What is Cornwall Open Studios?

Cornwall Open Studios is a county-wide event where almost 300 artists open their studio spaces to visitors. That is it, in a nutshell but there is so much more to it. It is held at the end of May each year, generally in the half term week.

May is the best time of year to visit Cornwall. The hedgerows are full of foxgloves, pink campion and freshly unfurled green ferns. Everything is so beautiful and the county is not yet full of visitors. The weather is often glorious, the beaches almost empty and the moorland full of the song of sky larks.

Some, very wise, people plan their holiday so that it coincides with Cornwall Open Studios. These visitors spend a week happily trailing from studio to studio. Not only do they get to see some amazing art and to talk to lots of artists but it is also a fabulous way to explore all the nooks and crannies of Cornwall. Following the turquoise signs down all kinds of hidden lanes, you will get to know the most beautiful yet less crowded corners of this fabulous county. Woodland, moorland, shoreland, there are studios in all of these places. You can count on a bunch of artists to find the most inspiring places to live and work.

 

Does Cornwall Open Studios Cost Anything?

The short answer, for the visitor, is no! Artists do not charge for showing you round their special spaces or for you to view their work. They will be genuinely delighted to see you and to talk to you about what they do. There are opportunities to buy work from the artists but there is no pressure for sales. There may be a happy dance if there is a sale though! If the original artwork is out of your price range, artists will often have cards or prints available for sale. Buying a card or print is a really good way to show support and to make the event successful. The whole ‘Just a Card’ initiative is based on exactly this concept. If each visitor were to buy a card, it would enable the artist to recoup the costs of staging the event.

Can I Just Turn Up?

There is no need to book your studio visit ahead of time. Cornwall Open Studios has an excellent website with beautiful listings for each participant where individual opening times are listed. You can search the website for specific artists, media or by geographical area. This multi faceted search facility is incredibly helpful for planning days out. Last year (2025), it was compulsory for all participants to be open between 11am and 5pm during the two weekends, including the Bank Holiday Monday. The weekdays in between were voluntary, so on those days it is definitely best to check on the Cornwall Open Studios website when planning your visits. Lots of studios, including the Spinnery, were open on those in between week days, so it is still worth heading out to visit on those days.

Why is Cornwall Open Studios a Good Idea?

Well, what a question! Where shall I start? I will begin with the visitors’ perspective. I think that one of the main take aways for visitors is inspiration.

Inspiration

Being able to see where artists work is inspirational in itself. All the studios will be different and individual to each artist. Some, like my Spinnery, will be garden buildings. These are always lovely to visit because you can often have a look round the garden too. As a textile artist I often find that the women are keen to see the Spinnery and their husbands are more interested in the garden. Some studios are actually a room in the artist’s house. If you are anything like me, a sucker for a property programme, then this is also a treat. Some are studios in shared spaces so there are lots of artists under one roof. This is a great opportunity to discover art that you didn’t know you liked.

Talking to the artists about their inspiration and practise is priceless. There is so much to learn about how and why people feel moved to make the art that they do. For those of you who are artists in your own right or would like to be, there are all sorts of tips and techniques to hear about.

Participation

Some of the artists run workshops in which you can learn new skills or hone those that you have already got. Again, the artist listings on the Cornwall Open Studios website will indicate whether they are running workshops or demonstrations during the event.

I always have my beautiful Saori loom warped and ready for visitors to add to the Visitors’ Cloth. Back in 2021 a visitor asked me if I had a Visitors’ Book that they could sign. It hadn’t occurred to me to have one but inspiration struck. I warped the loom with a simple black cotton warp and wound lots of bobbins in all kinds and colours of yarn. I invited each visitor to choose a bobbin and to weave a little and so was born the first Visitors’ Cloth.

There have been all sorts of reactions to the invitation to weave. Many people have worried about doing it ‘wrong’. This gives me a great opportunity to talk about the philosophy behind Saori weaving, where there are no mistakes. Aspects that may otherwise be considered to be mistakes, are actually just expressions of each individual in the moment in which they are weaving. It is what makes each cloth unique. If I wanted a completely uniform cloth, I would get a machine to make it. As it is, I can use my Saori loom to weave beautiful one of a kind scarves and wraps, each one a unique piece of wearable art.

A couple of years ago a family came to visit the Spinnery and Mum, Dad, son and daughter all had a turn weaving. They loved it so much that within a couple of months they had bought a loom just like mine! It is such a joy to spark a new passion in people.

Demonstration

I also have a peg loom warped and ready and a pin loom for people to try. It is nice to demonstrate the pin loom so visitors can see how my large shawls are woven. The triangular pin loom that I have in the Spinnery is just 3 foot on the hypotenuse though, rather that the 7 foot one that I use for the shawls! My Spinnery is pretty small, so I have to curate the contents very carefully for Cornwall Open Studios. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to fit any visitors in!

