The faculty for the twelve-week Furniture Intensive is drawn from among the following instructors. Additional faculty may be named as opening dates draw near. Please visit the instructors’ websites for more extensive views of their work.
Aaron Fedarko is an independent furniture designer/maker in mid-coast Maine. In 2007, after 16 years in the corporate world, he completed our Nine-month Comprehensive, participated in our Fellowship program, and set up shop as a furniture maker. In addition to ongoing commission work, Aaron has been a Lead Instructor for the Furniture Intensive since 2014. He also serves as an Artisan Mentor for Greenwood, a nonprofit organization that teaches woodworking skills and sustainable forest management to rural communities in Latin America. Aaron’s furniture has been featured in 500 Chairs (Lark Books, 2008) and 500 Cabinets (Lark Books, 2010). To see more of his work, visit fedarkofurniture.com.
Adrian Ferrazzutti is a self-employed furniture maker in Guelph, Ontario. He is a 1998 graduate of the Fine Woodworking Program at the College of the Redwoods, where he studied with James Krenov. Adrian has been widely published and writes for Fine Woodworking, which featured his chair on the back cover of the December 2007 issue. His video series, “Veneered Boxes with a Twist,” debuted at finewoodworking.com in 2014. The Canada Council for the Arts has awarded Adrian several grants, and he exhibits across Canada and in the U.S. Adrian’s website is ferrazzuttifurniture.com.
Reed Hansuld is a self-employed furniture maker who works out of a cooperative shop in Brooklyn, NY, where he builds furniture on commission and designs freelance for industry. A 2009 graduate of our Nine-month Comprehensive, Reed has been awarded Windgate residencies at the International Turning Exchange and San Diego State University, two grants from the Ontario Arts Council, and two finalist NICHE Awards. In 2019, Reed’s then-company, Harold, earned a Rising Talent Award at the Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris. Reed was profiled in the December 2015 issue of American Craft. His website is reedfurnituredesign.com.
Owain Harris a self-taught woodworker who designs and builds custom residential furnishings in Gonic, NH. He began his career in wood as a framing carpenter, in 1997, and worked as both a finish carpenter and remodeler before moving into the shop full-time, in 2008. Owain is a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen and the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association. His work has received multiple awards, including a Pinnacle Award from the International Society of Furniture Designers and a Veneer Tech Craftsman’s Challenge Award. Owain has been featured in numerous publications, including Fine Woodworking and NH Home Magazine. More of his work may be seen at owainharris.com.
Helen Louise Helfand is a furniture maker based in Portland, OR. She holds a BA from Stanford University and completed the Nine-month Comprehensive at CFC with Aled Lewis in 2017. She later assisted a CFC Furniture Intensive and participated in the Fellowship program. She started her own business in 2020, Helen Louise Design, specializing in custom upholstered design and fabrication for high-end residential and commercial projects. Helen developed and teaches an Intro to Woodworking and Furniture Design class at the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers and has taught at various craft schools. She recently received a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council in Portland to develop a sculptural carving workshop focused on accessibility and community. Her work has been featured in New York Magazine and Portland Monthly. Her website is helenlouisedesign.com.
Rob Hiza is a furniture maker in Rockland, ME. After taking our twelve-week Furniture Intensive in 2012, he attended the North Bennet Street School’s cabinet and furniture program. Subsequently, Rob entered the field as a fulltime, professional woodworker by moving to New York City, where he worked for a custom furniture business and took independent commissions. In 2021, Rob moved to Maine, reconnected with CFC, and joined our staff as Facilities Assistant. More of his work may be seen at @hh_woodworking on Instagram.
Larissa Huff is a self-employed furniture maker in Philadelphia, PA. From 2012-2021 she was part-owner of Lohr Woodworking, in Limerick, PA, where she designed and built furniture and taught classes. In recent years, Larissa has exhibited at the American Craft Show in Baltimore, the Philadelphia Furniture Show, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show, and Philadelphia’s Center for Art in Wood. She was profiled in the May 2021 issue of Furniture & Cabinetmaking and has written articles for Fine Woodworking and Woodcraft Magazine. In 2022, she was awarded a residency at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, in Gatlinburg, TN, and a fellowship here at CFC. More of her work can be seen at larissahuff.com.
Yuri Kobayashi is a furniture maker and sculptor based in Rockport, ME. Born in Japan, she earned a BA in architectural design at Musashino Art University in Tokyo and then a certificate in woodworking from Shinrin Takumi Juku in Takayama City. Yuri holds an MFA in furniture design from San Diego State University, where she studied under Wendy Murayama and taught at the Rhode Island School of Design for over a decade. In addition to teaching, Yuri exhibits nationally and has been awarded competitive residencies, grants, and fellowships, including Windgate Artist-in-Residencies at SUNY Purchase, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Arizona State University Art Museum. For the last ten years, Yuri has been an instructor and studio fellow at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, where she continues to produce her work, from abstract sculpture to functional pieces of furniture. More of her work can be seen at yurikobayashi.com.
Peter Korn, the Center’s founder and former Executive Director, has been a furniture maker since 1974. He is the author of Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship (Taunton Press, 2003), The Woodworker’s Guide to Hand Tools (Taunton Press, 1998), and Why We Make Things and Why It Matters (David R. Godine, 2013). Prior to founding the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in 1993, Peter spent six years as Program Director at Colorado’s Anderson Ranch Arts Center and four years as adjunct Associate Professor at Drexel University. His award-winning furniture has been exhibited nationally in galleries and museums.
Peter’s approach to woodworking calls for a balance between traditional hand skills and effective machine use. “Craftsmanship,” says Peter, “is more than a set of skills; through the process of creating an object, we transform ourselves.”
Brian Reid is a 1995 graduate of England’s Parnham College, where he trained under John Makepeace. For more than 15 years he has divided his time between teaching at the Center and building furniture on commission. Brian’s work has been published in American Craft, Fine Woodworking, and Woodwork magazines and exhibited in galleries nationwide. He was designated a “Searchlight Artist” by the American Craft Council in 2007, received an Artist Award from the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts in 2012, was the Windgate Artist in Residence at SUNY Purchase for 2017, and was awarded a Maine Artist Fellowship in 2018. To see more of Brian’s work, go to brianreidfurniture.com.
Libby Schrum is a professional furniture maker in Camden, ME. A 2001 graduate of our Furniture Intensive, she subsequently earned an MFA in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005. Libby has exhibited at top venues such as the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and the Architectural Digest Design Show in New York, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, Fine Woodworking, and 500 Chairs (Lark Books, 2008). In 2010, Libby was awarded the prestigious John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship by Boston’s Society of Arts & Crafts. Her website is libbyschrum.com.
Chelsea Witt is a furniture maker, artist, and educator based in Southern Maine. A 2018 graduate of our Furniture Intensive, Chelsea has also studied with artists/makers such as Alexis Dold, Tyler Hays, and Christina Boy. Chelsea earned a BFA at the University of South Florida with a focus in sculpture, worked as Facilities Assistant here at CFC from 2019-2021, has a broad background in art, illustration, woodworking, and furniture making, and teaches at craft schools nationwide. Chelsea is the education director for the Chairmaker’s Toolbox and serves on the board of directors for The Furniture Society. More of their work may be found at chelseacarinawitt.com.
