the craft escapes to check into this winter

A mind-quietening water blessing led by local monks marks the beginning of the three-day Hands of the Khmer immersion in Cambodia's vibrant Siem Reap. From weaving threads into silk on traditional wooden looms in the Puok district, to throwing Angkorian-inspired vessels at the Khmer Ceramics & Fine Arts Centre, you’ll grasp the fundamentals of myriad traditional crafts in the hours and days to follow, with steer from the city’s most gifted artisans. Amansara itself makes for a fitting base, standing mere moments from UNESCO-listed Angkor Wat and deftly bridging past and present with its low-slung 1960s architecture, lotus-strewn ponds and quantities of timber.

various dates

You’ll find blue-shuttered Casa Julfa in the medieval French town of Montmorillon. Founder Corinne roots her soulful retreats and residencies in long-forgotten craft techniques, and the six-day immersion taking place in December is no exception. This particular experience leans into the pleasure of gift-giving, with guests being shown how to craft an array of keepsakes that make for superb Christmas presents. Along with sculpting candle holders from Limoges clay, you'll stitch hair scrunchies out of vintage silks and make watercolour palettes using locally sourced pigments. There’s an emphasis on making the experience very much your own – crafting at a pace to suit you and making as many (or as few) pieces as you like. In between workshops, there are cobweb-clearing rambles in the surrounding countryside and unhurried lunches around the kitchen table to look forward to, and the casa itself is an absurdly beautiful place to spend time.

3-8 December 2026

Set right on the border between Umbria and Tuscany and occupying a thousand-year-old estate with Etruscan roots, Reschio provides an atmospheric backdrop for learning the centuries-old arts of Florentine paper marbling, bookbinding and chancery calligraphy. First you’re walked through the marbling process: floating highly pigmented inks on the water’s surface, coaxing them into mesmerising swirls, and submerging smooth sheets of paper, after which you’ll turn your attention to crafting a weighty leather-bound notebook. Finally, you’ll be introduced to the resident master calligrapher who’ll encourage you to get acquainted with the tools of the trade (a metal-nibbed quill and an inkwell) before guiding you through forming each letter of the alphabet in the original cursive script. Some are trickier than others to get just so, but do persevere – even those with near-illegible handwriting will get the hang of it eventually.

21-24 December 2026

Thread Caravan’s painstakingly well thought-out immersions offer unmatched explorations of time-honoured craft practices in destinations spanning Iceland to Oaxaca. The perspective-shifting January retreat unfolds, over the course of a week, as a deep dive into the traditions of India’s arid, soul-stirringly beautiful Kutch region. Under the watchful eye of master artisans, you’ll try your hand at handloom weaving, spinning, embroidery and ajrakh block-printing, while learning the ins and outs of the local heritage. Between the more hands-on activities, there are private art collections to lose yourself in as well as guided tours of the surreal Rann desert, and each day winds to a close at a storied guesthouse in Bhuj.

4-21 January 2027

Birdhouses have long been a quiet expression of our affection for the creatures we share our gardens with, and in the lofty glasshouse at Heckfield Place, you can learn precisely how to craft one with your own fair hands. The 90-minute session begins with a short introductory talk from the resident wildlife warden, after which a clever member of the groundskeeping team will school you in the art of building the structure, with an array of reclaimed materials, no less. Post-workshop, a tempting bill of holistic therapies awaits at The Bothy by Wildsmith, and later you can retire to your cosseting bedroom – enveloped in earthy fabrics and dotted with 20th-century pieces.

available throughout the year

There’s no shortage of creative, hands-on experiences to get stuck into at The Lodge at Blue Sky, each one designed to encourage guests to slow down and form deeper connections with Utah’s summits, crystalline creeks and trees. Most rewarding are the eco-printing workshops, during which you’ll be taught the art of printing patterns onto fabric using twigs, leaves and flowers gathered just outside, and natural dyes made from pigment-rich seeds. Expect to be walked through the various pressing and steaming techniques, then shown how to mix varying concentrations of colour to achieve your desired results. They’re hosted at Gracie’s Farm – a female-led regenerative smallholding, positioned not far from the on-site distillery – meaning as you wait for your artwork to set you can have a nosey in the geothermally heated greenhouse or visit the resident goats, hens and horses.

running through December-April