May 2023 – Jesse Shaw came to the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in 2005 to learn woodworking and traditional hand techniques. His intent was to use those skills to upgrade homes and build unique kitchens and bathrooms. That idea quickly disappeared when he fell in love with the idea of making handmade furniture that increases…
April 2023 – After 45 years as a pediatrician, John Vogt traded in his stethoscope for a Stanley Bedrock hand plane. In 2019 he decided not to retire, but to repurpose his life by building and donating furniture. He had worked for a nonprofit medical group, devoting the last 10 years of his practice to…
December 2022 – Wu Hanyen is a woodworker, movement practitioner, and educator based in Providence, RI. Her studio Work in Use produces high-end movement tools that are meant to be displayed in the home and celebrated for their craft and materiality. She has a background in graphic design from the University of Texas, an MFA…
November 2022 – Alexander Lohn is the founder of Alessandro & Maria Design, where he designs and builds custom furniture in Austin, TX. Originally pursuing a career in Architecture, he received his Architecture degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. In college he realized an office job wasn’t for him, and, following a winding…
September 2022 – Heide Martin is the Owner and Creative Director of Heide Martin Design Studio, a boutique furniture and housewares company based in Rockland, Maine. Working with her husband, she uses native hardwoods, leather, fiber, and metals which lend to functionality and well-balanced form. A former landscape architect, Heide shifted into furniture design, graduating…
August 2022 – Wally Carpenter is a retired IBM semiconductor engineering manager, Northeastern Woodworker’s Association (NWA) past president and the current chair for NWA’s annual Fine Woodworking Showcase event in Saratoga Springs, NY. In his current role, he has the privilege of interacting with many legendary woodworkers in the business. Wanting to learn more about…
June 2022 – Shayn Smith opened a design and build company in 2014, in a northern suburb of Detroit, MI. He specialized in marquetry using lasers to create parts and pieces for the designs and has since partnered with Jeff Smith (unrelated) to expand the company into SmithMade. The company still specializes in marquetry and…
May, 2022 – Rick Boss found CFC through an ad in Fine Woodworking. His wife is originally from Rockland and they visited every summer for a week anyway, so he thought he’d give it a go. His first course was in 2010, for a one-week Introduction to Turning with Beth Ireland. Having been a hobbyist…
April, 2022 – Emily Appenzeller was at a crossroads in her life, making art and music while assisting a local furniture maker in Los Angeles. She came to Maine in 2017 for the Furniture Intensive, with the main goals of taking a reprieve from bustling city life and to strengthen skills as a maker so…
January, 2022 – Adam Markowitz is a 2014 graduate of the Center’s Furniture Intensive who successfully combines the careers of architect and furniture maker in Melbourne, Australia. When he arrived in Maine for the Intensive, Adam was already a qualified architect and a practicing woodworker. “Working in my own shop,” he says, “I found that…
October, 2021 – For 13 years prior to attending our Furniture Intensive, Adam Lucks was a highly successful restaurateur in the Milwaukee area, with training from a Le Cordon Bleu-certified culinary institute. In 2017, seeking a break from the restaurant business, he came to CFC to “get better at something I love to do.” In…
September, 2021 – After founding Peg Woodworking in 2014, Kate Casey realized she wanted to bring her technical understanding of woodworking up to par with her skills in sculpture and other forms of fabrication. The following summer she enrolled in our twelve-week Furniture Intensive. “I chose CFC,” Kate says, “because the curriculum combines a strong design…
August, 2021 – Since 2012, Jonathan Brower was the proprietor of J. Brower Furniture in Newport, RI. He rebranded in the summer of 2021 and has taken on a partner. They now call themselves Mosaic Woodworks, and focus on designing and producing custom cutting boards and tables. When Jonathan originally came to CFC to take…
July, 2021 – Limond Grindstaff is a fulltime woodworking hobbyist and retired telecommunications executive in McLean, VA. He originally came to CFC in 1999 to build his skills through a two-week Basic Woodworking course, and has followed up with additional courses since. “Each time I attended a class,” Limond writes, “my confidence and skill level…
July, 2021 – Kendrick Anderson is a self-employed furniture maker in Atlanta, GA who works with residential clients, interior designers, and architectural firms. Following graduation from our 12-week Furniture Intensive in 2009, he gained experience in several professional workshops before going into business for himself five years later. Today, Kendrick works out of a 2,200-sq. ft.…
July, 2021 -Leslie Webb is a longtime furniture maker in Georgetown, TX, who recently expanded into retail sales of high-end woodworking tools. When she enrolled in our Nine-month Comprehensive back in 2004, as Leslie recalls, she didn’t have concrete goals, “I just knew with certainty that furniture making was my path in life. I simply…
June, 2021 – As a self-proclaimed hand-tool purist, Erik Curtis says he knew nothing of “design, space or the way a piece of furniture could influence a person’s daily life” when he enrolled in the Nine-month Comprehensive back in 2012. His objective was to “learn from the best craftspeople in the world.” Looking back now,…
