Happy New Year to all of our readers! To get you inspired for the year ahead, our Events Director Penny Gray recommends some New Year's resolutions as her Staff Pick...



New Year’s resolutions; every year we make them and every year we invariably break them before the month of January is up. This is usually because they’re made when we wake up on New Year’s Day feeling a little worse for wear and a lot guilty from the over-consumption the festive season has ‘forced’ upon us.

So how do we ensure we keep them? One option is to set yourself something you can’t possibly fail at (a tactic I often use). But, and this is the main problem with New Year’s resolutions, we are often giving up something, this year we should take up something.

Think about something you want to learn, something you want to know how to make or do and you will have a much better chance at sticking to it, and I suggest learning a new craft. This way you will keep it up because you will actually enjoy it. It won’t be like dragging yourself to the gym; you will look forward to it, you will be creating something and you will see results.

Several years ago I made this exact resolution and learned how to hand-knit. I studied textiles at university but never enjoyed knitting and knew there must be something I was missing. I roped my grandma into this resolution and organised weekly knitting classes with her and we stuck to it, for several weeks! I knitted scarves and socks and a baby blanket, but most importantly I learned a skill I have never lost.

So I suggest craft. I suggest pottery, carpentry, hand dyeing, weaving, spoon carving, stitching, painting or printing. Something that requires you to use your hands and create. If you're struggling for ideas for new hobbies to get stuck into… take a look at our workshop line-up for 2018 in London and in the beautiful French countryside at Chateau Dumas.