North House Folk School

New Full-Time Staff:

Stephanie Kearney: School Store Manager

While raising her three sons has been her most rewarding adventure to date, Stephanie has enjoyed many life-affirming journeys over the years.  Her home base has been in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Montana, until recently, when she found her way to her ancestral roots in Minnesota's lake country.  With a zest for new experiences, especially those nestled in nature, Stephanie is thrilled to have found a home at North House, where there is no shortage of good things happening and big smiles to share. She looks forward to sharing some of those smiles with you.

Cory Quirk: Technology Manager

Cory arrived at North House with the goal of using technology to improve peoples' experiences, aiming to work with an interdisciplinary and intercultural way of thinking. After growing up in the Twin Cities with a connection to the northwoods and its waters, it's no surprise he would end up in the perfect place to do all the things he loves: cooking, gardening, nordic skiing, fishing, photography, and most of all, making, listening to, and sharing music.

2025 Interns:

Marshall Boone

Marshall is coming to North House from the Chicagoland area by way of Duluth. He has always had a fascination for ‘things’ and loves fidgeting with them, making them, and fixing them. This led him to pursue a degree in the world of chemistry and mathematics, which he struggles to apply, although he is always game to discuss the chemical workings of various crafty things. Having formerly guided canoe and dogsled trips out of Ely, Marshall most enjoys spending time on the water in its various chemical phases. This includes canoeing, snowshoeing, and both cross-country and backcountry skiing.

Elena Brotz

Elena loves cold water, tedious yet creative tasks, and stories of all kinds. Growing up in Burlington, Vermont, Elena took leaning stacks of picture books out of the library, was infatuated with cows, and enjoyed cutting scrap paper with scissors. She eventually moved on to snipping fabric, then sewing, and has been experimenting with different ways of scrappy hand-making ever since. Over the last few years, Elena has spent time going on super long walks, working on some islands, writing, studying the elusive human ecology, and facilitating mending workshops. She is delighted to be here.

Mia Ingram

Mia was raised in Minneapolis and has lived in Montreal and Cleveland, and is glad to be unlearning the city life. Mia is very particular about sensory input, but luckily for her the wind, sky, water, trees, and fauna of this place suit her pretty perfectly so far. She’s excited about a lot of things that have so far felt out of reach, but is hopeful that this program will bring her closer to them. So far she’s enjoying herself holding and looking at beautiful handmade objects and meeting the wonderful craftspeople who make them.

Z Kaplan

Z is a ceramic artist and craft-maker from Chicago, with recent roots in Minneapolis, now building home in Grand Marais. After a transformative experience at a sheep slaughter, Z fell in love with butchery and became excited about exploring hide-tanning, leatherwork, and wool processing. In transitioning away from a career in clay, they’ve been called toward new mediums, communities, and digging deeper into their Jewish craft lineage. At any moment you can expect to find them asking questions, eagerly exploring, belly laughing, and root digging.

Graham Webb

Graham (he/him) grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and he often misses the woods back home. His interest in craft probably began with making creations from things discarded in the recycling bin. In Asheville, he worked as a furniture maker in a communal woodshop. More recently, he lived in Spain, where he taught English, became curious about weaving, and helped with a Basque shipwrighting project. He loves rock climbing road trips, making Japanese woodblock prints, and cooking for dinner parties.