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The Centre for Fine Woodworking
465 Wakapuaka Rd
RD1 Nelson 7071
New Zealand
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It's been busy in the workshop this month, with 7 short courses running in October. The mornings are still chilly, but the afternoons are warming up nicely. We're enjoying having more days with the roller doors open and lunches outside on the picnic tables
Read MoreAnd welcome to Spring - the sun is shining, the daffodils are out, the days are getting longer and the workshop is getting warmer!
Read MoreOur Open Day at the end of last month was a ROARING success with over 100 people calling in to check us out, say hello and watch some demos. It was great to see so many people showing enthusiasm and interest in what we do here, and of course the ever-entertaining steam bending demonstration always goes down a treat. Thank you to everyone who made the day such a success.
Read MoreGreetings from the workshop - thanks for taking the time to read our latest newsletter and hopefully there's something that sparks your interest.
We are just about half way through the year and already plans are well underway for the 2025 short course programme which will be up on the website in the next few weeks.
You may not realise that we are a not-for-profit organisation and a registered charity based on the fact that we are the only dedicated woodworking school in New Zealand. As part of our requirements to the Charities Services / Ngā Rātonga Kaupapa Atawhai we have to annually report on our finances and performance. A very heartwarming statistic we can share with you is that in both 2022 and 2023 the percentage of our students who return for another course is a whopping 59%. This figure may. be a little distorted post-Covid, but even so it feels like a good excuse to brag! Seriously though, our sincere thanks to you, our students, for supporting the school by continuing to enrol in our courses and workshops.
Read MoreKeren Oertly, graduate of the 2023 Furniture Makers’ Programme has recently returned from the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, USA where she was awarded a 12-week scholarship to develop a project within the Fellowship programme. What an absolutely amazing experience to be immersed in such a creative environment - something we would just love to have as part of our happenings here and something we aspire to in the future.
Keren has kindly written and shared with us her Maine experience
The holidays are almost over and it seems like everyone is starting to settle back into a more routine pace of life. Here in Nelson the summer has been glorious and the sea a very nice temperature to dip in and cool off at the end of the working day.
Read MoreWell, 2023 flew by with a hiss and a roar and our busy and tired team are hunkering down for a well deserved rest!
Thank you to each and everyone of you who have joined us here for a course this year – it’s been a pleasure and a blast, and the feedback we continually receive is very complimentary and that makes it all the more worth while. For those of you who haven’t got around to hanging out in the workshop with us then we look forward to seeing you here soon.
Read MoreWelcome to our latest newsletter – just a quick catch up of what’s been happening here in the workshop – quite a lot actually....so many positive things happening in the world of fine woodworking....
Read MoreThe school workshop is full, busy and bustling with the final term of the 2023 Furniture Makers’ Programme and the 8-week Beginners Intensive Programme running side by side.
Of the fourteen students currently here with us it’s really heartwarming to see the make up of five women, five people who are under the age of 30 (including two eighteen year olds), people from all over Aotearoa and one overseas student. This gives an average age of forty years old for our current cohort, which demonstrates a definite shift in the sand.
Back in the early days when the school was getting going, the student demographic was quite a different picture and we continue to work hard to be able to make our courses accessible to people of every age and every walk of life. The common thread being that they all want to be the best they can be at woodworking – so they are in the right place here with us!
We are forever grateful for those of you who have been regular students here over the years, but we also acknowledge that the cost of our courses can prohibit young people from attending. We are working on projects with some secondary schools to upskill technology teachers who have turned to us for help. Keeping fine woodworking skills alive and kicking is our mission, and we need to ensure that these skills are passed on to future generations. Without the ability to offer ongoing opportunities to a younger generation of woodworkers coming through then our days could be numbered.
As a not for profit organisation and registered charity, running this place is always a juggle. Many other schools overseas have trust funds set up to offer scholarships for specific courses or with a specific criteria attached. Although this kind of opportunity is something we passionately want to offer to potential students on an onging basis it is not an easy task to make happen.
The 2024 Beginners Intensive Programme offers the Thorkild Hansen scholarship each year – a wonderful opportunity for a person aged between 18 and 25 who lives in the Top of the South / Te Tau Ihu who shows talent, determination and potential.
The recipient of the scholarship has the full fees of the 8-week programme paid for and a small travel allowance. The scholarship programme is now in it’s second year and was carefully planned in discussion with Thorkild and his family before he sadly passed away almost two years ago.
Our hope is that we continue to raise funds to keep this going for many years to come so we can continue to acknowledge the significant contribution Thorkild has given to the school in the almost fourteen years he was a teacher here. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all of those people who contributed towards the scholarship fund – almost all of who had participated in one or more of Thorkild’s courses here over the years.
If you are able to help continue this legacy in the form of a donation – however much or little – will all help and we would be hugely appreciative of your contribution. If you would like to discuss this further then please do get in touch.
Alternatively, if you have any experience or involvement regarding the setting up and/or fundraising for scholarships (or any other fundraising activities) we would love to have your feedback, tips and hints. Contact us here.
We are delighted to welcome Valentin to our team who is here as a full time intern as part of an Erasmus France (Education & Formation) Programme.
This wonderful opportunity for him is sponsored by the French government through Erasmus who have run a well established programme which supports the enrichment and opening of minds of young people from countries in the European Union.
Valentin has just completed a degree in furniture making and arrived here at the beginning of October and already is making himself very very useful. He will be with us for at least six months, possibly longer.
For us this is the first time we have taken on an intern, and we can see that it would be a wonderful ongoing mutually beneficial relationship with Erasmus to offer an opportunity to have an intern here with us and share the great Kiwi warmth and experience in return.
Win win, we say.
Cam Scott who is one of our current full time students is a very focussed 21 year old young man with the drive and desire to become a professional furniture maker.
To build on the skills he will take away from here at the end of the year, Cam has been accepted on a year long Bespoke Makers’ programme at the prestigious Williams & Cleal Fine Woodworking & Furniture School in Somerset, UK.
This programme will be tailor made Cam’s individual requirements, including portfolio development, building a design identity, advanced hand skills and machine techniques, and learning new complimentary skills like parquetry, marquetry and upholstery.
What an exciting future lies ahead of him; we are proud of you Cam and wish you well.
A warm welcome to Brian Reid who returns to teach the final term of our 2023 Furniture Makers’ Programme. Students have created some amazing work so far under the guidance of tutors Lou Fuller and Stuart Faulkner which will all be part of the graduate exhibition that opens on 8th December at the Parker Gallery here in Nelson.
Applications and expressions of interest are open for the 2024 Furniture Makers’ Programme – full details are here on our website. You are welcome to get in touch if you would like to have any questions answered or would like to arrange a visit prior to your application.
There has been some final shuffling around of the 2024 short course programme and the timetable has been updated and is now available on our website here.
You will notice that there are a few courses that say “New Course – TBC” which are mostly the new courses being under the umbrella of our mentoring programme generously funded through the Creative New Zealand Annual Arts Grant.
These courses will be finalised in the next month or so and the short course programme timetable will be updated in due course.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or want to discuss which course is the best fit.........look forward to seeing you here in the workshop next year.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.