Northwest Woodworking Studio

The Northwest Woodworking Studio is a school dedicated to teaching the art and the craft of woodworking. We welcome people of all abilities and backgrounds to come and use their hands and eyes and hearts in one of our most basic pursuits: building.

Our approach is simple: build solid honest furniture that will last a lifetime. Working at the bench offers a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that few activities can today. From Novice classes to the Mastery Programs to our week long Summer workshops, students come from around the world to study with our instructors. Come take a place at the bench and immerse yourself in the tradition and the craft of woodworking.

Classes, Workshops & Lectures

Register for our Summer Classes

Mastery Programs
• Local Mastery
• Distance Mastery
• Resident Mastery

Upcoming Events

Finishing! Concentration
September 13th -17th with Roland Johnson

Come and learn the right way to finish from an expert. From surface prep and colors and stains to topcoats, rubbing out, and final waxing, this class covers all aspects of creating a fine furniture finish.

To register, click here.

Taking Your Brain for a Stroll

A,

Returning to our conversation on designing work, I want to say that I know how easy it is to avoid practicing being a designer. When learning any new skill that is difficult and doesn’t come naturally, we can find all sorts of good excuses not to [...] Continue Reading…

Running Through the Sprinkler

From a student:
I have jumped between many different styles (federal interpretation, contemporary, krenovian – if that’s a style) in the past year, I feel myself being drawn more and more towards the work of the mid-century modernists -the Scandanavians in particular. The simplicity, functionalism, craftsmanship, [...] Continue Reading…

Many Thanks!

My friends and colleagues and to those who after all this time just manage to speak to me at all:

I want to thank those of you who wrote letters of support for the Studio during our dance with the City of Portland over code issues. [...] Continue Reading…

You Don’t See It?

Some years ago, I worked in a large old building that had once been a furniture factory. It had been  converted mostly into a large empty space, but it also sported about a dozen small woodworking shops up on the second floor. It was a great old space if [...] Continue Reading…

Advice

I just reread Steve Jobs’ commencement address to the Stanford graduating class of 2005. Look it up. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. These are his final words of advice to the students. It is a wonderful speech about the value of failure, the incredible connections that can occur between disparate [...] Continue Reading…

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