Woodworking Courses

It's end of term here but nothing seems to be slowing down! I am writing this as I head away up to the North Island to amongst other things, visit the Woodskills Festival at Kawerau.

Following on from a great chairmaking project we were approached to make a table and six chairs for a local individual building a new house. The upcoming brief for students was "working for a client' so the relevance of this opportunity was plain for everyone to see and following round table discussions with the students we agreed to work together as a team on this collaborative commission.

The success of the whole project has been fantastic. From a learning perspective the students tackled issues of design resolution, material inconsistencies, efficiency, the nature of repetitive processes, and quality control when outsourcing, as well as the intricacies of dealing with a client. The superb appearance of the final project is heartening and has proven a formula that we have been wondering about for some time. Can the school take on and manage such commissions successfully?

As this was a combination of curriculum and working for profit, the students were offered a share of the profits or additional time in the workshop.

Interestingly all have taken the additional time! The school has made a modest gain and everyone is very pleased with what we have achieved. I'm very keen now for it to become a regular part of the curriculum or possibly part of a way forward to establish a more commercially focused second year opportunity for interested students.

Japan trip Larry has been working very hard to put together a woodworkers dream trip to Japan and it looks like it has all come together with a small group heading off for two weeks in early October.

Highlights will be visits to see Suda San in his workshop, a wood auction and chisel making blacksmiths. We'll keep you updated!

One of the major projects we are working on is bringing Suda–san and Brian Newell together as artists in residence for the final term of 2010.

As part of this residence each craftsperson will be making a complete piece of work. Both of these items will be for sale and it would be of immense benefit to the planning of these residencies if they were presold, somewhat like a commission.

This is an opportunity to access work from two of the worlds pre–eminent studio craftsmen. If you are aware of anyone who may be interested in pre-purchasing one of the works please contact Larry here at the centre.

Kawerau. As I mentioned earlier the annual Wood Skills Festival is taking place in Kawerau from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th September. We will be well represented by work from our present students and I will be present and informally demonstrating the whole time. It would be great to catch up if your taking the opportunity to check the show out.

One of our full time students Lachie has been blogging about his time with us. If you want to get a student's perspective on what's going on here check out 'The Chamfer'. There is some more information about the table and chairs commission, as well as Lachie's current commission of a sideboard.

Richard Ash A recent chance meeting at a careers expo in town has resulted in an exciting new development at the Centre. Richard Ash introduced himself and his daughter and we got to talking about woodwork as you do.

It quickly became obvious that Richard was someone very special as he outlined his woodworking past, most of which was a surprise also to his daughter! After studying at Rycotewood College in the UK for two years he went to work for Martin Grierson, one of the great designer makers of the eighties in the UK. He subsequently was invited into Edward Barnsley's workshop in Petersfield in Hampshire (The most respected workshop in the UK) specifically to work with and teach the apprentices. Following this he established his own bespoke design and making business which he ran successfully for some years.

Well you can imagine what we were thinking and so we finally got things organised and Richard will now work one day a week with the students during the internship. This means students will have access to three experienced woodworkers and tutors during this period.

Royal New Zealand Show - 11/12/13 November. This is a massive event in Canterbury and we have taken a deep breath and decided to exhibit and promote the school in the Trade & Feature Pavillion. We will have lots of information about the school, our courses and will bring along some fine examples of our student work – so if you are visiting the show, then please make your way to us and say hello.

Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch - February 2010 Following our annual exhibition of student work here in Nelson at Refinery Artspace, and after many people have asked "why do you only exhibit in Nelson?", we have made a bold move to bring the exhibition to CoCA (Centre of Contemporary Art) in Christchurch. This will be a selection of work from past and present students to give the rest of the mainland a feel for what is happening here at the centre. More details closer to the time.

Below is a list of our courses for the rest of 2009 and the 2010 programme – more details appear on our website www.cfw.co.nz – and as always any questions, queries or if you want to discuss which course best suits you then just get in touch on (03) 5452674 or info@cfw.co.nz

COURSES INFORMATION - 2009 / 2010

Enrolments are now being taken for our full tim
Furniture Makers Course.

Build a Cabinet Maker's Bench: 7-18 Dec 2009

Open Design / Build: 11-22 Jan 2010

Beginning Cabinet Making: 1-12 Feb / 10-21 May / 30 Aug - 10 Sept

Dovetail, Cabinet & Carcase: 16 Feb - 19 March

Frame & Panel: 22 March - 9 April

Playing with Veneer: 12 April - 7 May

Classical Chair Making: 24 May - 2 July

Bending Solid Wood: 5-16 July

Hall Table / Desk - Design & Make: 19 July - 27 August

Advanced Furniture Making: 13 Sept - 3 December