Gary Rogowski is the Director of The Northwest Woodworking Studio, the center for tradition-based woodworking classes in the Pacific Northwest. He teaches students of all experience, ranging from complete novices to his Mastery Programs. He has been building furniture since 1974 and teaching classes for almost 30 years. He is a frequent contributor to several woodworking magazines and his latest book for Taunton Press is called The Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery. He has also published the book titled Router Joinery and several videos on Mortise and Tenons, Plywood Drawers, and Router Joinery.

Gary Rogowski grew up with the city of Portland in the last half of the 20^th century. He came out from Chicago to go to Reed College and earned a degree in literature, but found a career in woodworking. He first showed his work at Contemporary Crafts Gallery in 1976 and has since been in several shows and curated shows there. In the late 70′s and 80′s he showed work at Artquake in Portland and did public and private commissions. His galleries numbered in the dozens as he showed all over the West Coast and back East. In Portland, he showed his work at The Real Mother Goose, did public work for Temple Beth Israel, built library tables at the Oregon State Archives, participated in the Table, Lamp, and Chair Show for all of its years, and showed a piece at the Oregon Biennial at the Portland Art Museum.

In 1991 he was awarded the Oregon Arts Commission fellowship in crafts. In 1997 he opened his own school, The Northwest Woodworking Studio, in Portland to promote tradition-based woodworking. Teaching year round classes from novice to mastery level students, the Studio offers a hands-on approach that emphasizes the value of the time spent in the shop as much as the work produced.

“The work makes you. You don’t make the work.”

Steve Bogaerts