How Colne Road Studios Built a Workshop Booking System That Actually Fits
A London art studio needed a custom solution to take workshop bookings without overpaying for bloated software or settling for tools that did too much (or too little). We built them a lean booking system using proven plugins and custom code.
200+ workshop bookings
Five-figure ticket revenue
125+ Events
About the Project
Colne Road Studios is a creative space in London that runs mixed art workshops – life drawing, painting, woodcarving, and more. The studio was originally set up for filmmaking work, but they wanted to use the space twice: filmmaking during the day, art workshops in the evenings and weekends.
The problem? They couldn’t find booking software that fit. Everything was either bloated with features they’d never use, or too basic to handle ticketed events properly. They needed something custom, but couldn’t justify the cost of building a plugin from scratch.
The Challenge
Colne Road Studios had three problems:
No existing solution fit their workflow
They’d tried off-the-shelf booking platforms, but everything felt like a compromise. Too many features they didn’t need, or missing the specific things they did need. Nothing just worked.
They wanted to monetize unused studio time
They were looking for ways to optimise their studio. Running workshops made perfect sense – but only if they could manage bookings without creating hours of admin work.
Manual bookings weren't an option
Taking bookings via email or spreadsheets would kill the idea before it started. They needed automation, ticket limits, payment processing, and a way to grow their email list – all without needing a computer science degree to manage it.
The Solution
Instead of building a custom plugin from scratch (expensive, time-consuming), we used a smarter approach: take two rock-solid WordPress plugins and add custom code to make them work together perfectly.
The foundation:
- Gravity Forms for the booking forms and Stripe payment integration
- Advanced Custom Fields Pro to create custom event post types with all the metadata they needed (ticket numbers, pricing, dates, descriptions)
The custom code: We tied everything together with custom logic that:
- Pulled event data into the booking form automatically (no manual copying)
- Tracked ticket sales in real-time and compared against availability
- Marked events as “sold out” when capacity was hit (but allowed them to increase capacity if they wanted)
- Validated bookings against ticket limits before processing payment
- Integrated with their email platform to grow their mailing list
Why this approach worked:
- Faster to build = more competitively priced for the client
- Stable and reliable – we’re using plugins maintained by professional teams, not reinventing the wheel
- Easy to manage – they can add a new event by filling in a form, not writing code
The Results
Since launching in October 2024, the workshop booking system has:
- Processed 200+ workshop bookings without manual intervention
- Generated five-figure ticket revenue from a completely new income stream
- Drastically reduced admin time adding a new event takes minutes, not hours
The client can now duplicate existing events to create new ones quickly, and the system gives them room to grow and adapt as their workshop programme expands.
What Our Clients Say
My company was looking for a way to manage our art events and courses. After struggling to find an existing solution, following a recommendation, we worked with Mitchell Digital to create a bespoke WordPress plugin for our events. The system is simple to manage and fits our needs. Great team to work with who listen. Kane is very patient and always offered relevant options and his customer service has been prompt and delightfully straightforward. Thank you 
