There’s nothing better than getting a little craft during a design festival and there are some cracking workshops to get stuck into this year. With the EJP guide to #LDF17, you can navigate through the best installations, workshops, talks, exhibitions & design districts this London Design Festival. Just scroll on down!

The must-do workshops at London Design Festival 2017

1 // The Supper Cloth at The Department Store

Enjoy the benefits of slow stitching, learn and practice hand embroidery stitches to make a stitched work of art celebrating Brixton. Embroidery experts Aimee Betts and Melanie Bowles, contemporary embroidery designers and educators at Chelsea College of Art and Goldsmith University, will guide you through the process and you’ll be able to take home your limited edition embroidery specially designed for the Brixton Design Trail.

Sunday 17th September, 10:30am – 12:30pm
Squire & Partners, The Department Store, 248 Ferndale Road, London, SW9 8FR
Nearest tube: Brixton
£14.99, Book tickets here.

2 // Farrow & Ball Colour Week

While you should, of course, be keeping an eye out for the fleet of Farrow & Ball taxis wrapped in the brand’s brightly coloured wallpaper designs, you could also hop in one and head straight to their Chelsea showroom. The British manufacturer has partnered with EJP faves Print Club London to offer free screen printing workshops.

21st-23rd September, 10am – 5pm, Drop-in 
Farrow & Ball Chelsea Showroom, 249 Fulham Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 6HY
Nearest Tube: South Kensington

3 // Font Selfie Workshop: What’s your font?

Add to the V&A’s collection of typographic self-portraits by picking your own typeface and customising it to reflect your personality – a Font Selfie if you wish.

At 2pm each day, author and Type Tasting founder Sarah Hyndman will also give a short talk about her research into typeface personalities. Why do fonts have personalities? What might your choice of font reveal about you? Which font would you trust, like as a friend, or even go on a date with? I’ve attended one before and can 100% recommend for some interesting insight.

Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th September, 11am-5pm (talk 2pm)
Digital Studio, Sackler Centre for arts education, V&A
Nearest Tube: South Kensington

4 // Daruma doll painting workshop @ wagumi

Oxo Tower Wharf resident, wagumi will be hosting a workshop to create one of Japan’s most classic designs: a Daruma wishing doll.Daruma have been a repository for wishes and goals in Japan through the ages, with painting the face a central part of the experience.

If you haven’t heard of these interesting objects before, it’s time to get to know. I won’t give too much away but Daruma have been a repository for wishes and goals in Japan and they involve a sweet little ritual to ensure the wish comes true.

Working with Yoshida Daruma, a specialist maker in Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture, you will create your own Darum to match the colour trends of 2017.

Friday 22nd September 2017, 11am-12noon
wagumi 1.08 OXO Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, London, SE19PH
Nearest Tube: Waterloo / Blackfriars
£10, Book tickets here.

5 // Campari Creates | Design Your Own Campari Bottle

We all love a good drink in the sun, right? Why not design and personalise your very own Campari bottle in this workshop led by the London Craft Club? Grab a couple of friends and enjoy a Campari cocktail while you create. Each ticket includes one cocktail and your own personalised bottle of 70cl Campari to take away after the masterclass.

Sunday 17th September, 2pm-3pm
Granary Square, 4 Stable Street, Kings Cross, London, N1C 4AB, 
Nearest Tube: Kings Cross
£20, Book tickets here.

6 // Love Grows Linocut Workshop at The Department Store

Take part in this Lino Cutting workshop with printmaker, illustrator and teacher, Kaylene Alder at The Department Store, Brixton. Inspired by the ‘Love is Power’ theme of this year’s Brixton Design Trail, the class will have a botanical theme but all ideas are welcome. You will learn how to draw, cut and print your own A5 lino-printed design in a single colour and learn how to take your new learned skills home for

Saturday 16th September, 11am – 1pm
Squire & Partners, The Department Store, 248 Ferndale Road, London, SW9 8FR 
Nearest tube: Brixton
£21.83, Book tickets here.

7 // Sans Pere Choux Making Workshop

Sans Pere is a new ‘lifestyle house’ in Shoreditch made up of a patisserie, homeware store, speciality coffee bar, architectural studio and a property sales and lettings team. For London Design Festival the store will explore the relationship between food and design. Join their team of expert patisserie chefs to learn the craft of pastry making in a choux-making workshop. There are rumours of a giant edible mille feuille totem so certainly one not to miss.

Tuesday 19th September, 2pm-3pm
Sans Pere, 84 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3JL
Nearest Tube: Old Street
Register here.

Want to see more LDF content? Explore the full EJP London Design Festival Guide or head straight to your interests – just click for Exhibitions, Workshops, Talks, Design Districts and Design Shows.