Furniture Upcycling Online Workshops from Upcycle Arcade for Young Upcyclers age 10 to 18
The new Upcycle Arcade Online School is now OPEN. Unlimited access to all step-by-step video tutorials for just £30.
This course will unleash your Young Upcycler’s inner creative spirit by giving them the skills and confidence to take unwanted furniture and transform it into beautiful statement pieces they will love.
If the young person’s bedroom is in need of a makeover, why not get them to do it themselves and without breaking the bank? You could do it together.
By doing this fun course with your Young Upcycler, you will be spending valuable time helping them gain confidence in expressing their ideas themselves through their creative work. And away from their screens. By the end of the course, they will feel a sense of accomplishment and confidence whilst you would have spent time with them in a fun and healthy way.
By the end of this course your Young Upcycler will:
- Know where to find a great piece of furniture to upcycle.
- Know when and how to prepare the furniture.
- Get to know Annie Sloan Chalk Paints™
- Master essential painting skills to bring their creative designs to life.
- Protect their furniture to ensure its durability and long life.
- Learn how to preserve wonderful pieces of furniture. By giving them new life, they will prevent them from ending up in landfill. Reuse, repurpose, recycle; living a little more sustainably and helping our planet.
Follow each step and your Young Upcycler will build on their creativity and style whilst learning the techniques and skills to bring it all together. They will end up with one marvelous, sustainable piece of upcycled furniture.
This is an opportunity for parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, godparents or carers to spend quality one-on-one time bonding with their young person. You can both learn how to upcycle furniture together.
These online workshops will make a personal, different and highly creative gift, a worthwhile project for the school holidays. They may even create an entrepreneurial spark within your Young Upcycler. The course has that part covered too.
How do I access this course?
Purchase the course from the Upcycle Arcade shop and you will be sent a code to redeem at the Upcycle Arcade School. You will then gain unlimited access to the online tutorials which contains around 3 hours of videos broken down into bitesize chunks, for £30. This price includes a full comprehensive shopping list with links to my favourite suppliers. Alternatively, you can indulge in a box of products which can be purchased from the Upcycle Arcade shop.
Alternatively, head over to the Upcycle Arcade School and enroll directly.
Just think: your youngster could have the skills and confidence to start transforming their bedroom. Plus if they purchase a box of products from the Upcycle Arcade shop, they get to keep all the tools ready for the next projects.
What will I need to take part?
You will need a piece of furniture such as a bedside table or small unit. If you don’t already have one, the course will guide you through where best to get one from and at a reasonable price.
Does the course come with all the paint and brushes??
There is a full shopping list as well as links to my favourite stockists, within the course.
Alternatively, boxes containing paints, waxes, brushes and accessories are now available from the Upcycle Arcade store. These complete boxes of products contains the materials needed to complete the Furniture Upcyclers online course are delivered direct to your door.
What your Young Upcycler could achieve!
Ava – age 14
“I loved this course and I will definitely keep upcycling in the future…all you have to do is show up, get creative, complete creative control of what you do. This is a perfect course for all ages and I would definitely recommend it. I was extremely pleased with the final result and enjoyed a fun day painting.”
Oscar – age 10
Oscar is an Aylesbury Womble who, along with other Wombles, litter picks the streets to make it a greener, cleaner, better place to live. Attending with his Mum, Oscar went home with a Hogwarts inspired bedside of his own design. It’s amazing what can be achieved with a little paint and a heap of imagination.
Flinty – age 15
“A special fantastic day spending quality time with my teenage daughter, learning how to upcycle furniture. Kirsty was amazing providing a well structured day, learning techniques, every detail thought of plus an addition to our house of a beautiful upcycled piece of furniture fashioned by my daughter.
Why learn from me?
It’s been over five years since I first picked up a paintbrush and since then I have perfected many techniques using many different products. By selling upcycled furniture as well as working on people’s own furniture, I have prevented hundreds of pieces of furniture from heading to landfill forever.
In partnership with Buckinghamshire Council, I have held many in-person workshops mainly at my home, helping adults and Young Upcyclers get creative and confident with furniture paints.
Building Confidence for Young People
Inspiration for the workshops came from attending two baking days at Waddesdon Manor with each of my daughters. The Manor chefs took the workshops and we left with boxes full of baked treats. It was one child with one adult and was a fabulous bonding experience for both me and my daughters. These workshops gave my girls confidence to try, have a go at and not be fearful of a cheese scone or a rosemary bread roll.
I want the Young Upcyclers and their adults who attend my workshops and courses to experience the same sense of achievement, to have the same special one-on-one quality time with each other, and to leave with something rather wonderful and tangible, namely their very own piece of upcycled furniture.
For more information concerning my inspiration for these workshops, read my blog about how to get the Gen Z generation upcycling.
My own Young Upcyclers
I have three teenagers currently living at home, each with their unique style and levels of creativeness. I have helped each one find their own inner-creative and while not always fully agreeing with their choice, I’ve always respected that it is their choice. And besides, everything can always be repainted.
Support from the pioneering chalk paint creator, Annie Sloan
Another supporter of the Young Upcycler initiative is Oxford based Annie Sloan whose chalk paints have revolutionised furniture painting around the globe. “We’re in awe of Kirsty and her noble mission to bring upcycling to the environmentally conscious youth of today. Her workshops will inspire confidence, as well as teaching participants important, useful and FUN life skills so that they can enjoy a life of self-sufficiency, sustainability and independence. I look forward to seeing the projects these young eco warriors create!”
FAQs
Who is this furniture upcycling course for?
Our online furniture upcycling workshops are primarily for Young Upcyclers aged 10 to 18 years, although they are equally suitable for Grown-Upcyclers who appreciate just a little more detail.
This course is a great activity to do with the Young Upcycler in your life, be they your son or daughter, or a grandchild, niece, nephew etc.
How much experience do I need to do this course?
Absolutely none! All the skills and techniques will be taught in easy step-by-step videos, supported by some downloadable guides and checklists. Absolute beginners can do this course.
Do I need to be creative to do this course?
Not at all. Of course it helps, but the course offers inspiration at a level your Young Upcycler is comfortable with. This may be a single colour or a range of colours, block colour or stencilled designs. We even discuss knobs and hardware during the course.
How long with the course be available online?
Once you have enrolled, you can work through the course at your own (or your Young Upcycler’s) speed. There is no time limit, and the tutorials will remain accessible indefinitely.
How much is this course?
The course tutorials comprising nearly 3 hours of videos broken down into manageable chunks, plus quizzes and fun facts about sustainable living, costs £30. You will gain unlimited access to the video tutorials.
The boxes of top quality products, specially selected for your Young Upcycler, are now available in the Upcycle Arcade store. These include all paints, waxes and brushes plus accessories required to complete the course. There is a premium box and a standard box at £90 and £70 respectively. The only difference is in the brushes: all brushes in the premium box are from Annie Sloan whereas the paint and wax brush in the standard box are unbranded. The boxes are delivered to your UK door free of charge.
How do I access the course?
Click here and you will be taken directly to the Upcycle Arcade School where you can enroll and start upcycling immediately.
How can I pay for the course?
From the Upcycle Arcade School, you will be taken to the payment screen where all major credit and debit cards are accepted. There is also a payment plan available if you’d prefer to pay in installments.