• Furniture School
    • Weekend Courses
      • Sharpening & Tuning Hand Tools
      • Cabinetmaking Fundamentals
      • Wood Machining
      • Making and Fitting a Dovetailed Drawer
    • 3-5 DAY COURSES by Skill
      • SKILLS WEEK – Sharpening & Essential Cabinet Making Hand Skills
      • JOINTS WEEK – Making a Table
      • DRAWER WEEKEND – Making and Fitting a Dovetailed Drawer
      • ANTIQUE FURNITURE RESTORATION TECHNIQUES
      • POLISHING WEEK – French Polishing & Modern Hand Finishes
      • VENEERING – Making a Games Board
      • LAMINATING – Making a Box with a Curved Lid
      • SHAPING A SEAT – Making a Bar Stool
      • FITTING LOCKS & HINGES – Making a Decorative Box
    • COURSES by Project
      • Project – Making and Fitting a Dovetailed Drawer
      • Project – Making a Table
      • Project – Making a Bar Stool
      • Project – Making a Decorative Box with Lift Out Tray
      • Project – Making a Danish Corded Stool
      • Project – Making a Games Board
      • Project – Making a Box with a Curved Lid
    • Information
      • Skill Levels Explained
      • Course Dates & Prices
      • Booking Form – Short Courses
      • Terms & Conditions – Short Courses
      • Accommodation
      • Student Life
      • Student Gallery
      • Graduate Links
      • About us
      • Demos and Talks
      • Gift Vouchers
      • Benches to Rent
  • Course Dates
  • Bespoke Furniture
  • Antique Restoration
  • John Lloyd’s Blog
  • Students Tool Shop

Call us 01444 480388

Find us on Map
info@johnlloydfinefurniture.co.uk
John Lloyd Fine FurnitureJohn Lloyd Fine Furniture
John Lloyd Fine FurnitureJohn Lloyd Fine Furniture
  • Furniture School
    • Weekend Courses
      • Sharpening & Tuning Hand Tools
      • Cabinetmaking Fundamentals
      • Wood Machining
      • Making and Fitting a Dovetailed Drawer
    • 3-5 DAY COURSES by Skill
      • SKILLS WEEK – Sharpening & Essential Cabinet Making Hand Skills
      • JOINTS WEEK – Making a Table
      • DRAWER WEEKEND – Making and Fitting a Dovetailed Drawer
      • ANTIQUE FURNITURE RESTORATION TECHNIQUES
      • POLISHING WEEK – French Polishing & Modern Hand Finishes
      • VENEERING – Making a Games Board
      • LAMINATING – Making a Box with a Curved Lid
      • SHAPING A SEAT – Making a Bar Stool
      • FITTING LOCKS & HINGES – Making a Decorative Box
    • COURSES by Project
      • Project – Making and Fitting a Dovetailed Drawer
      • Project – Making a Table
      • Project – Making a Bar Stool
      • Project – Making a Decorative Box with Lift Out Tray
      • Project – Making a Danish Corded Stool
      • Project – Making a Games Board
      • Project – Making a Box with a Curved Lid
    • Information
      • Skill Levels Explained
      • Course Dates & Prices
      • Booking Form – Short Courses
      • Terms & Conditions – Short Courses
      • Accommodation
      • Student Life
      • Student Gallery
      • Graduate Links
      • About us
      • Demos and Talks
      • Gift Vouchers
      • Benches to Rent
    • Close
  • Course Dates
  • Bespoke Furniture
  • Antique Restoration
  • John Lloyd’s Blog
  • Students Tool Shop
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  • A New Career

    Are you dreaming of a fulfilling creative career and a change of lifestyle? Your future could start here.

    Call us today to discuss your options with John Lloyd

  • Why Are We Different?

    After 30 years teaching furniture design and making and 35 years in the business John knows that experience counts

    When you choose to train with John Lloyd you will be taught and supervised full time by John Lloyd

  • Explore our new range of Inspirational Short Courses for the Aspirational Woodworker

    Thoughtfully devised courses designed to suit everyone from the complete novice through to the highly competent

  • Fine Furniture Making & Antique Furniture Restoration Courses

    Our workshops are set in the beautiful and inspiring Sussex countryside. The perfect environment in which to work and learn.

    Call us today to arrange a workshop visit and discuss your options with John Lloyd.

  • A New Career

    Are you dreaming of a fulfilling creative career and a change of lifestyle? Your future could start here.

    Call us today to discuss your options with John Lloyd

  • Why Are We Different?

