Running workshops in English in Milan for expats and students

Workshops in English in Milan are craft sessions taught in English, or in Italian and English together, for people in the city who do not speak much Italian. Unlike Rome or Venice, where demand in English follows the tourist calendar, in Milan a large, steady part of this audience actually lives here: expats, international students, professionals relocated for work. For a Maker they are customers who are free in the evenings and at weekends like the locals, and who can come back if they enjoy it.

It is a second audience that is there all year round, not just during trade fair weeks. And if you are the foreigner in Milan, English is not a hurdle to clear: it is your audience's language, and you already have it.

Who is looking for workshops in English in Milan

The reflex is to think of tourists. Milan does have them, and during the big trade fairs they arrive in waves: the next Salone del Mobile runs from 13 to 18 April 2027 at Fiera Milano Rho. But they are the least predictable part of demand. The steady part lives here.

The City's open data counts 295,805 foreign nationals resident in Milan in 2025 (series by citizenship, Comune di Milano). Not all of them speak English and not all of them want a course, but that number also includes many of the nationalities expats come from: in the same year the register lists 5,386 French, 3,501 Spanish, 2,553 Indian, 2,307 British, 2,273 German and 1,869 US residents. And the register only counts people who have moved their residence: a student still registered back home, or a professional seconded for a year, is not in that number.

• International students. Politecnico and Bocconi run degree programmes taught entirely in English; NABA, IED and the Brera Academy draw design and art students from many countries. A master's degree in Italy lasts two years: long enough to come back to a studio more than once.
• People who work in English. Many multinational and international firms have offices around Porta Nuova (M2 and M5 Garibaldi, M5 Isola) and CityLife (M5 Tre Torri): people who spend the day in meetings in English and in the evening want something that is not a screen.
• People with guests from abroad. Friends and family visiting, who need an activity where nobody is left out of the conversation.
• Visitors. Trade fairs at Rho (M1 Rho Fieramilano), fashion weeks, the Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone. They arrive in waves, tied to the events calendar: how to reach them is covered in the guide to Fuorisalone and Milan Design Week for Makers.

The practical difference is this: the resident English-speaking audience behaves like the Milanese one. They leave the office in the early evening, have weekends free and, if they enjoyed it, can come back for a second workshop and bring colleagues. A tourist books once; someone who lives here can become a regular. It is the same audience as in how to meet people in Milan through craft workshops, seen from the side of the person running the class.

How much English you really need

Less than you fear. Words matter at five moments, always the same: welcome, safety, steps, corrections, wrap-up. Each one is covered in the guide to running workshops in English for visitors in Rome, and it applies just the same in Milan. Here, though, four more things matter.

• The mixed group. If Italians and foreigners share the same table, do not translate everything twice: show the gesture, say it in one language and sum it up in the other in a sentence. Those who understand both do not get bored, those who understand one do not fall behind.
• The craft's words in Italian. For people who actually live in Italy, tornio, stecca, ordito and bulino are not an obstacle: they are part of the experience. Say them in Italian and explain them in English.
• A sheet on the table. The main steps written in both languages, in large type. Anyone who misses a sentence can find it again without interrupting you.
• Your level, stated. In your profile you can tick Inglese under "Lingue in cui tieni i workshop" (the languages you teach in), and it shows on your public profile. In the description, say how you use it: all in English, bilingual, or in Italian with help in English.

A two-language listing: what you fill in on Handsome

The workshop form has a "Versione inglese (facoltativa)" box, the optional English version, with three fields: the short sentence, the description and what to bring. If you leave it empty, the English page of your workshop shows the Italian text, and anyone arriving from the English version of the site finds a listing they cannot read.

The basic FAQs are generated by the system from your data, depending on what you have set, and already appear in English on the English page: how much to pay now and how much on the day, what happens after booking, whether experience is needed, whether children can come, when to pick up the piece, whether you can cancel. The questions you add yourself, the steps and the other parts of the listing appear in the language you write them in. You also write the title only once: choose one that makes sense without Italian, for example by naming the object people take home.

The English carries on after booking. Anyone who books from the English version of the site receives the confirmation email, the PDF receipt, the participants' tickets and the reminder three days before in English. If they have a question they message you through the Handsome chat, and from 24 hours before the workshop they can also see your phone number.

