A Journey to Making
hand tools, Kary has an abundance of knowledge to share with the eight students on this course. Taking place over 10 weekends (ideal for those in study or work) students will be immersed into the world of craftsmanship, learning how to use a variety of hand tools – including Japanese saws, hand planes, chisels, adze and froe – in order to make their own green cleft stool, small table and individual final piece.
The course takes place in the beautiful, purpose-built, double-height Woodlab. Opened in July 2020, Woodlab is the first of its kind: a hub for regenerative, wood-based activity from which sawmills, foresters, makers and communities can all benefit without pillaging from the natural world. The team are on a mission to reconstitute regional wood-processing chains, and to make the domestic timber industry more resilient.
In perfect alignment, both Kary and Woodlab prefer to work with wind-felled and diseased trees, lessening the impact of their craft on our woodlands. During the course, Kary will share his passion for trees as well as timber, as he teaches the ancient skills needed to give wood a second life, without the need for machines.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to make for oneself, rather than professionally – what it means to have the skills, for us all to have the skills, to actually not just shop, but tomake what we desire and what we wish.” – Nick Kary