Useful information:

Access: All courses take place at HOMETOWN, 62 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1JY unless noted otherwise. There are several car parks nearby (see Contact page for details). Students are welcome to drive past the store to drop off their sewing machines, before proceeding to a car park. The shop is a 5 minute walk from Rochester station and a 15-20 minute walk from Strood station.

The shop opens at 10am and on days/evenings that are for workshops only, we’ll be open 15 mins before the workshop, eg, 18.45 for a 19.00 workshop.

Sorry, as there are stairs, there is no wheelchair access to the workshop area.

COVID 19 precautions:

As all Government restrictions for COVID have ceased, we’re confident at running our workshop programme. Maximum class sizes are set by the tutor and it varies depending on the topic and space required. This is one reason for varying workshop costs.

Students should not attend a workshop/course if they are showing any symptoms of COVID, or if they have tested positive for COVID.

Students may wish to wear a mask or visor type mask, but it is not a requirement.

Please respect personal space during any tutor demonstrations, just because we have all got used to it because of social distancing.

Tea and coffee will be provided during classes, but you’re welcome to bring your own refreshments if you prefer.

For full day classes, students will now be able to have their lunch in the workshop, but will be required to leave for a short while to enable us to clean high touch points during your lunch break. We’re happy to recommend tea rooms, coffee shops, and delis in the high street where you can buy a sit-in or takeaway lunch.

BOOKING AND CANCELLATION:

Bookings can now be made online. If you’d rather, please phone 01634 838880 or call into the shop to book. Please note we don’t take bookings via Social Media as we need to keep your personal data safe. Online bookings are not confirmed until you’ve finalised your payment, so don’t leave your booking in your basket as someone could nab your space!

Please check dates carefully before booking! All workshop bookings are deemed final once payment has been taken and we cannot issue refunds, should you be unable to attend the course, for whatever reason. However, you’re welcome to find a substitute to take your place if you cannot attend. In this case, please call the shop on 01634 838880, so we have the new student’s name.

For courses over several sessions, we’re unable to issue a partial refund should you only attend part of the course, for whatever reason. However, we can forward onto you any available class notes for the sessions that you have missed.

If there are insufficient numbers and Hometown has to cancel a course, a full refund will be given. Generally the minimum for classes to be viable are 4-5 students (depending on the class). If Hometown cancels a course because a tutor is unwell, or for another reason, a full refund will be given. Please note we cannot refund the costs of any materials / equipment that a student may have purchased if they, or we, cancel a course.

For details of our GPDR policy, please look at our Contacts page.

Photography

Tutors may take photographs during workshops that may be used on social media and/or on Hometown’s website to promote existing and future classes. As you, our students, produce such great makes, we’d really like to share them and inspire others to sew! If you would prefer not to have yourself or your projects photographed, please advise the tutor at the start of the class.

We love to see what you make, so do tag us @hometown_in_rochester on Instagram.

Updated October 2023