Newsletter - August 2023
Cheril Barber
Welcome to our October newsletter
Today is the 17th August – exactly one year since we had to rapidly abandon the workshop due to the extreme weather event and flooding here in Nelson.
Today is sunny, cold and the snow on the Mount Arthur range is magnificent.
The driveway has finally been resealed and we no longer have to swerve around the potholes.
All is well in our world!
We are looking forward to the return of Brian Reid later in the year as he will be teaching the final term of the 2023 Furniture Makers’ Programme. After the roaring success of his master class earlier in the year (which was fully enrolled in less than a week!) we will be running this again at the end of the year – full details are here on our website.
Joints - A Master Class with Brian Reid – 7th – 11th December
In this five day technique based course students will learn to make many of the joints required to make a structurally sound cabinet and each student will create a sample board to take home .
Thorkild Hansen Scholarship
Deadline for applications is 1st September
Do you know anyone under the age of 25 who lives in the Top of the South who shows real promise and a passion for woodworking? If you do, then please encourage them to apply for this wonderful opportunity to attend our 8-week Beginners Intensive Programme.
Full details are here.
Intro to Laminating & Coopering
9th – 14th October 2023
This course has been fully booked for quite a while, but unfortunately we have recently had two people cancel.
This 6 day class introduces the techniques of laminating and coopering and applies them to produce a beautiful bowl. This includes the processes of cutting your own laminates from solid timber, pressing them using a vacuum bag, and the process of building the form required to do so.
You also learn the process of making and using the jig required to cut the coopered parts and the cradle to support the glue up.
This is a great course with a great project to take home – get in touch if you would like to enrol.
THANK YOU!
Creative New Zealand | Toi Aotearoa
We are delighted to share the fantastic news that we have been successful in our application to Creative New Zealand in the Annual Arts Grants.
We will be receiving a substantial amount of funding towards a mentoring programme for our established and emerging tutors and creating a new generation of Aotearoa based teachers.
This exciting project is starting straight away and we have a well planned schedule over the next twelve months, so you will see some new tutors and new courses appear on the 2024 short course programme. There will also be some professional development opportunities for our existing tutors, who will be mentored by our eminent visiting tutors.
This project will be huge step forward for us both in terms of expanding our teaching team and a continuous upskilling and sharing knowledge amongst our existing tutors. Soooo exciting – a huge thank you to Creative New Zealand.
Australian Wood Review
Maker of the Year
This annual and highly prestigious competition is still open for entries until 4th September, so if you are thinking about participating, there is still time..
Even if you aren’t going to enter, we highly recommend that you have a browse through the entries here – it’s really interesting to see the work of all these talented people whether they are professional makers or passionate hobbyists. There are a few of our “people” who have entered too, and the top 100 will be published on the Australian Wood Review website.
2024 Short Course Programme
The jam-packed exciting 2024 short course programme is now available on our website here. There will be some additional information added as short course plans progress and you will be updated via our newsletter.
Over the last year or so we have noticed that courses are filling up quicker than ever, so if you are thinking about enrolling then please don’t leave it too long as we don’t want you to be disappointed. Having our new tutors deliver some additional short courses will give you more options to choose from, and our visiting tutors who teach in the full time programme will also be running a short course or master class.
Keep you posted……Looking forward to seeing you here!
2023 FURNITURE MAKERS’ PROGRAMME - TERM 4
As mentioned earlier we will have Brian Reid teach the final term of the full time programme. Brian is an amazingly skilled cabinet maker and has taught at the highly prestigious Center for Furniture Craftsmanship for almost 20 years.
We have one space available in this final term so if you are would like an opportunity to come in for this 8-week period to design and make a cabinet under Brian’s wing then please get in touch for some further details.
You would need to show us evidence that your existing skill level would be a good fit for this final term.
As always - nice to catch up with you all!
Thanks for taking the time to read what's been and is happening here.
Kind regards from the small but MIGHTY team.