Five Berlin workshops to book when it's too cold to be outside

Berlin winters are long, and there is only so much museum a person can take. The good news: most of the city’s makers work indoors, and a workshop is a far better way to spend a grey Saturday than another cafe.

Start with clay

Wheel throwing looks harder than it is. You will produce something lopsided in the first hour and something recognisable in the second, and either way you go home with a piece you made. Helka runs both wheel throwing and handbuilding, so bigger groups are not a problem.

Then something with light

Cyanotype printing turns sunlight into deep Prussian-blue prints, and it works even on a flat winter day — it just takes longer. Sabine Alex brings a mobile darkroom, so this one can happen in your own space.

And something you can drink

Angelo roasts coffee East-African style, in a pot over an open flame. You grind what you roast and drink it there, which is a very good way to end an afternoon.

The point of a workshop is not the object you take home. It is the two hours you spent not looking at a screen.

The practical bit

Most sessions run two to four hours and take between four and twenty people. Nearly all of them are beginner-friendly, and several of the makers will travel to your office if you would rather not move a whole team across the city.