woodworking foundations

Our core class for anyone looking to begin the journey of woodworking, as well as the gateway for budding woodworkers to enter a world of project classes, clinics, and open woodshop

class overview

As a practice, woodworking is as much about slowing down to connect with yourself and the material as it is about the act of building things. It’s an incredibly satisfying thing to feel yourself begin to relate to both the wood and the craft in a way that combines your vision, your intuition, your technique, your skill and your focus with the aesthetic and functional medium of the material and the tools.

Our goal for this course is to create a path to practicing the medium at your own pace and in your own way. We’ll step through everything together — from tools to technique. No prior experience is required.

Throughout the course, our woodshop becomes a friendly and familiar learning environment, where every key tool — workbenches, clamps and vises, squares, saws, chisels, braces, and, of course, hand planes — is integrated into the learning experience, and the class itself is a collegial, supportive environment where community is formed.

Students may also book additional woodshop studio time during their Foundations cohort to hone the skills taught in class or continue making progress on in-class projects — sort of like office hours. These are available exclusively for Foundations students to immerse in the woodshop environment, recognizing that the skills we learn are internalized through practice

The class is enriched by readings and videos — all really awesome, we promise.

Students who complete our core ‘Foundations I’ class are eligible to enroll in Foundations II, which continues building upon foundational skills in the context of staked furniture. Classwork for Foundations II includes project design, stock planning and prep, power tool training, and methods in staked furniture design and construction.

Our woodshop is oriented around community and continued learning.

Having learned all about the (amazing, transcendent, and enlightening) hand tools, Foundations alums can dive into any creative or meditative pursuits they seek — the scope of what people make is almost limitless. Students who complete this course are eligible for our open woodshop, either through a membership or a punch pass.

Each month, we host a wide range of woodworking clinics — covering everything from project planning, to finishes, to tool training, joint making, and even sharpening.

It all begins with the Foundations class.