WATERS & ACLAND

WATERS & ACLAND Waters and Acland is an award winning fine furniture workshop and furniture school.

The Waters and Acland furniture school and workshop is a hub of creativity, passion, and dedication to the art of fine furniture design and craftsmanship. Since founding our workshop and fine furniture school in 2006, we have pursued a dual mission: to craft furniture of exceptional quality and to preserve the legacy of woodworking through our comprehensive courses. From 2-day workshops to our pre

stigious 1-year Designer Maker Course, we offer something for everyone. Additionally, we have embraced online learning, including our popular Makers Club, offering a complete online course, community access, and exclusive perks for woodworking enthusiasts around the world!

07/09/2026

A few clips from our online course, looking at dovetailing.

We take you through the process of producing crisp, accurate dovetails - from marking out and cutting, through to carefully paring back with chisels for a precise fit.

It’s a great approach for beginners, giving you plenty of control rather than relying entirely on cutting perfectly to the line straight from the saw. It’s also an excellent exercise in developing your chisel work and learning to work with real accuracy.

Dovetailing, including standard bookend dovetails and mitred dovetails, is now included in our Foundation Level Online Course, and leads nicely into our dovetailed box project.

Link in bio to find out more.

04/09/2026

Our new mobile shaping station 👌

We’ve been looking for a good pattern makers vice for the workshop, but wanted something more versatile to use around the furniture school.

So we’ve mounted the HNT Gordon Pattern Makers Vice onto a triple thick ply board that can be clamped to any bench around the workshop, making it a really useful mobile shaping station.

We’re seriously impressed so far. Beautifully made and brilliant versatility - especially being able to hold components securely at different angles for spokeshaving jobs. The tilting jaw is also very useful for holding tapered pieces securely 💪🏻

We’ll be putting it through its paces and featuring it more as it gets some real world use.

- available in the UK from


02/09/2026

The Oak Grove Display Cabinet - A stunning piece of work by former W&A student Joseph

Designed and made by Joseph during our International Designer Maker Course (2-term course), this cabinet brings together oak, ash and cedar with beautifully executed traditional joinery, including mortise and tenon joints, hand-cut dovetails and piston-fitted drawers. Just look at those details. 👌🏻

Find out more about our furniture making courses via the links in our bio.

30/08/2026

The Gemini Cabinet by former W&A student Clare is one of those pieces that makes you stop and look.

Inspired by the biomorphic sculpture of Mari-Ruth Oda and the work of Danish master Peder Moos, Clare combined subtle curves, soft edges and carefully considered proportions to create a piece that feels both sculptural and beautifully functional.

The cabinet won the Bespoke Award at the Young Furniture Makers Exhibition in 2022, and was later awarded a Bespoke Guild Mark by - a fantastic recognition of Clare’s work. 👏🏻

It’s always hugely rewarding to see where our students take their skills after leaving W&A, and Clare has gone on to establish herself as an exceptional furniture maker in her own right.

Applications are now open for our 2027 Designer Maker courses, with 2 and 3-term options available.

And if a longer course isn’t for you, we also have a range of short courses at the furniture school, from 2-day box making courses through to our 4-week Furniture Maker course.

Our Complete Online Course members also receive 10% off all short courses here at the furniture school, along with a range of exclusive discounts with our furniture making suppliers. 👉🏻 All links in bio

Such a beautifully made and proportioned lounge chair by former W&A student Nico Studio Fortier - black cherry and Danis...
27/08/2026

Such a beautifully made and proportioned lounge chair by former W&A student Nico Studio Fortier - black cherry and Danish paper cord. 😍

Nico now specialises in producing bespoke commissions from his workshop here in the Lake District. 👏🏻

This is the Confluence Cabinet by Max Maximilian Zander - designed and made during his time on the 2-term designer maker...
25/08/2026

This is the Confluence Cabinet by Max Maximilian Zander - designed and made during his time on the 2-term designer maker course earlier this year. A beautifully executed build by Max.

Introducing the Lustre Chair, the latest work by Clare CLARE NG - a former student here Waters & Acland Furniture School...
21/08/2026

Introducing the Lustre Chair, the latest work by Clare CLARE NG - a former student here Waters & Acland Furniture School 👏🏻

Inspired by the structural intelligence of the traditional Windsor chair, Lustre takes a contemporary approach, replacing flowing curves with carefully considered proportions, straight lines and crisp, faceted surfaces.

Each chamfer catches the light differently, giving the chair a changing character from every angle. The hand planed spindles feature carefully resolved facets, with the chamfers meeting to create subtle V-grooves along their length.

It’s a piece full of considered details - from the overall proportions, right down to the individual surfaces of each spindle.

Clare is now an award-winning fine furniture maker, including being awarded a Bespoke Guild Mark by The Furniture Makers’ Company

We’re incredibly proud to see our former students continuing to be so creative and following their own paths. We always love seeing what they’re making and watching them develop their work, and it’s fantastic to see Clare doing so well. 🤩

18/08/2026

The Sliding Wedged Dovetail - a crazy joint, but a great little woodworking skills test. 😅

The full tutorial is available in our complete online course - currently on a summer deal £149 → £110 🙌🏻

17/08/2026

Clip from our online box making project - adding some string line inlay to the lid. 👍🏻

Our Complete Online Course is currently on a summer deal with 25% off (£149 → £110) until the end of August. 😎

Visit the link in our bio and head to our Online School for more details.

Members of our Complete Online Course also get 10% off any in-person short course at the furniture school - a great excuse to visit the stunning Lake District. 🏔️

The Carlito Cabinet by former Designer Maker student Atelier Blouberg was inspired by the brutalist architecture of Carl...
14/08/2026

The Carlito Cabinet by former Designer Maker student Atelier Blouberg was inspired by the brutalist architecture of Carlo Scarpa, with walnut sliding doors and intricate fluting. Made during his time on the Designer Maker Course.

It’s always great to see where our students go after leaving the school, and Ruben has since set up Atelier Blouberg in Sorgues, near Avignon, creating unique and bespoke furniture. 👏🏻

Address

22-25 Staveley Mill Yard
Kendal
LA89LR

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

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