Cauldrons and Coffee Shops: Creating Fantasy Worlds from History
Dates and times:
Saturday 3, 10 and 17 January 2026
10:30am - 1pm
This is a series of three workshops. When you book you will be booked onto all three sessions. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to all three sessions, just let us know when you book.
Location:
The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell. 5 Bridewell Alley, Norwich NR2 1AQ. View on Google Maps here.
About the Workshops
Design, draw and write about fantasy shops, characters and stories, inspired by the museum’s collection and Norwich’s industrial history.
What you create could be used for tabletop roleplaying games, like Dungeons & Dragons, or your own worlds and stories, but this isn’t essential. You may just want to try something new that’s not connected to an existing hobby or creative project.
Build detailed shops, trades and other establishments, inspired by Norwich’s history.
Create well-rounded business owners, customers and other characters that bring entertaining flavour and exciting side plots to your games and stories.
Plan stories for your new environments and characters.
These workshops will focus on generating ideas and finding inspiration, rather than technical drawing and writing skills. We will be exploring some fundamentals of character design and environment design, and how to communicate your ideas through drawings and words.
Who’s it For
Anyone aged 18 and over who is interested in imagining and drawing fantasy creatures, environments and stories.
We welcome all skill levels, and the workshops will be tailored to beginners.
We especially welcome introverted and neurodivergent explorers, and anyone who is usually unable to afford creative activities.
What’s included
All materials and resources are included, but you’re welcome to bring your favourite drawing equipment if you’d like to.
We’ll also provide teas, coffees, water and some snacks, but you’re more than welcome to bring your own. If you have any allergies or dietary requirements please include them in the sign-up form.
Travel Bursaries
If you’re unable to afford the travel to and from the workshops, we may be able to cover the costs. We have a total of £200 to support participants’ travel for this three-week workshop series.
This can include train and bus tickets, taxi fares, petrol costs or other costs from travelling to and from the workshops.
If you’d miss out on this workshop without financial support for travel, please complete the ‘travel bursary’ section of the sign-up form and we’ll be in touch.
Please note, if we cover your travel for the workshops, we’ll pay you back for the cost once you’ve sent us a receipt, and we’ll make sure to do this as soon as possible after we receive your receipt. You can email your receipt or give it to us at the workshop. We can pay you back via a bank transfer or PayPal.
Access
The Museum of Norwich is fully accessible, and we'll do our best to make the workshop space safe, comfortable and supportive.
If you have any requirements we’ll work hard to meet them. Before booking, please get in touch with anything you would need to access this course, and we’ll try our best to put things in place.
Please email: [email protected] or Phone: 07774080378 with any access que stions and requirements.
There is no obligation or pressure to take part in all of the workshops, or the whole session, and you’re more than welcome to take as many breaks as you need.
There is a platform lift from the main entrance (street level) to the ground floor where the reception, ticket desk and shop are located. It is 86cm by 146cm with a maximum weight limit of 300kg. A hearing loop is installed at the reception.
A second lift within the museum provides access to all levels of the museum. It is 109cm by 148cm with a maximum weight limit of 410kg. We cannot accommodate large motorised scooters; however we do have a wheelchair on site, for visitors to transfer to. Regrettably the undercroft is not accessible to wheelchair users.
There is plenty of seating around the museum and there are a variety of multi-sensory displays, with handling items, listening points and some smell stations. If you would like to make a group booking for visitors with disabilities please contact us directly on 01603 629127 to discuss your needs.
About the Workshop Host
Jaz (she/her)
I created the Wayward Adventurers Guild back in September 2020 to share the joy and excitement of making new fantasy worlds.
I've taught art, design and photography for over ten years in schools, universities, and independently. I've worked with children in care, those with special educational needs and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
I love worldbuilding, but a lot of the time I find it overwhelming and intimidating. I'm terrible at in-depth Dungeons and Dragons campaigns and shy away from rule-heavy games for fear of getting it wrong, which is very common for me. I wanted to create a space for people to dabble in worldbuilding without rules and to find their way of doing it.
Find out more about the Wayward Adventurers Guild here
These workshops are made possible with generous funding from Arts Council England, in-kind support and partnership with the Forum Trust and Norwich Games Festival, and in-kind support from Norfolk Museum Services, the Bircham Centre and the Shoebox Enterprises.