With over fifty five years of crafting experience and a lifetime of warm Yorkshire hospitality, Janice brings a calm, welcoming presence to every retreat. Her teaching style is gentle, encouraging, and quietly confident — shaped by decades of knitting, sewing, crochet, design, and creative exploration. Guests often say she has a natural ability to make people feel capable, relaxed, and inspired.
Janice brings a rare blend of deep skill, patience, and warmth. She understands how challenging it can be to learn something new, so she breaks every technique down into simple, friendly steps. Her teaching style is calm, encouraging, and stress‑free — shaped by fifty + years of crafting and twenty years of self‑taught crochet. She has a natural ability to guide guests through creative blocks, helping them feel confident even when they arrive unsure of themselves.
Living in Heckmondwike — right in the epicentre of West Yorkshire — Janice grew up surrounded
by creativity. She learned to knit, sew, and craft from her mother and grandmother, beginning
her lifelong journey at just six years old.
At eighteen, she opened her first business: a wedding dress shop where she designed and created
bespoke bridal gowns from scratch. Her dresses were in such demand that she was inundated with
orders for brides and bridesmaids across the region.
Over the years, Janice has run multiple successful businesses, from a classic car garage and MOT
station to corporate luncheon services. She later opened her own art gallery — which thrived —
and now runs a growing art business alongside TBRC Craft Holidays.
Her creative expertise led her to work for two major Paris couture houses, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana,
as a knitwear designer. Although bound by NDA and unable to publicly associate her work with those
houses, her craftsmanship, precision, and design experience are woven into everything she teaches today.
Janice believes retreats are the best way to teach people a craft. The intimacy of a small group,
the relaxed pace, and the gentle intensity of a weekend together create the perfect environment
for learning. Guests have time to absorb, practise, and enjoy without feeling rushed or overwhelmed.
And yes — retreats are also her livelihood. But more importantly, they allow her to share a skill
that has brought her joy for over sixty years. Teaching is her way of passing that joy forward.
Janice is the host, organiser, and creative lead of TBRC Craft Holidays. She guides guests through each project with patience and clarity, ensuring everyone feels supported and appreciated. Her goal is simple: to teach people a skill they don’t yet have, and to introduce them to a craft that has brought her joy for a lifetime.
“Crafting has been my joy for as long as I can remember — and I want you to feel that joy too.”
