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Where Artistry Begins
Learn water gilding, oil gilding and the choice between gold, silver and copper leaf. Taught by working applicators at our training centres in Birmingham, London and Manchester.
The gilding course is a quiet, patient kind of training, taught at our training centres in Birmingham (the Zavoré Academy), London and Manchester by working applicators. You learn to lay gold, silver and copper leaf by hand, on walls, ceilings, mouldings, frames and lettering. It suits decorators, plasterers, builders, designers and homeowners, and nobody needs to arrive with experience.
Gilding is not a finish you tame with a roller or a trowel. It is leaf as thin as a breath, laid down one sheet at a time, and the course teaches the hand, the timing and the choices that make it look right.
The craft has two main methods, and the first decision is which one a job needs.
You will not try to cover everything in 3 days, and you should not. The aim is to leave able to do one or two of these methods properly and to know what the rest involves.
Gilding is taught as 1 to 1 Training. It is 3 days, 10am to 5pm, for £1,500. It takes any level, and it is shaped entirely around what you want to learn. A decorator might spend the days on a ceiling and cornice. Someone drawn to frames might choose water gilding and burnishing.
To hold your bench, pay half (£750) by ringing 07592 929191 or emailing sales@zavore.co.uk, with the balance on the day. You can also book online and pay in full. Dates are agreed after booking and shown on the Training Academy page. Teams or businesses can ask us about private training for a group.
The gilding course runs at our three training centres, in Birmingham, London and Manchester, at the same price. Laying leaf is patient, quiet work, and you practise it on your own panels at whichever centre you choose. Choose London if you live in London or the South East, Manchester if you are in the North West, and Birmingham if you are in the Midlands, or pick the centre that is easiest for you to reach. You choose the centre and your dates when you book, by phone on 07592 929191 or by email to sales@zavore.co.uk.
If you are travelling to Birmingham, there is a partner hotel rate near the Zavoré Academy (quote Zavoré when you book), and pickups can be arranged for a price that depends on where you arrive.
Leaf and gesso are not plaster, so ask us what you need before you order for your first job. Zavoré materials are available at trade pricing through the shop and the trade page, and the helpline is there when a sheet of leaf will not behave. You take your finished panels home to show what you can do.
Decorators can offer picked out cornice or a gilded alcove. Plasterers who run cornice and mouldings can finish them in leaf rather than hand them on. Designers see what real leaf can do against imitation. Builders and homeowners with a mirror, a frame or a sign can learn to treat it with respect.
Read more about gilding as a craft, the Journal guide to how to apply gold leaf, or how water gilding differs from oil gilding. Gilded plaster cornice is a good example of the craft in a room. If you would rather have the gilding done, see gilding installation.
If you like working with your hands on a wall, these are taught at our three training centres too.
For polished lime, see the Venetian plastering courses.
No. The course takes any level and is shaped around what you want to gild, whether that is a ceiling, a moulding, a frame or a sign. Patience matters more than previous experience.
Gilding is taught as 1 to 1 Training, which is 3 days from 10am to 5pm. Dates are agreed with you after booking and shown on the Training Academy page.
Both are part of the craft, and you decide where the days go. Water gilding suits frames and furniture and is burnished to a mirror shine. Oil gilding is tougher, for walls, ceilings, mouldings, signs and anything outdoors.
Yes. The gilding course runs at our training centres in Birmingham (the Zavoré Academy), London and Manchester, at the same price. London suits London and the South East, Manchester suits the North West, and Birmingham suits the Midlands. You choose the centre and your dates when you book. There is a partner hotel rate near the Birmingham Academy if you need to stay, and pickups can be arranged there.
The craft covers gold, silver and copper leaf, and imitation leaf as well. Part of the skill is knowing which you are laying, and always telling the person who is paying.
To ask a question or hold your bench, ring 07592 929191 or email sales@zavore.co.uk.
Courses run at our training centres in Birmingham, London and Manchester, 10am to 5pm, with every material and tool provided. Call or email to agree your dates, or book online.
Call 07592 929191, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, or email sales@zavore.co.uk.
Rather have it done for you? See our installations, or buy the materials in the shop with tracked UK delivery.
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.
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