2026 Residency Programme with Aled Lewis

“Fresh Thinking - New Ideas for Familiar Projects”

We are offering an exciting Residency with renowned furniture maker, business owner, and tutor, Aled Lewis. This residency offers five uninterrupted weeks to design and develop fresh and creative ideas for products and projects with an emphasis on skills, craftsmanship and a refined aesthetic. This is a rare opportunity to work alongside and learn from a highly respected expert with 40 years of furniture making experience and 20 years teaching.  

This programme is intended for makers with some previous experience to work independently as woodworkers, but extensive previous experience is not necessary.

The Residency is focused on exploring and developing rather than creating one of a kind finished pieces. We ask participants to bring ideas that can inspire creative development and recommend they have an open mind to new directions. Using practical objects to explore new designs, this class will challenge students to rethink and reimagine familiar items in a new light. 

The programme will run with Aled teaching morning sessions. The afternoons will be self-directed while Aled works on his own designs giving a unique opportunity to see how he develops ideas. He will be available for occasional consultations at this time. Aled will incorporate demonstrations and discussions throughout the programme as well as one to one consultations.

Through individualised guidance tailored to each student's project, the focus will be on the design process, prototyping, and finding the best approach to bring their ideas to life. Emphasis will be placed on simple and elegant solutions. 

Aled will help guide your project to identify key visual and aesthetic details that can lead to reflecting the student’s individual style. Quality craftsmanship will be a theme throughout the Residency.

To gain more insights into Aled’s approach to the idea of design watch this fabulous YouTube video.

Students should be:

• Makers interested in challenging and strengthening their design approach.

• Craft practitioners interested in optimising their process.

Techniques, exercises and explorations:

• developing an idea from “napkin sketch”

• design challenge exercises

• model making, technical drawing and mock ups

• steam bending small components

• curved laminating

• making jigs and templates

Class objectives:

• challenges students to think beyond conventional or expected norms

• inspiration, design and techniques gained from these smaller studies can inform larger furniture

• guides students through configuring repeatable techniques 


WHO CAN APPLY ?

This programme is open to any woodworkers and former students who are confident enough with basic woodworking machinery to prepare their own materials as they require. Please contact us for advice.

Please note that applications received from both professional and non-professional makers will be given equal consideration.

The closing date for all applications is 15th September 2025.  If you are offered and accept a place on the programme you will then be required to pay a 25% non refundable deposit which will hold your place until the balance of the course fee which is due on 15th November 2025.

High Praise for Aled from CFW co-founder, David Haig:

"Aled Lewis is one of those very rarest of people, a stunning furniture craftsman, a great designer, and a phenomenal teacher and mentor.

He was the lead instructor at the most prestigious furniture making course in the USA , at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, for 11years. In that time many of his students received awards and prizes in numerous shows and exhibitions, sometimes even making a clean sweep in all the categories in a given show.

His background in both traditional and commercial craftsmanship, allied with a huge natural talent and an ability to communicate to his students both professionally and with great personal insight, gives his advice a weightiness that all serious practitioners of this craft have enormous respect for. He's also got a great sense of humour (Welsh) !), is sympathetic and humble.

Really, for any serious furniture maker and designer, at whatever stage your career is at, or if you are a seriously committed hobbyist wanting some first-rate guidance on design and sound process do not allow the opportunity to work alongside Aled to slip by. His single most important word of advice in this field?  Boldness!.....how good is that!

~ David Haig, August, 2025

Course Dates

12th January - 13th February 2026

Course Fee

$7950 plus materials

Tutor

Aled Lewis

Email us to inquire about participating on the 2026 Residency with Aled Lewis. If you’d like to enrol, please send us 4-6 images from your woodworking portfolio, and a few paragraphs on your experience and what you hope to learn from this Residency.