Frequently Asked Questions
C1 Reclining chair
and footstool by David Colwell, ash and linen upholsteryClick here to find out what one alumna has to say.
What skill levels are your courses?
Our school offers woodworking courses for people all skill levels, from absolute novices to advanced amateurs and working professionals. The appropriate skill level for each course is noted in the course description.
How many students to a class?One of the hallmarks of our woodworking school is the amount of personal attention students receive, because of the high teacher/student ratio. In most classes there are two full-time teaching staff for a maximum of 12 students. |
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What type of course does your school offer?We offer four different woodworking programs: Workshops of one and two weeks duration, Twelve-week Intensives, a Nine-month Comprehensive, and Studio Fellowships. |
Walnut bench by Liza Wheeler, black walnut (60"x19"x27"), 2004
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What subjects do you teach?We teach furniture making, turning, carving, and related woodworking skills, with a school-wide emphasis on technical excellence and individual creativity. |
Section of egg & dart molding being replicated in mahogany by Chris Pye for an architectural restoration |
What is your campus like?We have four handsome buildings on eleven acres of meadow and woods by the Oyster River in Rockport, Maine. Three of these school buildings are fully equipped woodworking workshops, with bench rooms, drafting rooms, and machine rooms. The fourth building contains the Messler Gallery, Fine Woodworking Library, and administrative office. For more information, go to our Facilities Page. |
Our campus |
What’s special about your woodworking school?
Every aspect of our school is designed to give you the best possible learning experience:
- Small classes with high teacher/student ratios.
- A superb international faculty of accomplished professional woodworkers who care about the progress of each student.
- Light, spacious workshop facilities with state-of-the-art equipment in top condition.
- A teaching philosophy that simultaneously encourages your creativity and technical skills through hands-on projects that you design yourself.
- Special resources such as the Messler Gallery and the Fine Woodworking Library.
- An atmosphere of trust that allows students to benefit from 24/7 access to the workshops and the library.
- A truly energizing campus environment, with two or three separate classes, the Fellowship program, and gallery exhibitions taking place simultaneously, and lots of interaction among students and faculty.
- You get excellent value for your tuition because our school is a nonprofit organization. As a student, you have the benefit of outstanding facilities and services, the full costs of which have been defrayed by the generosity of our contributors.
- You get the broadest possible exposure to woodworking skills and schools of thought, because we draw our faculty from many different trainings and backgrounds.
- Extracurricular social activities such as Thursday night potlucks, Monday night faculty slide shows, gallery openings, and the annual all-school talent show.
- Midcoast Maine is one of the most beautiful parts of the country - a wonderful place for you and your family.