David Pye defines craftsmanship as simply work whose final quality is determined only by the maker’s expertise, care, and discernment. In the same way, the essence of workmanship in design education goes beyond simple technical proficiency; it represents a holistic approach that involves the entire body in the creative process. The development of workmanship is crucial in foundation programs. It fosters an appreciation for design craftsmanship and develops a critical eye for quality and detail, all of which are essential for technical proficiency, aesthetic sensibility, and emotional resonance. The paper presents various pedagogical approaches taken by the author as a practitioner and design educator emphasizing the importance of workmanship during the foundation year of an architecture school. The ‘Foundation Workshops’ as they are addressed are unique pedagogical experiments that run across the first, third and fifth semesters in the five-year bachelor’s program. Several exercises in the foundation workshops introduce students to examples of excellence in craftsmanship, through which educators aim to cultivate designers who will champion craftsmanship, integrity, and innovation in design. The experiments on workmanship are part of the first-semester foundation workshops where cultivating a critical eye for quality and detail becomes an integral part of Designerly thinking. Here definitions like workmanship, craftsmanship, exploration, variations, slowness, tools, materials, methods and processes were introduced to the students through varied exercises when the course first started till date. The paper concludes by synthesizing the various learnings from these modules based on student and faculty feedback and hence suggesting possible ways forward.