Welcome to the Urban Studio North, a purpose built studio in the garden of my home in Manchester, UK. The studio is easily accessible, light, spacious and fully equipped for surface design and more. It is my sanctuary and I hope it will be a special place for my students.
Workshops will be limited to 6 students so that you have lots of room to work and so that I, or my guest tutors, can give you lots of one to one support. You will have your own height adjustable print bench and access to all the dyes, paints and equipment that you need for your workshop. Usually you will only be asked to bring fabric and your enthusiasm! Class times will be 9.30am to 4.30pm unless otherwise stated with the studio being accessible from 9am. There is street parking in front of my home or nearby. The studio has a bottomless supply of tea, coffee, cold drinks and biscuits to help the creative process.
The studio will be stocked with a selection of the fabrics, Procion dyes, screen printing inks, auxilliary chemicals, screen printing screens and equipment for students to buy. Or you can buy them online - just click SHOP!
If the workshop you are interested in is full please contact me via admin@leahhiggins.co.uk to be put on a waiting list. I will contact you if a cancellation occurs or if new workshop dates become available.
I also have a couple of workshops that I can bring to your group. Or your group could book a private, tailor made, retreat at Urban Studio North. Click on Information for groups button below or contact me via admin@leahhiggins.co.uk.
**ONLINE WORKSHOP** SIMPLY SCREEN PRINTING
£300 for 12 month membership
Learn how to screen print at home, working at your own pace, with 25 hours of videos, detailed notes and support from me at every step of the way! The workshop is based on the Simply Screen Printing book and 5 day in-person workshop.
This is an ‘on demand’ workshop - you can join at any time.
Simply Screen Printing Gallery of Printed Fabrics
Click below to see the beautiful fabrics that I will show you how to print during my online Simply Screen Printing workshop!
**ONLINE WORKSHOP** BREAKDOWN YOUR PALETTE
£240 for 12 month membership
This is an ‘on demand’ workshop - you can join at any time!
The same content as my five day ‘in person’ workshop but available for you to enjoy for 12 months. You can work at your own pace and you’ll receive lots of one to one support from me!
STUDENT GALLERY
Screen printed fabrics can be used in so many wonderful ways -
(Image is Breakdown Bottles by Jo Maguire)
Breakdown Your Palette 2024
13th to 17th May 2024, £450 (£150 deposit) 1 PLACE LEFT
1st to 5th July 2024, £450 (£150 deposit) 1 PLACE LEFT
12th to 16th August 2024, £450 (£150 deposit) SOLD OUT
This five-day, focussed, workshop combines an in-depth exploration of breakdown printing and the study of colour to create a palette of beautiful, co-ordinated cloth. Working from your own inspirational images or objects you will extract colours to use as you work with a range of breakdown printing techniques. We will also investigate the use of discharge paste in breakdown and how your printed fabrics can be enhanced by other surface design techniques.
Quietly Composed with Amanda J Clayton
9th to 12th September 2024, £420 (£120 deposit) 1 PLACE LEFT
The course ‘Quietly Composed’ is aimed at those artists, embroiderers’ and textile specialists in particular, who wish to explore observational starting points and develop personal ideas through cloth and hand stitch.
Enjoy the calming nature of hand stitch whilst absorbing the serendipity of composition, with a pared down palette of neutrals you will explore the techniques of cutwork, darning, applique, layering and inlay using transparent qualities as well as your favourite cloth qualities. You will work towards developing an individual series of work from your own visual language.
Simply Screen Printing 2 Day
6th + 7th April 2024, £180 1 PLACE LEFT
31st August + 1st September 2024, £180 SOLD OUT
A two day extensive introduction to free-form screen printing with thickened Procion dyes. This two-day workshop is suitable for absolute beginners and is a great refresher for those who have already started their screen printing adventures.
Luscious Layers (NEW)
3rd to 7th June 2024, £450 (£150 deposit) 2 PLACES LEFT
19th to 23rd August 2024, £450 (£150 deposit) SOLD OUT
23rd to 27th September 2024, £450 (£150 deposit) 2 PLACES LEFT
This five day workshop is aimed at those with experience of using Procion MX dyes to add colour to fabric using a range of techniques and who want to take their work further. It is not suitable for beginners as it assumes prior knowledge of multiple surface design techniques.
Versatility of Felt with Clare Bullock
20th to 24th May 2024, £475 (£175 deposit) 1 PLACE LEFT
Felt is a very versatile fabric, you can make almost anything from it. In this 5 day workshop you will study a different technique each day. By the end of the five days you will have firm knowledge in felt making, a selection of samples and written instructions to guide you on your felting journey.
Simply Screen Printing (the Full Monty) 2024
8th to 12th April 2024, £450 (£150 deposit) 1 PLACE LEFT
2nd to 6th September 2024, £450 (£150 deposit)
This five-day workshop explores a wide range of free-form screen printing techniques and incorporates the study of colour to create a palette of beautiful, co-ordinated cloth. Working from your own inspirational images or objects you will extract colours to use as you work through the week. We will also investigate the use of discharge paste in screen printing and how your printed fabrics can be enhanced by other surface design techniques.
Colour Your Palette 2024
7th to 11th October 2024, £475 (£175 deposit)
This five-day workshop is an in-depth study of colour using Procion MX dyes. In the workshop we will translate colour theory into colour practice. We will deepen our understanding of colour by creating a series of colour references that you can turn to in years to come. Through worked examples we will study different sources of inspiration, extracting colours and developing colour schemes. And we will look at how we can control colour as we use Procion MX dyes to add colour to fabric in a variety of ways.