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We love… Barnoon Workshop (arts, craft & design in St Ives)
August 29th, 2017
Barnoon Workshop is a dedicated space for Arts & Crafts activities in St Ives. The Barnoon team, which includes founders Zoe Eaton and Pete Giles, are a talented and dedicated bunch and we love working with them.
Barnoon Workshop offer a great range of classes for individuals and groups alike; these range from the more traditional disciplines such as watercolour and sketching all the way through to guitar lessons, beach workshops and handmade paper making.
Great for schools in St Ives
Often teachers bringing school groups to St Ives take advantage of the great value workshops and book in days and half days for their students: Some customise the workshops to suit their curriculum, others just pick from what’s on offer. Either way teachers only have good things to say about this organisation and it’s great to have such an interesting space in the heart of St Ives, just a few minutes from Cohort.
Quick chat with Pete & Zoe
BW opened roughly the same time as Cohort Hostel so we feel a particular affinity with them. To that end we thought it was about time we asked founders Pete and Zoe a few questions about what brought them to St Ives and their vision for Barnoon Workshop.
How long have you lived in St Ives and what brought you here?
We have lived here for 7 years and had been coming on holiday for years before then; we always imagined it would be a lovely place to live and we were absolutely right. We absolutely love living by the sea, the people are so friendly and easy going; it’s a truly beautiful place to be.
What do you do on your days off?
We don’t have many of those in the summer! But when we do we do our own artwork and go on walks along the coast or in the surrounding countryside.
What gave you the idea to open Barnoon Workshop?
We saw the building come on the market and the idea grew from there. We were both adult education teachers before moving to St Ives, where we opened an arts cafe. After 5 years of doing that we wanted to return to arts education.
What’s the premise behind Barnoon Workshop?
We wanted to offer all round arts and craft activities at affordable prices in a friendly and non competitive environment, as well as get involved with community arts projects.
What activities do you think work best for…
Groups? Crafts tie dye, candle making, drawing walks, soap making, environmental beach sculpture.
Individuals? Drawing and watercolour classes, outdoor drawing tours, sculpture.
Schools? Environmental beach sculpture, drawing tours involving nature and the beach, painting based around the St Ives artists, i.e. Alfred Wallis, Patrick Heron and Terry Frost.
What is the percentage of locals to tourists that use Barnoon Workshop?
It’s pretty equal which is great as that’s what we wanted. We often see people returning each year and locals coming through the quieter months.
Do you exhibit any of the work created?
We will soon be running regular art and craft exhibitions, just watch this space.
We definitely will guys! If you’d like to know any more about the workshops on offer then just visit their website: barnoonworkshop.co.uk.
Schools in St Ives
If you’re planning an educational art trip to St Ives please visit our Educational Visits and School Art Trips pages or just get in touch, we’d be delighted to help you with all aspects of your art trip planning.