Workshop it

Ibiza has a growing reputation as a wellness hotspot with a plethora of retreats, treatments and spas offering health, fitness and spiritual therapies. Lesser known to the outside world is Ibiza’s burgeoning community of creatives. The other side of the wellness spectrum is crafting! Unleashing your creative self can be as affirming and transformational as yoga and juicing – really, it can.

The UR-craft, the craft from which all other crafts are born has to be knitting. Numero 74 L’Atelier in Santa Gertrudis is a dreamlike emporium of yarning. Beautifully decorated with a colour palette of pale blues, greys, whites and rose, L’Atelier is a crafting sanctuary. The knowledgeable staff can advise on all sorts of woolly projects and host regular workshops for beginners (including children) to advanced yarners. The attached restaurant is an added bonus with delicious buffet-style lunches and the crispiest croissants to be had. Under the wise eyes of the staff and with an almond milk matcha latte in hand, you can create anything from beanies and blankets to dolls and dreamcatchers.

If knitting contains the origins of all crafts, then surely essential oils contain the origins of all healing. Perfumier and herbal expert Irene Apolo is an Ayurvedic and herbal medicine professional with over 20 years’ experience brewing, mixing and creating healing potions, natural skincare, oils and ointments. She spends her days traipsing through the forest surrounding her workshop collecting native herbs and plants which she distils into Laire – her range of Ayurvedic goodness. Believing her mission is to share her knowledge, she has created a series of workshops to introduce people to the healing herbs of Ibiza and ways to bring them into everyday life.

Liquor is not exactly a healing herb although the local Ibicenco culture will try to convince you that Hierbas Ibicencas, the traditional digestive of the island, is indeed medicinal. Apparently that all depends on how much of it you imbibe. At various outdoor bars across the island, Phillip Thomas of The Drink Workshop Ibiza guides groups of up to ten people in the secretive art of making hierbas. It’s not just an excuse to drink, although when in Ibiza… but you’ll actually learn how to choose, prepare and infuse the wild herbs into a beautiful bottle of golden nectar complete with a wax seal. It’s a super fun afternoon that inevitably ends with a drink and the best souvenir you could ever take home with you.

Sticking with the liquid theme, Cervezas Ibosim is the island’s very first brewhouse dedicated to perfecting the art of beer making. Their guided tours with food pairings are a masterclass in everything craft beer. Get tips for your home brewing operation, taste new creations and delve into the flavours of Ibiza and the history of beer during a laughter-filled afternoon.

Few things ignite passion as much as the tango and the team at El Tango Gaucho host regular classes and workshops in the complicated art of flirting through dance. Embrace your inner Argentinean lover and hit the dance floor in style within the steady arms of the El Gaucho instructors. Learn more than just the moves as you deep dive into the history, development and styles of movement as well as the intricate tones of the music.

The Museo Monografico de Puig des Molins create a variety of workshops throughout the year for kids and families including activities around the extinction of the dinosaurs, the lives of the Phoenicians and the art of the archaeologist. The team have honed their workshopping skills over decades to provide well-run, fun and inclusive days full of wonder and learning.

In between the dancing and the swimming and the indulgent meals, there are a million and one things to get into in Ibiza. Whatever tickles your crafty or intellectual tendencies you’ll find it here on the white isle.