Add a bit of sparkle to the place.

Chelsea College has seen a few things in it's time here at Millbank and we had to wait until the cover of darkness to witness the most recent offering. As part of the celebration for being on site for ten years, the Rootstein Hopkins Parade ground played host to a fireworks display of some note. Designed, organised and played out by BA students from Interior and Spatial Design with staff members Francis Thorburn, Robin Jenkins and Shibboleth Shechter at the helm, it was nothing short of spectacular. Well done to everyone involved.

The scene is set. 

The opening sequence with smoke flares to add to the mood. 

The first flames begin.

And then it's times for the rockets.

 Francis and Robin right in the thick of it.

It's Graphics!

That time of year is with us once again when students from Graphic Design Communication join us in the Wood workshop to cut letters. This year each group are producing a word to then be photographed in an imaginative location. We continue to induct students within our workshop with general machine inductions, stretcher making and model making sessions all on offer and it's always an enjoyable time for us as we meet many new students. Below are some images from the past few days.

 First Graphics group prepare their letters for cutting

 An hour or two later, all done.

A model making session with FDA Interior Design seemed to go well with lots on show on the table at the end. 

The same group stayed on at the end to play with some of the materials they had been shown and produce some initial structures.

Induction, Induction, Induction.

Well of course it's that time of year again when we meet all of our new students and then embark on imparting some of our knowledge and wisdom to them whilst we induct them into what is possible in the Wood Workshop. We show them how to use the machines, an in-depth look at materials and process. As always,we end with a little making project. On top of these we are offering many more model making sessions as well in order to give our students the best possible start here at Chelsea. 
Below are some images taken over the past few days.

John holds off a scrum of keen students as he demonstrates the Belt Sander. 

Phil shows how to make the most out of a Jigsaw  

This group of students are then let loose on the machines. 

And finally get to pin the results to a board.

Weng gets all animated about the world of the Pillar Drill 

There's no stopping Phil when it comes to Router chat. 

More finished pieces get pinned. 

Stef and Phils model making sessions were great fun and looked at a range of materials and processes. 

Phil here talks about the possibilities of introducing elements of metal into this particular project, which is to create a diorama.

Some examples of foam board models on display. 

SCIN Gallery Visit

A few days ago Stef and Phil from the Wood Workshop here at Chelsea College, accompanied staff and students from FDA Interior & Spatial Design on a visit to SCIN Gallery in Old Street, London. Boasting to be the UK's largest independent materials library and resource it certainly did not disappoint. Following a very informative talk and slide show from director, Annabelle Filer, we all got the chance to explore the gallery and discover and handle its vast array of materials to set the imagination running. Many thanks to the gallery and we hope to be back soon. 

http://scin.co.uk 

Term Starts!

The silence of the college dissapeared this morning as hundreds of students old and new, rolled in for the first day of term. We hit the ground running here in the Wood Workshop as the program of orientations begin were the students visit, our freshly spruced facility, for a handful of helpful information and do's and don'ts.
Welcome everyone and here's to a great term.

Our new aprons await their first use.