Here at www.lindakemshall.com we offer a range of City & Guilds' creative courses through our fully accredited online centre DesignMatters.

City & Guilds courses provide a brilliant introduction to a subject or a challenging platform for more experienced artists and craftsmen who want to develop their work and to extend their personal creativity. We offer City & Guilds Level 2 and 3 courses in Patchwork and Quilting and Level 2 courses in Creative Sketchbooks and Creative Computing. Find out more about each course by selecting from the links on the left. To see some of the work being produced by our current students and also the exhibitions of our course graduates be sure to visit the Student Gallery.

Please note all courses are currently fully subscribed and closed to new enrolments.

DesignMatters Online Centre
Established in 2001, our courses offer a thorough and inspiring introduction to Patchwork and Quilting, Creative Sketchbooks and Creative Computing. Written with experience and extensive knowledge of the subjects offered, the courses provide a solid grounding in a range of skills.

DesignMatters was founded and is still run by Linda Kemshall. As Head of Centre, Linda leads a team of hand picked tutors, all of whom are practising artists with great knowledge and understanding of their subject. This team of like-minded and creative people share a love of teaching and with generosity of ideas, are sharing this enthusiasm, imagination and skill with students all over the world. DesignMatters pioneered the Online delivery of City & Guilds creative courses, being the first centre to do so and is one of the largest creative City & Guilds’ centres in the world. We pride ourselves in our quality of course delivery, our teaching and the consistently high standard of student work produced as a result.

What are City & Guilds Qualifications?
City & Guilds is an internationally recognised awarding body founded in the 19th Century and originally financed by the City of London for it's livery companies. It has extended its certification services internationally and now has representation in over 100 countries. City & Guilds qualifications are respected worldwide and are the accepted standard for many tutors especially in the teaching of textiles in further and adult education. Graduate students of the City & Guilds Creative Studies courses are completely revolutionising the face of patchwork and quilting exhibitions in Britain and beyond and we hope the Creative Sketchbook and Creative Computing courses will be equally influential. The emphasis on original design, combined with sound technical skills is creating innovative and exciting new work whilst still respecting tradition.

How do online courses operate?
Unlike conventional colleges, when working online there are no regular classes to attend, instead all course materials are held on the website and can be accessed at the student's convenience. The courses are divided into a series of 10 Modules each of which is tackled in turn, building on the skills and knowledge acquired in previous modules. Upon enrolment students are given access to the first module of their selected course. They then work at their own pace through the activities. All courses are fully illustrated with detailed information and instruction. Additional guidance is offered by a personal tutor. Students work with the same tutor throughout the course building a rapport just as in a conventional class. Students are encouraged to email their tutor with any questions, ideas and of course work in progress for advice and guidance as they progress. Images of completed activities complete with notes are emailed to the tutor for feedback and assessment.
All work is subject to External Verification to ensure that the high standards demanded by the awarding body are met. Upon satisfactory completion of the 10 Modules, a City & Guilds certificate will be awarded.

What's the difference between online courses and 'distance learning'?
One of the advantages of studying an online course at DesignMatters is that you will never have to wait for your course materials to arrive in the post because they are held within this website for you. Likewise, you won't need to post any of your work to your tutor. This means that there are no delays while your work is en route to and from your tutor and there's no risk of work getting lost or being damaged.

How long does it take?
Students can register for courses at any time and will be taught on an individual basis, taking anything from several months for Level 2 courses up to three years for Level 3 courses. Much depends on each candidate's available time and enthusiasm! You will follow instruction and guidance included in each unit and when tasks are completed you will email images of samples and assignments for online assessment, before continuing to the next unit. Working online allows the flexibility to fit a course in around your family and work commitments.

Who are the team?
All of the course material is written by Linda Kemshall (with the exception of Creative Computing which Linda co-wrote with Marie Roper). Linda tutors some Patchwork and Quilting and Creative Sketchbooks students. Laura Kemshall also takes care of some Patchwork and Quilting and Creative Sketchbooks students while also taking care of the website and centre administration. Maureen Shenton tutors Level 2 Patchwork and Quilting. Edwina Mackinnon and Catherine Nicholls tutor both Patchwork and Quilting and Creative Sketchbooks. Marie Roper tutors Patchwork and Quilting and Creative Computing.

What do I need to take part?
All teaching, exchanges of information and assessment will take place online, so you will need a computer! You will also need internet access, a scanner, a digital camera and a printer. Before we enrol anyone a simple communication test will be carried out. Only when we are both reassured that the channels of communication are open and working effectively will we proceed!

During the course your work will be assessed entirely by email. You will need to send images that are detailed and clear enough for your tutor to be able to answer any questions that you may have and also to enable her to establish the competence of your skills with any particular technique. We would always recommend scanning in order to send the clearest close up details. Alternatively your camera may have a macro function, but be sure to keep a steady hand or use a tripod to avoid camera shake. For samples too large for the scanner, projects or 3D work, you’ll need to use a digital camera to generate the images. In this course your photography and scanning skills are not what we are assessing, but good clear images are vital. If you have a willing family member or friend who can help you then that’s fine. For Creative Computing you will need particular system requirements. Please visit the FAQ page for this course to find out more.
Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have questions or email to let us know you'd like to receive the image test.