At Handkrafted, we have a comprehensive community of independent Australian woodworkers and it is our aim to not only promote these fantastic craftspeople but also to help preserve and promote the time-honoured and traditional techniques of woodworking and furniture making.
We’ve compiled the following list of fine furniture making schools, woodworking courses and carpentry classes for those of you who are interested in learning the craft or wanting to further develop your existing skills.
Do you run a class or know of one that is not listed? Email us at [email protected]
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NSW
Andrew Pinnock – Smithfield, Sydney
Andrew has been designing and making bespoke furniture for over 25 years. He also teaches at the Architecture Faculty at Sydney University. He offers a number of weekday or Saturday classes, including an option for individual tuition.
Girl and Grain – Northern Beaches, Sydney
Katie offers weekend and evening classes for small groups as well as private lessons for those wanting more one-on-one attention. Katie focuses on creating a welcoming and non-intimidating atmosphere and provides supportive guidance to all her students, with safety as a top priority.
Grant Vaughan: Designs in Wood – Rock Valley
Offers several five-day workshops in wood carving as well as personal tuition in small classes. All abilities catered for.
Heartwood Creative Woodworking – Marrickville, Sydney
Run by Stuart Faulkner, a former Director of the Sturt School for Wood, classes include an 8 week Intro Course for beginners, ongoing group sessions, one-on-one tuition and specialist short courses.
Illawarra Woodwork School – Wollongong
Classes are taught by Stuart Montague, with term lengths of 10 weeks generally.
MakerSpace &company – Marrickville, Sydney
Offer a constantly evolving range of courses for beginners and up including everything from furniture to carving and cheese board making. Best of all, after your class become a member and continue to develop your skills in their workshop.
Paul Nicholson – Marrickville, Sydney
Run by Paul Nicholson, who offers a range of classes
Piece Furniture – Marrickville, Sydney
Run by John Gallagher, a renowned maker with over ten years experience, the Piece Furniture classes cater to both beginners and experienced students.
Richard Crosland’s School for Fine Furniture – Alexandria, Sydney
Claimed to be the oldest furniture making school in Sydney, the Crosland brothers run weekday and Sunday morning classes.
Splinter Workshop – St Peters, Sydney
Focusing on hand tools, the workshop runs 10 week term classes as well as specialised short courses with one tutor to every 4 students.
Sturt School for Wood – Mittagong
Offer a range of courses from one day and weekend classes to courses lasting a full year. All abilities welcomed.
TAFE NSW – Lidcome and Coffs Harbour
Certificate IV in Furniture Design and Manufacturing
Terry Gleeson School of Woodwork – Dural, Sydney
Terry teaches woodwork, turning, carving, dovetailing and other joinery techniques to students wanting to learn the craft.
Two Sheds Workshops – Bega, Far South Coast
Classes and workshops for women and children (ages 7+ through to teens).
Woodwork for Beginners, Sydney Community College – Leichhardt Campus, Sydney
A course designed to teach students woodwork theory, jointing methods and other basic woodworking skills, as well as the opportunity to undertake a small project.
Woodwork for Women – Mullumbimby
Classes run for women by Patt Gregory, a female carpenter/joiner who has thirty years of experience in the field. She holds threee to four day workshops teaching women basic woodworking as well as how to handle tools.
VIC
Handsome & Co. School of Fine Woodworking and Design – Yackandandah (near Albury-Wodonga)
Offers a range of classes from year-long, structured fine woodworking courses for beginners through to one-day weekend classes. The school has been profiled in the Australian Design Review. Check out the Handkrafted profile of one of their tutors, Elliot Gorham.
Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking – Blackburn
Offers three month courses for beginners, weekly speciality classes as well as master classes for the more advanced.
Melbourne School for Fine Woodworking – Box Hill
Not for profit woodworking club, daytime and evening classes taught by furniture makers, all abilities welcome. The school specialise in working with hand tools and run several one and two day courses – box making, wood finishing etc.
Phoebe Everill Furniture Making School – Drummond
Phoebe runs classes for absolute beginners through to advanced students. The School provides a flexible and personalised approach to woodworking in a spectacular location.