    After 30 years teaching furniture design and making and 35 years in the business John knows that experience counts

    When you choose to train with John Lloyd you will be taught and supervised full time by John Lloyd

  • Explore our new range of Inspirational Short Courses for the Aspirational Woodworker

    Thoughtfully devised courses designed to suit everyone from the complete novice through to the highly competent

  • Fine Furniture Making & Antique Furniture Restoration Courses

    Our workshops are set in the beautiful and inspiring Sussex countryside. The perfect environment in which to work and learn.

    Call us today to arrange a workshop visit and discuss your options with John Lloyd.

*** John Lloyd Furniture School *** Beautiful Bespoke Furniture *** 

*** Antique & Mid 20th Century Furniture Conservation and Restoration Specialists *** 

Learn More

Treat Yourself to a Weekend Woodworking Course this Summer

Immerse yourself in woodwork.  Two days of action packed intensive tuition in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  Indulge your creativity and improve your woodworking skills. Complete beginners very welcome. Teaching hours are from 8.30 am to 6pm (with tea breaks!) to enable everyone to gain as much as possible from their time in the workshops.   Spend a weekend in the beautiful Sussex countryside, with excellent B&B  and country pub accommodation nearby and Brighton just a short drive over the stunning South Downs.

Cabinetmaking Fundamentals     21-22 May & 20-21 August

Sharpening & Tuning Hand Tools     9-10 April & 16-17 July

Antique Furniture Care and Repairs       13-14 August & 3-4 December

Wood Machining      11-12 June & 1-2 October

Learn More

* * * Summer 2025 Short Courses * * *

Wood Machining 28th-29th June (1 place)

Cabinetmaking Fundamentals Weekend  19th-20th July (1 place)

SKILLS WEEK 21st-25th July (full)

JOINTS WEEK 28th July – 1st August (full)

Drawer Weekend 2nd-3rd August (3 places)

Decorative Box 15th-18th August (1 place)

Decorative Box 22nd-25th August (full) 

Make a Bar Stool 27th-31st August (2 places)

SKILLS WEEK 15th-19th September (full)

Click here

It’s time to get planning…. 

*** 2026 Course Programme now available  ***

 

More information
Course Dates & Prices
Full-time furniture making/restoration bench available to rent.

Furniture School

Over the 30 years I have been running a successful bespoke furniture making and antique restoration business, I have become passionate about passing on the skills and knowledge through my Woodworking School.

We have designed a range of educational short courses that have traditional hand skills at their core, the key requirement being simply enthusiasm and a thirst for knowledge.

Furniture Making

Stunning individually designed furniture in a traditional or contemporary style.  Whether you have a definite design in mind or simply an idea, we can help you realise your dreams.  

We also specialise in making accurate copies of chairs and furniture to match existing pieces or to complete a set.

Beautiful wooden coffee tables and bedside tables are often difficult to source.  John has designed a range of unique furniture to fill this gap in the market.

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Antique Furniture Restoration

Antique furniture and cherished family heirlooms can be brought back to life with sympathetic Antique Furniture Restoration. John Lloyd, an antique furniture restorer with more than 25 years experience,  will restore your antique furniture with careful, thoughtful consideration.

We are also experts in mid-20th Century furniture restoration and conservation.  This increasingly popular and much sort after furniture requires particularly specialist knowledge due to the more modern materials used, for example, cork and laminates.     

Offering a complete range of restoration services covering, both structural and cosmetic repairs, your treasured items, which have perhaps been passed down through your family, can be brought back into use and made to look lovely again.

An antique furniture restorer is just that, a ‘Restorer’, our main function is to restore a piece of antique furniture back to its intended use, Chairs are meant to be sat on without the occupant feeling that they might end up on the floor at any minute, Extending Dining Tables are meant to extend without needing to resort to a crow-bar, and when extended shouldn’t make you worry that your soup might well end up in your lap at any moment, and library steps shouldn’t put you in fear of your life should you dare to climb higher than the first step.

Thinking of a new Career?

John Lloyd offers full time intensive short courses in various fine furniture making skills and techniques, polishing & finishing and antique furniture restoration course. An ideal selection of courses for those wishing to train for a new career or the serious hobbyist.

  • The SKILLS WEEK 
  • The JOINTS WEEK
  • The POLISHING WEEK

These courses are perfect for International students wishing to learn fine English craftmanship, ex-Forces personnel, gap year students (min. age 18), retirees looking for a second career. Anyone considering these courses is warmly welcome to contact us with any questions they may have.

