Question
I am a professional furniture/cabinetmaker. I am 39 and have been at it for almost 19 years. I started out as a carpenter learning form to finish, then architectural millwork, then cabinetry, and finally furniture. I know a good bit but am absolutely starving for more knowledge. If I won the lottery, I would enroll at Marc Adams, College of the Redwoods, North Bennett or that one in Maine. I was not given the opportunity to attend one of these colleges because my family thought it a pointless luxury. Also, there weren't many schools back then. I have an insatiable thirst for being in an artistic environment, whether it is as a teacher (I have learned some things), teacher's assistant, a scholarship for a weekend or whatever! The problem is I have my wife and kid to feed. Wife can't work for another 6 months due to her being German (green card issue) and kid is 3… so that's out.
After sifting through so much info on the web I thought I might ask for advice. I applied for a grant through Marc Adams last year but was turned down. I am utterly eager. Any ideas? I am in the SF Bay Area with full shop. Just went to the Gary Knox Bennett show in Richmond. I am about to call him to see if he needs his floor swept after hours in exchange for being taught a thing or two.
Forum Responses
(Furnituremaking Forum)
From contributor J:
I am your age, and I attended Redwoods for a full summer and then for a regular school year about 10 years ago.
From your website, it looks like you're already doing some creative, high-quality work. Maybe what you're missing is participation in a supportive artistic community? Immersion in that sort of environment for a year or so is a great experience, but you might get a lot out of joining (or even starting) a local fine woodworker's group that meets periodically to present recent projects and critique each other's work. There are probably a fair number of Redwoods grads in your area, after all. You're right on top of McBeath's and Ecotimber, so you surely can find people of like mind if you ask around a bit.
Beyond that, 6 months isn't so long to wait. It might work out well to plan on taking one or two of the Redwoods summer workshops.
In the meantime, you should take a day off and drive up to Fort Bragg for a visit to the school. They're very friendly. Go on a Friday and you'll probably be invited to share a beer with everyone at the end of the day.
By the way... What is Ecotimber? I googled it but it looks like a flooring vendor.
There are a lot of designers here, though. If you want to meet others industrial designers, check out Pecha-Kucha. If you want to shmooze with architects, check out Drinks by Design. There's also some general craft organizations - I think the American Craft Council, but I don't know too much about them.
After all these shared thoughts, I would bet that some of my ventures have changed me more than I would imagine. Places that have changed my life, just with a visit: any restored Frank Lloyd Wright house or studio, Berea Kentucky in the old days when you could sit and visit with any of the artisans, and The Highlight Gallery in Mendecino while travelling to College of the Redwoods for a weekend design seminar with Krenov. Not much in 40 years, but I don't like to travel much anymore. A couple of those trips were without the family, cause they stopped enjoying being dragged around after a while.
I say keep challenging yourself and your clients with unique designs and technically and challenging work and you will continue to succeed. Take the time and money you would spend on school and take some trips around the US to see the great furniture, architecture and houses, or go to Europe and look at the architecture and woodwork there. It's an amazing education.
There are so many more resources than ever before that can help you: books, online resources (including WOODWEB), videos, etc.
The best part of school is the people you meet (students and teachers) who form a support network that can help you as you move through your career and experiences. You already have this network. Yes, you can expand it, and yes, you will learn new things at school, but as long as you keep challenging yourself and don't get complacent, you will continue to learn.
As a mature student, it is sometimes difficult to connect with others who are much younger and focused on much different things. Those things are and should be important to them, but for the most part they will not be all that important to you. As you have explained and demonstrate through your website, your circumstances and experience are much different than that of someone just entering the workforce.
Consider your time to date an education in itself. In my opinion running and being successful in a business (any business), attracting customers, retaining them and supporting your family is a skill not everyone is good at and it is extremely valuable.
I won't bother posting more as I am sure everyone is growing tired of my posts by now. Nevertheless, thanks again for the words from all.
Also, try reading a few books. Here are my recommendations:
"Encyclopedia of Furniture Making" by Ernest Joyce
"A Cabinetmaker's Notebook" by James Krenov
"The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking" by James Krenov
"Impractical Cabinetmaker" by James Krenov
"The Handplane Book" by Garret Hack
I have the same insatiable hunger for knowledge, and these books have wonderful things to say. I've been woodworking for just over a year now and my longing to learn gets stronger every day. Lastly, your work is amazing and beautiful. I hope to someday have my stuff in shows and people's homes like yours is.
Contributor O, you are right. I have learned a lot that way too. The problem is the learning curve is too long. In other words, learning through mistakes. I have made plenty. I think I've settled on attending a few local groups and perhaps next year taking a week long class at Marc Adams. Redwoods schedule is like reading Lithuanian upside down, so I think they only have month longs and semester long classes.
