✦
Where Artistry Begins
Anyone searching for Venetian plastering training in Cardiff should know that the courses are taught at the Zavoré Academy in Birmingham. They are designed for Cardiff people who want to travel for a few days of hands on learning and return with a new trade skill.
Painters and decorators, plasterers, builders who want to add a finishing service, career changers and interior designers all join the same benches, so you learn alongside people with very different goals.
Cardiff is a capital city with a wide mix of homes, which gives a plasterer plenty to work with. Much of the city is Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing, in areas such as Pontcanna, Canton, Roath and Cathays, and these houses often have high ceilings, cornices and original features that owners want to restore with care.
On older solid walls, a breathable lime finish like Marmorino is a natural fit. It can give a hall, a living room or a stair wall a soft, polished depth that suits a period house.
Cardiff Bay and the city centre hold newer apartments, where flat walls call for a polished plaster that feels smooth and refined. Hospitality is another strong source of work, from bars and restaurants around the Bay to hotels and offices in the centre. Cardiff Castle itself shows how much the city has valued rich interior decoration.
Nearby, Penarth has its own Victorian seaside streets, and Llandaff has a quiet, village feel with period homes. A decorator who can reach all these areas has a chance to build a name for premium finishes in South Wales.
Each course runs from 10am to 5pm at the Academy, with up to six students on the bench. Choose by experience and by how much time you can spare.
If you are new to the finish, begin with the Beginner Course, which covers theory, preparation, base coats, textures and finishes from bucket to burnish. The Advanced Course then covers artificial rock, textured Marmorino, stencil work and acrylic polish plastering. For a tailored plan, see 1 to 1 Training.
Dates are listed on the training page, and you can register interest there if a date is not yet showing. Our article on what happens inside the Beginner Course walks through the days in detail.
People come to the Academy by train or by car. Birmingham sits in the middle of England, which makes it a practical place to learn for students from across Wales and beyond.
With three or four consecutive days of teaching, think about where you will sleep. Zavoré keeps a partner rate at a hotel near the Academy, and you only need to quote Zavoré when you book. If you want a lift from the airport or a station, ask when you book and the price will depend on where you arrive.
Lunch, refreshments, tools and materials are all included, so the trip is simple to plan.
You take your finished panels home as a portfolio, show your Zavoré certificate and buy materials at trade pricing. The private course group and helpline for life are useful when you meet your first awkward wall.
A Cardiff decorator could offer Venetian plaster to homeowners who are already paying for painting, or approach designers and developers who want a premium finish. Advanced students get help finding, pricing and winning a first paid decorative job.
If you want to see what the finished walls look like first, read about Venetian plastering in Cardiff. The shop sells materials with tracked UK delivery.
Not in Cardiff itself. The Zavoré Academy runs the courses in Birmingham, and students from Cardiff and South Wales travel there to train.
A plasterer who knows traditional plaster can still benefit from the 3 day Beginner Course, because Venetian plaster works differently. Someone with site experience may go straight to the 4 day Advanced Course.
Prices are £750 for the Beginner Course and £1,200 for the Advanced Course, and 1 to 1 Training costs £1,500. A bench can be held with half the price, and the rest is paid on the day.
Yes. You take home your finished panels to use in a portfolio, along with a Zavoré certificate.
Yes. Every student joins a private course group with a helpline for life, and gets trade pricing on Zavoré materials.
Ready to reserve? Phone 07592 929191 or email sales@zavore.co.uk, or go to the training page to see dates and book.
A guide to how many coats limewash and limewash paint usually need, and how long to wait before each coat and before judging the colour.
Clay PlasterWhat clay plaster is, why its soft matt finish suits bedrooms and nurseries in Stockport and Trafford homes, and where it should not be u...
PortfolioPractical steps for building a decorative plaster portfolio from nothing, starting with the boards you make on a Zavoré Academy course.
BirminghamHow gilding with real metal leaf can be used in the homes, workshops and converted buildings of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, and what ...
KingstonPolished plaster is hard wearing, wipes clean and covers tall stair walls without joins. Here is how a hallway and stair job is planned i...
Feature WallsHow to plan a limewash paint feature wall in a modern house or flat, from picking the wall to colour and preparation.
Providing luxury finishes for the most prestigious addresses in the world
Venetian plaster, limewash, microcement, tadelakt, metallics, sculptural plaster and gold leaf, supplied and installed by our own team, with Venetian plaster taught at our Birmingham studio.
One list, run by the people who make the material. No noise, and nothing we would not want to read ourselves.
We email as the house has something worth saying, never daily. Unsubscribe from any email, or reply STOP to any text. We never pass your details to anyone.