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Family and adult learning activities
On this page:
- The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a stencilled fabric panel with Astrid Weigel
- The Scots Kitchen – Family Baking Session: Bake an Ecclefechan tart with Jaz Spears
- The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make an embroidery with Lucy Freeman
- The Scots Kitchen – Family Baking Session: Bake coconut macaroons with Jaz Spears
- Spring Holiday Family Activity: Make a willow light catcher
- The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a Gesso panel with Alison McIntosh-Prentice
- The Scots Kitchen – Family Baking Session: Bake empire biscuits with Jaz Spears
- The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a silver beaded necklace with Laura Murray
- The Dug Out – Public Talk: A talk about the past, present, and potential futures of Sauchiehall Street with Norry Wilson of Lost Glasgow
Family and adult learning activities at Mackintosh at the Willow offer different ways to engage with and discover the stories of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his wife Margaret Macdonald and their patron, the Edwardian businesswoman Kate Cranston, through regular adult art workshops, public talks, special seasonal events and a popular family activity programme during the school holidays.
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a stencilled fabric panel with Astrid Weigel
Saturday 15 February 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £65
Learn how to create a stencilled fabric panel with tutor Astrid Weigel, inspired by Glasgow Style artists such as Margaret Macdonald and George Walton. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the stencilling workshop and a break for soup and a sandwich with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included with the ticket price of £65.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025
In our adult workshops, you can learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
The Scots Kitchen – Family Baking Session: Bake an Ecclefechan tart with Jaz Spears
Saturday 22 February 11.30am–1.30pm
Tickets: £7
Bring your family along to bake and decorate historical Scottish sweet treats to take home!
In this session, our Head of Pastry, Jazmine Spears, will teach you and your family how to make an Ecclefechan Tart.
While your sweet treats are baking, we will take you on a family-friendly tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building!
Part of The Scots Kitchen: Saturday Morning Baking Sessions for Families in 2025.
Learn to make delicious historic Scottish recipes with our Head of Pastry. While your creations bake in our ovens, enjoy a family-oriented tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building.
Workshops are suitable for children aged 5-12, but all are welcome. Places are limited, and booking is essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult. All children must have a booked paid place, but adults accompanying a child do not need to book paid places.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make an embroidery with Lucy Freeman
Saturday 15 March 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £75
Learn how to create an embroidery with tutor Lucy Freeman, inspired by Glasgow Style artists such as Ann Macbeth and Jessie Newberry. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the embroidery workshop, and a break for soup and a sandwich with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included with the ticket price of £75.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025.
Learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style in our workshops for adults. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
The Scots Kitchen – Family Baking Session: Bake coconut macaroons with Jaz Spears
Saturday 29 March 11.30am–1.30pm
Tickets: £7
Bring your family along to bake and decorate historical Scottish sweet treats to take home!
In this session, our Head of Pastry, Jazmine Spears, will teach you and your family how to make Coconut Macaroons.
While your sweet treats are baking, we will take you on a family-friendly tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building!
Part of The Scots Kitchen: Saturday Morning Baking Sessions for Families in 2025.
Learn to make delicious historic Scottish recipes with our Head of Pastry. While your creations bake in our ovens, enjoy a family-oriented tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building.
Workshops are suitable for children aged 5-12, but all are welcome. Places are limited and booking is essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult. All children must have a booked paid place, but adults accompanying a child do not need to book paid places.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
Spring Holiday Family Activity: Make a willow light catcher
Tuesday 8 April, 2–3.30pm
Wednesday 9 April, 2–3.30pm
Thursday 10 April, 2–3.30pm
Tuesday 15 April, 2–3.30pm
Wednesday 16 April, 2–3.30pm
Thursday 17 April, 2–3.30pm
Tickets: £7
Celebrate the brighter days and put a sparkle in your window; come along and make a glittering willow light catcher.
Take inspiration from the chandeliers in our Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed Salon de Luxe and make your mini-chandelier to take home and sparkle in the light of springtime.
Workshops are suitable for children aged 5-12, but all are welcome. Places are limited and booking is essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult. All children must have a booked paid place, but adults accompanying a child do not need to book paid places.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a Gesso panel with Alison McIntosh-Prentice
Saturday 12 April, 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £77
Learn how to create a gesso panel with tutor Alison McIntosh-Prentice, inspired by Glasgow Style artists such as Margaret Macdonald and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the gesso workshop and a break for scones, cream, and jam with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included with the ticket price of £77.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025.
In our adult workshops, you can learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
The Scots Kitchen – Family Baking Session: Bake empire biscuits with Jaz Spears
Saturday 26 April, 11.30am–1.30pm
Tickets: £7
Bring your family along to bake and decorate historical Scottish sweet treats to take home!
In this session, our Head of Pastry, Jazmine Spears, will teach you and your family how to make Empire Biscuits.
While your sweet treats are baking, we will take you on a family-friendly tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building!
Part of The Scots Kitchen: Saturday Morning Baking Sessions for Families in 2025.
Learn to make delicious historic Scottish recipes with our Head of Pastry. While your creations bake in our ovens, enjoy a family-oriented tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building.
Workshops are suitable for children aged 5-12, but all are welcome. Places are limited, and booking is essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult. All children must have a booked paid place, but adults accompanying a child do not need to book paid places.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a silver beaded necklace with Laura Murray
Saturday 17 May, 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £80
Learn how to create a beaded silver necklace with tutor Laura Murray, inspired by the colour palette of Margaret Macdonald’s Salon de Luxe gesso panel. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the jewellery workshop and a break for scones, cream and jam with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included with the ticket price of £80.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025.
In our adult workshops, you can learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
The Dug Out – Public Talk: A talk about the past, present, and potential futures of Sauchiehall Street with Norry Wilson of Lost Glasgow
Sunday 18 May, 1–2.30pm
Tickets: £7
In this talk, Norry Wilson of Lost Glasgow will present an illustrated history of Sauchiehall Street, the ‘alley of willows’.
Norry last spoke at our venue in 2019, and this new talk will consider the developments on Sauchiehall Street over the last six years.
Journalist and social historian Norry Wilson has been fascinated with his home city. He first fell down the vintage photography rabbit hole while working on the Evening Times. Think of him as the ‘Raider of the Lost Archives’. Now, after 10 years, and with over 300k online followers on his Lost Glasgow site, he continues to tickle the city’s collective memory muscle, teasing out old stories, forgotten facts, and the lost histories hidden in the photographic record of old Glasgow.
Part of The Dug Out: Sunday afternoon talks for the public in 2025.
Dig deeper into the inspirations and history surrounding the original Willow Tea Rooms building with our series of talks for the public. An expert leads all talks in their field and includes a chance to ask questions in one of our historical tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
