Teaching Creative Workshops by Patricia de Akker
(English version at the end of the post)
Anna Champeney recomienda un nuevo libro dirigido a artesanos profesionales por Patricia den Akker, una formadora británica que especializa en formación de gestión pofesional a artesanos y diseñadores autónomos. Y explica los puntos en común que comparte, como docente, con Patricia.
“Conoci a Patricia den Akker en Londrés. Yo era ya tejedora profesional, con aproximadamente una década de experiencia, y exponía en Made London Marylebone, una feria de diseño y artesanía de alta gama.
Y Patricia estaba en la feria también, y iniciamos una conversación. En este momento ella impartá bastantes charlas y cursos presenciales sobre profesionalismo para artesanos y diseñadores autónomos. Para mi, Patricia den Akker es, ahora mismo, la Num.1 en el campo de enseñanza de profesionalismo para artistas y artesanos autónomos. Porque sus cursos son prácticos, te motivan, y – con trabajo por tu parte – pueden transformar la manera en que trabajas como artesana/o. El éxito de Patricia en Gran Bretaña, y internacionalmente, está merecido; Èsta Holandesa-británica ha impartido cursos y conferencias a artesanos y artistas durante décadas, y ahora ha publicado un nuevo libro sobre el arte de la enseñanza – orientado a artistas y artesanos o diseñadores autónomos – Teaching Creative Workshops in Person and Online.
Formáción práctica para artesanos profesionales – que responde a las necesidades reales
He realizado varios cursos con Patricia durante los años y los daría un 10/10 cada vez; Patricia es una persona muy auténtica, motivadora y super práctica; sus cursos realmente funcionan, siempre que estes dispuesta realizar el trabajo necesario, poner lo que aprendes en la práctica, y acceptar que vivir como artesana profesional es, efectivamente, ser autónomo – y llevar una pequeña empresa – más que simplemente vivir relajadamente y espontaneamente de una manualidad que te apasiona (aunque muchas veces, es la idea que tienes al principio). Patricia es muy buena comunicadora y entiende muy bien las dificultades que experimentamos casi todas las personas creativas que vivimos de nuestro oficio y arte. Muchas veces, en España, las personas apasionadas por el oficio que han dedicado años a dominar, nos damos de alta como autónomos. Pero muchas veces no estamos preparadas para la realidad de vivir – más que sobrevivir – o mal vivir – por falta de formación profesional.
Cursos y formación para artesanos y tejedores en telar de bajo lizo – La importancia de fomentar la resiliencia, la independencia y la capacidad de resolver problemas
Durante la pandemia de Covid 19 todos los cursos y conferencias fueron cancelados – y era impresionante ver, desde mi estudio en España, como Patricia se adaptó en seguida – cambiando el formato de su formación y ofreciendo un nuevo curso online, en pocos meses. Mostró su capacidad de innovar y resolver problemas – son cualidades están al centro de la formación que ofrece. Seguro que no era nada fácil para ella – durante el confinamiento – con su marido y hijos en casa – desarrollar un nuevo curso online.
Ella supone, desde el principio, que tu, como alumno/a tienes ya un compromiso fuerte con tu actividad creativa, y que, en los cursos trabajarás los temas y que incorporarás lo que aprendes en tu trabajo – como profesional creativo y como persona. Es decir que, en sus cursos, ella confia en ti y tu capacidad.
Intento aplicar algunos de éstos principio en los cursos de tejeduría en telar. Así que, me gusta tratar a mis alumnas, como potentiales profesionales – aunque sean embryónicas, y el curso sea su primer curso. Normalmente los estudiantes que se apuntan a los cursos intensivos de telar que imparto están ya, muy motivados, lo cual facilita mi trabajo. Obviamente, un docente no puede responder, de manera individual, a problemas comunes que experimentamos en la tejeduría en telar. Así que, como Patricia, anticipo problemas comunes que pueden surgir, intento preparar las alumnos en los cursos a enfrontarse con ellos, y enseño la importancia de la resiliencia y la capacidad de resolver problemas – y verlos como oportunidades. Porque éstas cualidades forman parte de la creatividad, tanto en el mundo de la tejeduría en telar como en el mundo de autónomos creativos.
