November 2022 newsletter
Cheril Barber
Warm greetings from a beautiful Spring day here in Nelson – the workshop doors are wide open and all is well in our world.
2022 is hurtling towards an end so we thought it timely to keep you posted about what’s on the menu for next year in the hope that we can entice you to come and spend time with us.
Enjoy the newsletter and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like any further information about the courses (or anything else).
The 2023 Short Course Programme is now available on our website
We have scheduled some 3-6 day courses over the summer months to encourage you to combine a short course with a holiday in the Nelson region – a great cocktail!
In our last newsletter we mentioned that Hape Kiddle would be back in mid 2023 to teach the very popular carving courses - well here’s even better news - he’s back in January as well as in June, so don’t miss out on this great experience.
Here are details of the courses coming up in the first few months of 2023.
Woodworking Basics #2 - 12 - 15 January
This "taster" course is for the absolute beginner, offering a convenient and accessible opportunity to come and have a go at some woodworking.
Find out more…
3-Day Carving Courses with Hape Kiddle - not to be missed!
Carve A Seed-Pod Inspired Form - 16 - 18 January with Hape Kiddle
“Chasing the line” is an exploration of line and form through the carving of a seed pod inspired form.
Find out more…
Carve A Möbius - 20 - 22 January with Hape Kiddle
In this course students will make a small standing sculpture ( Möbius ) using hand chisels.
Find out more…
Intro to Coopering & Laminating - 23 - 28 January
This 6 day class introduces the techniques of laminating and coopering and applies them to produce a beautiful bowl.
Find out more…
Introduction To Fine Woodworking - 30 January – 10 February
This 2–week introductory course will establish a solid skill base and provide the foundation skills for future fine woodworking.
Find out more…
Introduction To Bending Wood - Feb 28th to March 3rd
This 4-day course will introduce you to the delights of steam bending, hot pipe bending and laminating.
Find out more….
If you would like to enrol or require any further information about these courses please get in touch
Brian Reid Master Class - "Joints" - 6th - 10th March 2023
We are thrilled to see the return of Brian Reid here in the workshop next year, as we have invited him to teach the final term of the 2022 Furniture Makers' Programme. Prior to the pandemic Brian has been here a number of times teaching in both the full time and short course programme. For those of you who are not familiar with Brian he was an Honours graduate of Parnham College in the UK studying under the renowned designer Sir John Makepeace and principal Robert Ingham. He is the 5th from only a total of 8 Americans to have attended this distinguished program.
Read more about Brian here
Brian will teach a 5-day course all about many of the joints required to make a structurally sound cabinet. This will include dovetails, finger joints, mitres, through wedged stub tenons, double tapered sliding dovetails and much more. This course is for intermediate level and will add some very valuable skills to take your woodworking practice to the next level.
More details are here
Thorkild Hansen Scholarship Programme
We had a thoughtful day on 6th November reflecting that it was a year ago that Thorkild Hansen our long standing and inspirational teacher passed away. We continue to sorely miss him and yet feel his ongoing presence in the workshop; we have decided to plant a tree here on the property to commemorate him and his huge contribution to the school.
You may remember that last year we launched the Thorkild Hansen Scholarship Programme where a young student from the region was awarded a place on the 8-week Beginners’ Intensive programme originally designed and developed by Thorkild in 2015 which continues to be one of our most popular and sought after courses.
We will shortly add scholarship information and an application form to our website, but in the meantime we have a request.
So! We need your help… How can you help we hear you ask?
Well, please consider one of these options:-
If you know of any young person in the Top of the South / Te Tai Ihu region who has potential to be a candidate for the scholarship then please do everything you can to encourage them to apply.
We are looking to raise $9000 each year to be able to offer the scholarship from 2023 – 2027 at which point we will review the situation. If you are able to help in any way your donation would be very much appreciated and as we are a registered charity any donation can be offset against your annual tax return.
Do you own, or know a business that might help to get the word out, sponsor us or contribute in some other way to make this ongoing project a great success?
Do you have any other ideas or experience that you can offer to help with this important project?
Look forward to hearing from you - please do get in touch if you would like any further details on any of the above.
Australian Wood Review
2022 Maker of the Year
Congratulations to those who were selected in the top 100 entries in this prestigious international competition.
In particular a proud moment for those numerous makers who have been students here in the past.
Winners will be announced in the December edition of the Australian Wood Review – we await those results with excitement.
Artist in Residency & Open Studio Programmes 2024/2025
While it might seem mad to be talking about courses in 2024 and 2025, just to put this all in context the tutors we invite to teach here are highly sought after in other schools throughout the world, so we have to book them well in advance so that we can continue to offer you the very best and highest level of tuition available in Aotearoa.
Michael Fortune Artist in Residency Programme 2024
Following the huge success of the 2020 Michael Fortune Artist in Residency & Open Studio Programme, we are delighted to invite Michael back again in January 2024. Some details are on the website with further information regarding the application process and scholarship programme to follow in due course.
Further details about the 2024 Michael Fortune Artist in Residency Programme are here
Aled Lewis Artist in Residency Programme
We are delighted to confirm that we have booked Aled Lewis for our January 2025 Residency Programme. Full details will follow soon as plans unfold.
The Dynamic Duo
What a delightful blast the last two weeks have been with David Haig and Lou Fuller co-teaching the full time students in their second term which is all about curves and bending.
The students created David’s iconic steam bent stool project as an introduction to the techniques of steam bending, kerf bending and laminating – with amazing results – each stool taking on their own personality and character.
Centre for Fine Woodworking Aprons
The perfect gift for Christmas!
Our models David Haig and Lou Fuller aka The Dynamic Duo
Centre for Fine Woodworking Aprons
Designed and tailor made just for us!
The perfect Christmas gift!
Due to the overwhelming response we ran out of our first run of Centre for Fine Woodworking bespoke aprons, so we are pleased to tell you that we now have a freshly made batch just in time for Christmas.
Price is $225 inc GST and postage within NZ - overseas postage can be arranged
If you would like to order an apron please get in touch here, state the size you require and your full postal address - we will then invoice you and post them off either to you or someone else you have nominated to gift it to. Too easy !
Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter, and we hope you found it interesting.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like further information about any of our courses.
Kind regards from the small but MIGHTY team
at the Centre for Fine Woodworking