How to prepare your English listing, step by step

1. Tick Inglese (English) in your profile, under "Lingue in cui tieni i workshop" (the languages you teach in).
2. Write the short sentence in English starting from what people do and what they take home: "Make a silver ring from scratch in one evening" says more than "An introduction to jewellery".
3. Write the description from scratch, do not translate it. Short sentences, numbers instead of adjectives: duration, places, what is included. The method is in how to write a workshop description in Italian and English.
4. Say which language it is taught in, in the first line: "Taught in English", "Bilingual: Italian and English" or "In Italian, with help in English".
5. Explain how to get there by public transport in the "Note per arrivare" field (directions): metro line and stop, minutes on foot, which buzzer. That field appears unchanged on the English page, under "How to get there", so write it to work in both languages: "M5 Isola, 5 min a piedi / 5 min walk, citofono 3 / buzzer 3". Newcomers do not know the city yet: the guide to Milan's craft workshops by metro stop shows how much it matters.
6. Fill in "What to bring": apron, clothes that can get dirty, hair tied back. Written in the listing, it saves every participant asking the same thing in the chat.
7. Have the English text read by someone who uses English every day, before you publish.
8. Open the English page after publishing and read it as a customer would: any unexpected bit of Italian jumps out straight away.

Timing and format for people who work in English

Milan's English-speaking audience keeps the same hours as the Milanese: free after work and at weekends. A tourist gives you Tuesday morning; someone working in a Porta Nuova tower gives you Thursday evening. Build the format around that.

• The weeknight. A start around 7pm, close to a metro stop, with a process that wraps up in two or three hours. Which crafts really fit into one evening is covered in the guide to evening craft workshops in Milan.
• The repeating date. In the workshop calendar you can repeat a date every week in one click: the same Thursday for a month gives people with unpredictable meetings more than one chance to make it.
• The second level. People who live here can come back. A beginner and an advanced workshop, published as two listings, turn one evening into a path.
• The piece to collect. A tourist leaves; a resident can come back for the piece after firing. In the listing you choose between "Subito" (straight away), "Dopo qualche giorno, ritiro in laboratorio" (collection at the studio after a few days) and "Spedizione" (shipping), and from the dashboard you let participants know when their work is ready.
• The private session. For groups of friends or colleagues: the group books the whole session with a €25 deposit and can cancel free of charge up to 7 days before. It is open only to those signed up as a Maker, with a VAT number.
• Companies. If a company asks for an activity in English for its team, the request goes through Handsome, which handles the relationship with the company and sends the proposal. Like private sessions, this is open only to Makers with a VAT number.

One price for everyone, all-inclusive

One workshop, one price, whatever language you read it in. In a city where Italians and foreigners share a table and pass the link around in group chats, a different price per language gets spotted by the first mixed group. If one version costs more, it has to be a different workshop: longer, with more materials, with shipping included.

On Handsome the listed price is all-inclusive: people booking find nothing added at checkout. For a group workshop the customer books online with a €10 deposit per person and pays you the rest on the day; the minimum price is €15 per person. They can cancel free of charge up to 3 days before and get the deposit back in full; after that, the deposit stays with you.

The deposit is collected directly into your Stripe account, and the transfer to your bank goes out 5-6 days after the workshop. You connect Stripe during sign-up or later from the dashboard: you need it to publish. Handsome takes nothing from the workshop price: the only cost is Stripe's fees on the online payment.

Reviews in English work for you

On Handsome only people with a confirmed booking can leave a review, and only after the workshop has taken place. For someone new to the city with nobody to ask for advice yet, a review written in their language by someone in the same situation carries more weight than any description.

The review request goes out automatically, in English for anyone who booked in English. The rest is up to you, in person, at the end of the evening: mention that a review helps the next person who arrives in the city. The first ones count most, because they are the ones read by people who do not know you yet.

Why now

As of 7 October 2026 there are no bookable workshops in Milan on Handsome yet. Put plainly: whoever publishes now does not have to compete with other listings in the city, and their dates are the first ones found by anyone looking for workshops in Milan, in Italian and in English.

The profile is free with no subscription, and you start with a single workshop. With an Italian VAT number (Partita IVA) you sign up as a Maker; without one, as an Apprentice under occasional self-employment (prestazione occasionale): group workshops only, up to 5 per calendar year. There is also an optional paid Maker Pro plan for those who want extra tools: it comes later, not to get started.

The first step fits into one evening: open your profile and tick English among your languages, connect Stripe, set up a weeknight workshop with the English version filled in and repeat the date for four weeks. The Handsome team usually approves profiles within 24-48 hours; then open the English page and read it as a customer would.