Ceramics & knitting

How often do you find yourself spending an evening on the couch with a screen right in front of you? Watching TV, scrolling on your phone… aimlessly and without much to show for it. Especially now that the evenings are darker and we spend more time indoors, our screen time tends to reach an all-time high. And because you can never start good resolutions too early, we decided (just before the end of the year!) to make a conscious effort to spend more time offline.

So we knocked on the doors of two of our most creative Hague treasures, both offering inspiring workshops: Het Keramisch Huis and Cross & Woods. We joined a Clay Modelling & Glazing workshop and a Knitting for Beginners workshop respectively. Both were beginner-friendly, enjoyed with a nice cup of tea and in lovely company of the other workshoppers.

And we can already tell you: it works! After taking part in these workshops, we felt creatively recharged and full of energy to do more activities like this. And our screen time? Nicely below average. Of course, we did have to take a few photos and videos for you to share on our socials;)

Clay & Glaze

During this workshop, you’ll get to explore both clay modelling and painting (glazing) your own handmade piece in just one evening. Perfect if you’re curious about working with clay and ceramics but want to try it out first and ideal if you’re in the mood for quick results. By the end of the evening, your handmade plate, cup or candle holder is ready for the kiln, and within four weeks you can come back to collect your finished piece.

Getting creative with clay

Eefje and I joined the Clay & Glaze workshop on a wintery Thursday evening, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm. After a short introduction, we spent the first hour modelling the 300 grams of clay everyone receives. What you make is entirely up to you. Eefje created letters spelling the name of her son, intended for the wall of his nursery. I went for edible objects in clay form: a small plate shaped like a fried egg and place card holders in the shape of olives.

After the first hour, it was time to choose our glazes and add colour to our creations. Green olives, letters in bold primary colours… All around us, we saw so many lovely pieces taking shape.

Read what Eefje wrote about our cosy evening with the girls of Het Keramisch Huis here. And click here to book a workshop of your own.

Learning to knit

After our clay adventure, it was time for a knitting adventure! And where better to do that than at arts & crafts heaven Cross & Woods on the Westeinde. Here you’ll find an extensive collection of sustainable and locally sourced materials and supplies for all kinds of knitting, sewing, embroidery and other craft projects.

And besides those beautiful balls of yarn, patterns, rolls of fabric and all sorts of creative temptations, this is also the place to come for help with your next creative project. The women in the shop are always happy to get you started, but you can also join one of the many workshops they organise.

On the agenda are, among others:

– Beginner sewing course
– Guided sewing sessions for your own project
– Crochet
– Quilting
– Sashiko (a traditional Japanese embroidery technique)
– Learning to knit

We joined the last one on a Saturday morning. At 10:30 am, we took our seats at the table in the back of the shop with a cosy small group. We learned how to cast on and bind off our very first knitting project and were immediately introduced to two basic knitting stitches.

“Bird, loser, cowboy”

I’ve tried to learn knitting before using YouTube videos, but quickly noticed how much nicer it is when someone is watching along and demonstrating the movements in person. What made it extra fun was that Sara, who led the workshop, came up with all kinds of funny mnemonic tricks for the position of your hands from a “bird” to a “loser sign” and a “cowboy gun”. We’ll never forget those!

Want to join a workshop at Cross & Woods yourself? Take a look at what’s coming up and book via their website.

With your Haagse Schatten gift card, you can take part in fun workshops at these creative The Hague treasures. It also makes a lovely gift for a friend, colleague, aunt or uncle from The Hague or for someone you want to send on a discovery tour through our beautiful city. Each gift card comes with a The Hague treasure map, allowing the lucky recipient to explore both the city and its many treasures.

The great thing is: every euro you spend on the gift card is guaranteed to be spent at a local business in The Hague. This way, we can continue to enjoy the city’s hotspots, run by passionate and driven Hague entrepreneurs. By now, there are over seventy The Hague treasures where the gift card can be redeemed. So there’s something for everyone!