Asi que – igual que Patricia, con sus cursos de formación profesional para personas creativas – desde el primer curso, el enfoque es en crear tejedoras independientes, capaces de resolver problemas ellas (o ellos) mismas, y – si quieren – progresar a abrir su propio estudio textil, como hice jo, hace más de un cuarto de siglo. Y en los cursos de tejeduría en telar, enseño que si prestas atención a los “errores”, efectos “no deseados” o “efectos inesperados” en telar (que son inevitables, especialmente para principiantes) son oportunidades para aprender – y incluso, pueden ofrecerte potencial para explorar o crear nuevas técnicas o diseños.
Los cursos de Patricia te motivarán y te darán las herramientas para vivir mejor como artesana profesional. Si tienes suficiente experiencia y conocimiento como para enseñar la próxima generación de artesanos – y ganas de compartir lo que sabes – este libro, publicado en 2025, es muy recomendable. Sí, es verdad que está escrita en inglés y no está traducido al castellano. Pero tiene un estilo fácil de entender, y es un libro super práctico. Si bien, eres tejedora en telar, casí por definición, diria jo, eres una persona tenaz y capaz de enfrontarte con dificultades y resolverlas. Hace más de 2 décadas, dejé mi trabajo en Inglaterra para vivir en una aldea pequeña en las montañas de Ourense y formarme como tejedora profesional. No habia cursos de ninguna clase de telar en la zona donde vivia y no tenia ni idea de cómo se organizaba el trabajo autónomo en España (con declaraciones de IVA, declaraciones trimestrales – todo muchismio más complicado y costoso que el en Reino Unido). Era super dificil – pero 4 años más tarde, habia aprendido y prácticado lo suficiente para darme de alta y lanzarme como tejedora profesional y vivir de mi oficio. Mas de 2 décadas más tarde, aqui estoy todavía. Ha cambiado mucho el estudio en los últimos 25 años. Y, como autónoma, es claro tengo límites de lo que puedo ofrecer – y ha sido importante reconocer los límites, entenderme mejor, como profesional, y no tener miedo de decir no, a “oportunidades” que realmente me desviaría de las actividades principales en que necesito enfocar. Y la formación de Patricia ha jugado una parte en facillitar este viaje como artesana-diseñadora profesional textil. Estoy muy agradecida a ella”.
English version: Anna Champeney, our loom-woven textiles course teacher at textilesnaturales, tells us about a British-based business which offers courses and books – in English – specially directed at helping makers and creators manage their professional lives better and improve their small businesses.
“I first got to know Patricia de Akker in London. I was exhibiting at Made London Marylebone (in pre-Brexit days!) – an design and contemporary making fair. Patricia was there too – giving a lecture and visiting the show. And we had a conversation. Years later, and Patricia is very established and well known in the UK as the founder of her business, the Design Trust. She is one of the leaders in the English language in offering really practical, useful – and motivating – courses – to makers and artists – shape more successful businesses whilst still enjoying and developing their creative skills.
Patricia de Akker´s success is well deserved. She´s worked really hard over the years – and has always innovated in her own work and shown her own creative thinking in the way she runs her business. I´ll never forget how, during the pandemic, when all her face-to-face courses and conferences were cancelled – she deftly and efficiently took everything online. She was an early pioneer of online courses during the pandemic. Of course it must have been a strain, during the Covid 19 lockdown in London – and she´s not one to gloss over the difficulties of running a small business – but it demonstrates that Patricia is a practical, tenacious and creative problem-solver herself. And she is clear that learning these qualities and working hard are key qualities to running a successful small creative business – the focus of her educational resources. Her personal honesty is one of her qualities. Patricia has been devoting herself to making life easier for professional makers for decades and at the beginning of 2025 publishes this new book with Herbert Press – Teaching Creative Workshops in Person and Online.
I have done various courses with Patricia over the years. I´ve seen her busines model change and expand (she now offers a subscription service to access her online courses and talks as well as live online courses) but the essence of what she´s doing is unchanged. She´s an enthusiastic and skilled motivator and commuicator. And crucially, unlike civil servants or well-meaning employees working for Arts Councils or other Arts-related bodies, she knows first-hand well what it is really like to make one´s living as a professional, self-employed creative with a small business – because she is self-employed herself.