Visitors will often find me spinning, either on one of my spinning wheels or with a drop spindle. I am always very happy to demonstrate how each different piece of equipment works. I am also happy to get visitors started with a drop spindle. It can be a tricky skill to master on your own but with a couple of pointers, you will be spinning obsessively. Having visitors to my Spinnery is such a lovely opportunity to talk to fellow fibre enthusiasts and to explain to those new to fibre arts, what things are and how they work.

I know that there are several artists who demonstrate their work throughout the nine days of Cornwall Open Studios. Again, it is good to check out the participants’ listings on the website to see who is demonstrating what. It is such a fantastic opportunity to see experts do what they do best!

Support and Encouragement

Cornwall Open Studios is a great opportunity to both give and receive encouragement. Many artists work alone and don’t get to meet the people who appreciate what they do. Most of the time our work is being sold through a gallery or shop. The artist has no idea who has bought their work and will probably have paid between 30% – 50% to the gallery or shop. Turning up to a studio is a very strong message of support and encouragement. Buying directly from the artist means that they don’t have to lose that chunk of commission. They also get to meet you and to get direct feedback, which is invaluable.

For those visitors who produce their own art, a studio visit to an admired artist is a great opportunity to ask lots of questions about all aspects of creating. I particularly enjoy it when visitors bring things along for ‘show and tell’. We can all learn from each other and enjoy feeling part of a wider community of fellow enthusiasts.

My Experience of Cornwall Open Studios

I have to say that Cornwall Open Studios is my favourite event of the year. There is a lot of preparation to be done in the preceding weeks. I empty the Spinnery completely and give it a deep clean. This is part of my moth prevention schedule too, more about that on another blog post, I think. Then I decide what I would like to show everyone and how best to fit it in. Space is very limited so I have to curate carefully. All the woven pieces have to be ironed, new pictures must go to the framers. I spend a lot of time preparing fibres, carding batts, dyeing British fibres and putting inspiration packs together. The windows must be cleaned and my desk must be as close to clear as I can manage.

The garden also requires a lot of attention. I like the flower bed around the Spinnery to be full of colour. Sometimes the foxgloves do all of that work for me but not always, sadly. My garden is a productive but a bit wild so the general tidy up takes a good few days.

I take handfuls of the Cornwall Open Studios catalogue around to my stockists in Launceston and Wadebridge. I also deliver them to various local places like the library and the Camelford Gallery and give them out at any workshops that I am teaching.

A day has to be set aside for warping the Saori loom for the Visitors’ Cloth and the peg loom. I go through my yarn stash to find as many different colours and textures as I can and wind bobbins for people to choose from.

Suffice it to say that most of May is spent doing the preparations for the big event. The evening before, I go out in the car and put up all the signage so that people have a chance of finding the Spinnery. The signs guide visitors in from the A395 and the A39.

What Can Visitors to the Spinnery Expect?

A very warm welcome, for starters!

Visitors can expect to see all sorts of different kinds of fibre arts and crafts in the Spinnery. I always have a range of framed, original felt pictures some of which are also available as mounted Giclee prints. My hand woven scarves, wraps and shawls are all on display and available to try on. It is a good opportunity to get up close and personal to the wearable textiles as the photography on the website is rarely able to do them justice.

In addition to the range of ‘finished’ items there is also a large stock of various fibres, some hand dyed, for spinners and felters. Again, being able to feel the fibres and see the colours in person is always better than just looking at pictures on the website. Also, lots of the things I have for sale in the Spinnery are not available through my website. This is partly because photography is not my strong point and partly because things like my carded batts are not repeatable. The fibre that I use for my batts comes from a Devon woollen mill. It is classed as ‘mill ends’, so it is high quality fibre that would otherwise go to waste. I will write more about this in another post. Suffice it to say that visitors to the Spinnery during Cornwall Open Studios will find all kinds of fibre treasures that will never appear on my website!

I also have drop spindle kits, so you may not be a spinner when you arrive but you could be by the time you leave!

The Main Event

Once all the preparatory work is done, I get to spend a blissful nine days, full time, in my Spinnery. I spend my time between visitors working on various projects. Often I am spinning because that is the easiest thing to put down when someone arrives and then pick up again when they have gone.

I have the most amazing conversations with the most lovely people. This is when I feel like I have found my tribe. Most of the time I work alone but for the nine days of Cornwall Open Studios I get to really connect with fellow fibre enthusiasts. We swap ideas, chat about ways of working and generally encourage each other to keep going. If I am really lucky, someone will bring a piece of work that they have done to show me. This is always joyful and inspiring. Of course, some of my visitors have no idea about what I do. So then I get the pleasure of introducing people to the idea of fibre as both art and craft.

My favourite Open Studios moments are when people who have not met before, find themselves sitting round the picnic table, in the shade of the rowan tree, chatting and getting to know each other. I see my garden and Spinnery through the eyes of a newcomer and remember how lucky I am to live where and how I do.

When is the Next Cornwall Open Studios Event?

Excellent question! Cornwall Open Studios 2026 is from 23rd until 31st May 2026. The Spinnery will be open from 11am to 5pm on each day. Hope to see you then!