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Alison Daykin
Alison is an award winning designer weaver who has been weaving, spinning and dyeing for over 30 years. She has taught spinning, weaving, dyeing and felt making since 1983. An HNC from Bradford College gives Alison an added edge when it comes to creating courses. Alison is the co-author of a stunning new book, "Creative Spinning", published by Gaia. www.alisonyuletextiles.co.uk
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Paul Hunt
Paul had Senior Management roles in large corporate organisations and had 25 years experience as a Chartered Surveyor before deciding to follow his passion for the outdoors.
He is an experienced walker and enjoys travelling to unfamiliar destinations to experience new environments and cultures.
He is currently innovating walks themed around food and wellbeing and delivering walks combined with networking for the business sector.
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Chris Gilbert
Landscape and Wildlife Photography and Photo Safaris
Chris lives and works in the Peak District. He has been walking its hills and photographing its vistas for nearly 20 years and has built up an impressive knowledge of the landscape and portfolio of images. He turned semi-pro in 2006 and now delivers courses on landscape photography, focussing specifically on the Peak District, as well as exhibit his work regularly and selling his images through a number of Peak District outlets. He also co-wrote an award-winning book.
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Laura Donaldson
Laura is a professional artist living in Melbourne, Derbyshire. She studied fine art at Edinburgh, graduating in 1998.
Laura has worked on private commissions of all types, from painting themed series for company calenders through to board room pieces and family portraits. She also produces work for exhibitions and regularly has her work displayed at galleries.
Whilst Laura predominantly works with acrylic & oil pastels, she is an accomplished artist using watercolours, pencil, and oils - in fact, no medium is shunned in search of an aesthetic outcome - including gold!
Laura has delivered art courses and studios to all levels of ability as well as returning to Repton School’s Art Department as a teaching assistant.
Laura’s interests outside of art include cookery, walking, gardening, reading, music, socialising and some more reading!
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Peter Gibbon
Peter has lived in Derbyshire for 40 years and built his knowledge of birds in the county for all that time. Peter is the current Chairman of Carsington Bird Club and has been doing a survey of its birds for 17 years for the British Trust for Ornithology. He is also a member of Derbyshire Ornithological Society and also been involved in Breeding Birds survey work and the recent monumental Bird Atlas of the British Isles.
He has led bird watching holidays as far away as Northumberland, Norfolk and Aviemore.
On the other side of the coin Peter has been on bird watching holidays to the Fair Isle, Arctic Finland and Norway, Poland and Lesbos (Greece). These have given him excellent experience and insight into the needs of birdwatchers on a holiday.
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Heike Gittins
Heike is a Designer and Workshop Tutor who has a keen love for all things textile, and uses her love and talent to teach a variety of topics and techniques all over the UK and Europe.
Growing up at home with two grandmothers and mother knitting and crocheting, at 8 years old she was taught by one of her grandmothers to knit. This induced a lifelong love for beautiful yarns and designing, sometimes unusual, pieces with it.
After many years working as a Marketing/PR Executive in the IT business, Heike decided that a change was needed. Five years as a Rowan Design Consultant followed. Now, as a Freelance Designer and workshop tutor, Heike travels extensively in the UK teaching her large variety of workshops to an ever-increasing audience of yarn lovers and recently her travels have taken her as far a field as Germany and France.
When not teaching, Heike can be found in her studio overlooking the Welsh Mountains, surrounded by a stash of yarns and stitch dictionaries, trying out new design ideas.
Heike’s designs have appeared in Knitting Magazines and on the Rowan website.
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Mark Fenton
Mark leads the walking and outdoor activities such as abseiling and has a passion for coaxing and encouraging people to have-a-go and to enjoy themselves. He is an experienced group leader, capable of recognising an individuals capabilities and respecting personal choices.
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