Good Morning all, had a great day yesterday and have much to share about the Masterclass VIP experience, im going to do this blog in Q & A form and if you have a question that i've missed i will be more than happy to answer either here or on Hochanda's facebook page.
Why did you choose Craft Yourself Silly?
I have been paper peicing for years but only ever squares or hexagons, i have always shied away from anything more complicated as i have a terror of frayed edges and being unable to stitch them neatly....i chose this masterclass because i wanted to try some of Hayley Smiths' lovely tessepatch peices without being a custard.
Why did you choose the VIP experience isnt it a bit expensive?
I chose the VIP experience because i felt i would have more chance of learning to do the scarey bits with Hayley to hold my hand, plus there is a tour of the studios and i thought it would be a fun experience...with regards to the cost, Hochanda freedom members get a discount which brings the price down and while, yes it is expensive, if there's something youve always wanted to learn with lots of help and check out the studios and see what its like behind the scenes, meet people....definately value for money and a fun day out.
The Pod at Hochanda HQ (yes my car is called POD cause he's covered in dolphins lol)
Your Masterclass started at 3pm and you were asked to arrive at 2.30pm, did you think this was enough time?
Actually i thought half an hour was no where near enough time before i got there, but it turned out to be more than enough time for a fabulous tour and the taking of many photos.
Hochanda Reception area with the famous thrones
Because they are there and you just have too...and look!!!! you can see one of the Spectrum Noir Coloured shoes lol
Who gave the studio tour, was it good and informative?
Kerri gave me the studio tour, she was fantastic and let me play behind the counters. She also explained and answered all my questions.
In the green room with the amazing Kerri...
Hayley came to say hello so we had to have another picture lol....
Phil Martins Demo area....close up his butterflies were gorgeous
The Inktense Demo area, Kerri managed to snap me as i was describing what i would like to get...everything lol
After Seeing Sharon's first inktense show and the shoes, i doodled on my trainers with my inktense pencils....i was trying to show Kerri lol, who knew i could get my leg up that high lol
On the Husquavarna set pretending to present the show, supervised by presenter Claire and a lovely chap whose name has totally vanished from my rubbish brain.....everyone is so lovely
So you had a tour, what happened next?
We went to the set and micced up, one of the less glamourous parts lol, i got comfy behind my table and Hayley talked me through all the things in front of me....i got a take home project bag too which is amazing and i will share the contents at the bottom of the blog.
John the main man/producer crashing my pic of the studio lol
Snapped Hayley being micced up lol
At my desk checking out the fun in front of me
were you nervous?
Very....but everyone is so fantastic that you feel comfy and the nerves soon flew away
Ready to go
What did you do? did it drag or fly by?
Hayley talked us through the three different tessepatches she had for the show, we started with the hexagon flower
then we moved onto the dog which is a little complicated and the first challenge for me
I tried to avoid the scarey bit and made a bit of a mess of the tail, but its fixable and after the workshop Hayley sat with me an made me stitch the cat until i had nailed the fraying scares
Ironically, now im not scared of it, the cat is my favourite lol and im going to do a cushion with the cat.
As to the question of how the time went, i'd just started to be ready for a break and was wondering how much longer, when Hayley said 2 mins left....it flew by!!!!!!! amazing and so much fun.. Below are pictures Producer John took during the hour. All of them including the ones where im pulling faces.
Was there anything that was an issue or problem?
Yes one was funny and the other is something Hochanda are going to solve for the next VIP visit...One of the problems i had was that i wasn't close enough to see what Hayley was doing close up, i did use the screens but as they were all angled for Hayley, it was a little difficult...I beleive the gang are going to find a solution...and get a screen pointing towards the guests as well. The other problem was hilarious, to make re-threading easier, Hayley supplied me with the self threading needles, i've never used them before lol and it turns out im a thread tugger.....the pouty face picture was me re-threading the needle for the hundredth time....i was close to the giggles by the end of the hour and will never ever touch a self threading needle again lol.
What Happened afterwards?
First i went for a smoke.....once that was done i stalked many people aided and abetted by the Hochanda Gang lol.
The amazingly talented Sharon Hurst....i had a fab natter with her and showed her my shoes lol
The first time in my life i was the tallest person and i felt like a giant lol
Catching up with Hayley West
Yay!!! Phil Martin
The Adorable Charlie....
So did you enjoy yourself?
Yes absolutely, the people at Hochanda are amazing, very friendly and dedicated to their jobs, they really care about what they do and it comes across when you natter. When i said i wanted to meet many people they made sure i wasnt disappointed and i didnt feel like i was hurried out of the door the minute the workshop was over.
Would you do another VIP workshop?
Funny you should ask, im doing Sara Davis's workshop on the 19th August, she will be working with her score board and that is something i have never played with, i am expecting it to be a challenge but fun.
Will you be doing any more tessepatch?
Yes absolutely, must get more fabric lol, also more paper templates or the wooden stencil....i am thrilled that a fear that runs back many years has been put to bed and cant wait to play.
What was in the Homework bag?
Yummy goodies...check out the pics
Will you always do the VIP experience?
No, mostly im planning to do the online interactive....the VIP experience i will save for those crafts that totally baffle me and when i feel i will benefit from the hands on learning....and when i can afford it lol.
Conclusion
Money well spent, a fabulous day out and i have the video on my account to watch for 60 days if there is anything i want to go back and review. I would recommend this to anyone who is contemplating giving it a go, the workshop was fabulous and informative and Hochanda made it an amazing experience. So there it is...the VIP workshop, if you think of a question i havent covered, let me know and dont be afraid to treat yourself to the experience.