Victorian Woodworkers Association – North Melbourne
Classes normally revolve around a project of the students choosing, usually a piece of furniture or a skill they want to learn or improve. Two month/ten session terms, with classes run daily by three skilled tutors.
QLD
The Brisbane School of Fine Furniture – Samford Valley, Brisbane
A small school that runs intimate, four student classes and offers ‘casual classes’ for more experienced individuals.
Bywater Design School of Fine Furniture – Northgate
The school has classes in surfboard and paddleboard design as well as fine furniture and woodworking techniques.
Damion Fauser – Darra
In a range of classes, Damion teaches hand-tool and machinery essentials and joinery techniques either in group settings, individual tuition or in-home instruction. Check out Damion’s Handkrafted profile.
Fenech Guitars – Gold Coast
Attend a variety of weekly classes or join an intensive two week course in the art of acoustic guitar building.
Lomandra Place Studios – Coolum Beach, Sunshine Coast
Offers a range of beginner and advanced woodwork and furniture making classes with regular teacher Ross Annels and visiting artists
Richard Vaughan Classes in Fine Woodwork – Summer Park
Run in his ‘shedudio’, Richard holds a comprehensive, seven week woodworking course for up to seven students at a time. Each week a new joint is tackled.
RM School of Woodworking – Greenslopes, Brisbane
Run by Rob McKee, a carpenter with forty years of experience in the field. He runs several evening and daytime classes from introductory sessions to more advanced techniques.
Studio Dubbeld & Australia Guitar Making School – Townsville
Hands on classes is led by Luthier Joel Dubbeld, teaching students to build stringed instruments from scratch. At Studio Dubbeld students can select their own woodworking content and benefit from one on one tuition in a class environment.
WA
Erasmus School of Creative Arts – Pickering Brook
The Erasmus school is run by a fine furniture making couple. They offer one to one mentoring, women’s only courses, bench space sessions for experienced woodworkers and four day courses that focus on specific pieces.
Scott Horsburgh – Yallingup
TAS
Australian School for Fine Furniture – University of Tasmania, Launceston
The School offers a two-year Associate Degree in Furniture Design and a three-year Bachelor of Environmental Design (Furniture Design).
Derwent Valley School of Creative Woodwork – New Norfolk
Plane and Chisel, Johnny Mackay – Lenah Valley
Courses range from a half-day theory session on woodworking tools and techniques to several days where participants experience theory and practice, crafting a beautiful keepsake and functional piece in the process.
Wisdom Through Wood – Nicholls Rivulet
Tasmania’s only green woodworking school set in beautiful bushland, the school helps individuals learn about sustainable carpentry as well as teaching them woodworking skills. You can chose between day courses to workshops that last for over a week.
SA
Adelaide Hills Woodworking with Ben Crosweller – Adelaide Hills
Set in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, Ben teaches both short courses offering a taste of woodworking and a longer 10-week course providing a more comprehensive introduction to woodworking.
Henry Eckert Fine Woodwork School – Kent Town, Adelaide
Under the teaching of Adrian Potter, students here can take one of several structured/specific courses as well as ‘open classes’ where they are welcome to tackle a project of their choosing under supervision.
SA Woodcarving Academy – St Peters, Adelaide
Flexible weekly class times run throughout the year, with class sizes limited to 12 students. Under supervision of master carver Ken Vear.
ACT
Australian National University School of Art
The University runs both a fine woodworking course and a Japanese woodworking course over ten week terms.
Woodcraft Guild – Woden
As well as a providing a place for wood crafting enthusiasts to meet and talk about their shared passions, the guild also offer woodworking workshops for their members.
Here at Handkrafted we recognise and celebrate talented craftspeople and the beautiful, custom pieces that they create. You can browse some of their exceptional work on our website.
About Handkrafted:
Handkrafted is a community marketplace connecting people with passionate makers to commission custom goods. We have brought together hundreds of Australian independent, bespoke craftspeople and artisans who specialise in producing high quality, sustainably made pieces.
Our makers can help you realise your own idea or collaborate with you on a new design. Many also feature a range of original designs that can be made to order or customised to suit your specific needs. Whichever option you choose, we’re here to help make it happen. Support local makers and kick-start your own project today.
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Images by Michael Gordon Hill, supplied by Handsome & Co.