She understands the market, the problems self-employed makers face every day, the need to make a living whilst not sacrificing one´s creativity, and the skill-set which is necessasry to nurture in order not just to survive but to thrive. And her courses motivate you and show you, step-by-step, how to develop and embody this mindset. Her teaching shows you that making your living as a professional maker and creator is far more than living from a hobby (even if that´s your original idea – dreaming of a career change). Over a quarter of a century ago I started off on this path – that of making my own living from hand-woven textile creation and design, lecturing and teaching.
One of the core elements of Patricia´s teaching is a kind of trust in her students – an expectation that you´ll do the work which in turn motivates you. She expects you to be independent and hard-working and that you want to make a success of your creative business. She motivates you, shows you what is possible, gives you the tools to take your creative products and services in the direction you want to and the direction which is best for you. It´s up to you to make them work for you but she gives you what you need to know to be able to achieve what you dream of.
I try to embody this approach in my loom-weaving courses as well. I have the inbuilt expectation – and excitement – before every course – that every beginner weaver is – or could become – a professional loom-woven textiles creative. And that the techniques I teach on masterclasses will be practiced by my students after the course – and they will be able to develop them in new or interesting ways. Even on a first weave course, I get a kick from spotting the individual styles and preferences shining through – in the first simple samples made by each student. In some cases it´s an interest in texture, structure or colour for example, and what personal colour palette each person is drawn to. Sometimes it´s matching traditional techniques with contemporary designs. It´s often something students themselves can´t see but over the years I´ve seen this again and again. I´m lucky in that most of my private course students are already motivated and that motivates me as a loom-woven textiles teacher too. What I hope to do is to motivate pupils as Patricia motivated me and give them tools to become independent, to be able to continue learning at home, to invest in a loom of their own – and go on to become professionals to take Spanish hand-weaving forward when I and my contemporaries eventually retire.
Patricia´s courses motivate you, make themes like marketing exciting and can really transform the way you work. If you have enough experience and skill in a particular craft and want to teach textiles – or are thinking of teaching – then her book is an excellent place to start. Yes, for Spanish speakers (and yes, although I was born and brought up in the UK, in 2025 I celebrate 25 years of living and working here) it´s not always easy to read a book in another language. But there again – what books are there in Spanish to compete with this one? I´d say there are currently none.
Patricia´s writing style is like her speaking style – practical, easy to read, and rooted in practical exercises. If you are an experienced multi-shaft loom weaver then I would say that practically defines you as a pretty tenacious problem-solving type of person in the first place. I don´t think I can think of a single weaver who doesn´t have those qualities. In my own case, I came to a tiny rural hamlet in the mountains of Galicia aged 30 with the idea of re-training as a professional weaver. There were no courses locally, no business schools nearby. Life was challenging – I had to drive over 2.5 hours just to attend a short finance for craftspeople course and after a decade or so, when I started lecturing in Weave for Fashion Designers at the University of Vigo it was a 5 hour round trip every week, getting back home at about midnight). Initially, in the hamlet, there was a terrible, almost non-existent internet connection, and the ageing, plummeting local population was hardly the ideal market for hand-made textiles! Hardly an easy situation to flourish in as an (aspiring) young professional hand-weaver. Despite all that, I kept going. I found ways to learn from Weave and Design professionals in Galicia, Barcelona, the UK and Denmark, and after a few years was able to set up my own weave studio. In time the internet connection improved, this website was set up and, amazingly, students started making their way to my courses to this tiny hamlet – first from Spain and the UK and then from as far afield as Mauritius and Chile. I learned a lot from Patricia´s courses and some of the business principles I learned from her have now become second nature to me. She transformed the way I approached marketing, for example, and showed me how important it was to plan – know what I really excel at and what I really wanted to do (out of the bewildering range of potential “opportunities”) as well as to set boundaries to avoid burnout as a one-person business model. If you want to embark on a professional career as a professional weaver then I thoroughly recommend her courses and resources”.
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