafts are there?
We've got EIGHT amazing tutors, all of whom have been selected because of their knowledge, their skills and their style of teaching. (Click on the tutor name to find out more about them OR click on their craft to find out more about their course)
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Fiona Potter is our Mixed Media Artist
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Vivien Hussey is our Beaded Jewellery Designer
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Alison Tarry is our Wirework Expert
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Sarah Patterson is our Dress & Bag Making Tutor
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Hannah Hamer is our 3D Needle Felting Creator
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Liz Musslewhite is our Quilting & Patchwork Specialist
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Caroline Casswell is our Polymer Clay Master
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Where is it at?
Kingham Hill School is an independent day and boarding school located near the village of Kingham in Oxfordshire. It was founded by local landowner Charles Young in 1886, with buildings designed by the Architect William Howard Seth-Smith. Check out the photo gallery at the bottom of this page
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The school has a leisure centre with a swimming pool and other leisure facilities. The school's 100 acres of grounds include parkland, 30 acres of woodland and 8 acres of pasture housing the school's horses, sheep, alpacas, pine martins and goats.
Investments in 2015 saw the construction of the £4 million maths and science building and this is where many of the retreat courses are held.
With 7 boarding houses accommodation is plentiful. There are limited single and double rooms with shared facilities. Each house has a lounge, common room and full kitchen/diner - though residents on the retreat will benefit from dining together and enjoying the delicious food prepared daily by the excellent catering team.
Catering at Kingham Hill School is provided by the leading caterer for independent schools - Holroyd Howe. The team has been led by Catering Manager, Anna Thatcher for nearly four years. The catering crew consists of 14 people who share a passion for providing fantastic, freshly made, locally sourced, and nutritionally balanced meals for pupils, staff and visitors alike.
Favourites include freshly made bread and soups available daily, fantastic main courses and tempting hot and cold desserts all made using free range eggs, Red Tractor Assured locally sourced meat and local fruit and vegetables where seasonality allows. The chefs can often be found in the small but abundant pupil kitchen garden picking herbs, berries, rhubarb and beans for use in our meals.
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Anna has established excellent working relationships with local suppliers of flour (milled less than five miles away), cheese, fresh produce and a local dairy to ensure food miles are kept to a minimum.
The caterers are confident and efficient in dealing with special dietary requirements, allergies and intolerances and work closely with the parents of affected pupils to ensure suitable, nutritious and safe meals are provided. It is highly recommended that all dietary requests are submitted at the time of booking a place on the craft retreat.
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