A Preferred Supplier to the Career Transition Partnership

Popular Short Courses

We offer intensive 2, 3 & 5 day training courses in Furniture Making, Antique Furniture Restoration, French Polishing & Modern Hand Finishes and Wood Machining.

  • Weekend Courses
  • Furniture Making Courses
  • Antique Furniture Restoration
  • French Polishing & Modern Hand Finishes
  • Wood Machining Course
  • Veneering
  • Laminating
  • Course Dates & Costs

What our students say.

An excellent comprehensive programme which is both highly practical as well as theoretical.  I came away feeling confident about sharpening and tuning a wide range of woodworking tools

David Green
Even at this early stage in my woodworking journey the level of accuracy seemed impossible but with only a day of John’s guidance on the tools fractions of millimeter workmanship was being repeatable achieved.
Toby Hague
John’s clarity, expertise and sense of humour. Pace was just right and facilities provided all you could need, including biscuits.
Niels Archer
Well structured and comprehensively covered the subjects.Time well used with sensitive feel for the needs of the participants. I can’t imagine how it could be bettered within the time frame allowed.
David Benwell
An excellent comprehensive programme which is both highly practical as well as theoretical.  I came away feeling confident about sharpening and tuning a wide range of woodworking tools
David Green
Having zero woodworking skills I amazed myself with what I achieved after only five days – all credit to John for his excellent teaching. The small class gives everyone lots of one to one time with John. I arrived with a piece of firewood and went home with a beautifully restored 19th century chair. Everything was spot on!
Nick White
Excellent instruction in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The quality of the tools was top notch which made a huge difference.
Graham Till
Open and friendly instruction, well structured and extremely well organised.
Graham Barnard
I got exactly what I wanted – advice on what to look for in machine tools, which tools are more useful than others, as well as lots of tips and tricks.
Llewelyn Fernandes
Structured and good pace. Very thorough build up of the fundamental skills. Feel like I could completed the projects independently now using the skills covered.
Martin McGloin
I really liked the in depth knowledge the course gave me and the confidence through the practical work to carry out projects of my own. Additionally the relaxed attitude that carried throughout the week.
Tracey-Jane Deffley

Benches to Rent

John Lloyd have bench space to rent in newly restored barn workshops, includes use of fully equipped machine shop.

Gift Vouchers

Gift Vouchers are now available. These may be used against the cost of a Short Course or Tools stocked in our shop.

Facebook

Join us on FACEBOOK for all the latest course info, student updates and photos of student work past and present and much more.

Contact Us

We are just 1hr from London. For more information call us now on 01444 480388

Articles, Publications & Instagram

Shoulder Plane

Asked why he might use a shoulder plane, John Lloyd explores the value of this tricky tool.

Fitting Hinges

John Lloyd explores perfectly fitting hinges.

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John Lloyd (@john_lloyd_fine_furniture) • Instagram photos and videos

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Shoulder Plane

Asked why he might use a shoulder plane, John Lloyd explores the value of this tricky tool.

Fitting Hinges

John Lloyd explores perfectly fitting hinges.

The Secrets of Hand Sawing

Getting the best possible results from hand sawing.

  • The Importance of “n+1” and why you need a Stealth Router

    It might not seem like it when it’s happening, but it’s good to be challenged occasionally (or perhaps, not quite so occasionally!) It doesn’t really matter what form this challenge

  • Jack of All Trades

    It might not seem like it when it’s happening, but it’s good to be challenged occasionally (or perhaps, not quite so occasionally!) It doesn’t really matter what form this challenge

  • The Terrors of the Timber Yard!! – Part 2

    So, you need some timber and you’ve decided that you’re happy to ‘play the game’ at the timber yard (refer to my previous blog for guidance on rules of this

  • The Terrors of the Timber Yard!!

    These days I rather look forward to my visits to the timber yard, but that wasn’t always the case, for many years the timber procurement part of furniture making wasn’t

  • DON’T PANIC!!

    There really isn’t any cause for alarm, I’m pretty certain this isn’t the end of woodworking as we know it, but there seems to be a bit of a revolution

  • The Importance of “n+1” and why you need a Stealth Router The Importance of “n+1” and why you need a Stealth Router
  • Jack of All Trades Jack of All Trades
  • The Terrors of the Timber Yard!! – Part 2 The Terrors of the Timber Yard!! – Part 2
  • The Terrors of the Timber Yard!! The Terrors of the Timber Yard!!
  • DON’T PANIC!! DON’T PANIC!!
Call today to discuss your options & requirements with John Lloyd Contact Us

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