Courses

Without question, the Adirondack chair is a timeless classic—its high back, large armrests and contoured seat and back are unmistakable.  For many, the Adirondack chair defines the ideal deck or lawn chair for a well-deserved break.  This course is the perfect opportunity for you to learn and expand basic woodworking…

Are you ready to tackle a more challenging Sámi inspired bracelet project? Make a bracelet worthy of a Nordic god! Expand your technical expertise by creating a beautiful multi-braid bracelet using the same tin thread and reindeer leather you've gotten familiar with in previous classes. Students will create a double…

The siren song of the morel mushroom is about to commence, as these delectable beauties start popping up all over the forest floor…for those lucky enough to find them. Whether a first-time forager or a old hand, this webinar will expand your knowledge. From the early black morels to the…

The market basket will take you many places: from the market to the beach, from picnics to the grocery stores. This course is an introduction to the awesome qualities of the ash tree, which we will use for both weaving the basket and making the handles. Through scraping and cutting,…

The black ash pack basket: it's beautiful, highly functional and can be made using simple materials. The first part of the class will be spent preparing black ash splint for your basket by pounding a locally harvested log. Next, you'll weave the basket and finish it with a rim, handle,…

This is an opportunity to dip your toes into the world of boat lofting, the technique used by master ship builders for generations until the advent of computer aided design.  Rather than lofting students will use boat design techniques at scale.  In the first session, students will draft the Grand…

In this in-depth basketry course, we’ll explore the range of materials found in Northern Minnesota that can be used for making baskets. Birch, Basswood, Spruce, Cedar, Willow and Ash are some of the local species with ties to basketry. Get a taste of working with different materials as you create…

This course takes students through the step-by-step process of crafting a wooden longbow, wooden-shafted arrow, and bow string. To facilitate learning about constructing a traditional bow, students start with a rough-cut stave of hickory. Bows are backed with flax-fiber linen.Each arrow includes a field point and feathers. String is made…

Build a highly functional new table, perfect for a home office, computer desk, potting table or anything in between using reclaimed cedar lumber. This table’s construction is designed around the use of basic tools, including the use of dowel pins and smaller cross pins to secure the joints. Students will…

Pick up your hammer! This course is designed for students with little or no building experience who want to build a tiny home, small cabin, or workshop. The techniques for building a small frame building are not only for the skilled carpenter; nearly anyone can come away from this course…

There’s that old saying about teaching a man to fish, but this course lets students go a step beyond fishing to building their own fishing rods. We’re not talking sapling, string, and safety pin; under the guidance of professional rod builder Kris Kristufek, students will build a technically perfect spin…

A chainsaw is a powerful and efficient tool that requires a specific set of skills and experience to safely operate and maintain, even if those skills are used only on an occasional weekend at the cabin. This course will teach students to recognize and to avoid the hazards that surround…

We all have an innate color personality - colors that we're drawn to that describe who we are and how we see the world. Just as painters mix colors on a canvas, weavers combine colors on the loom to create new combinations optically. However, the colors that we're drawn to…

Wool is an incredibly flexible and playful medium full of color and textural possibilities. In this workshop we will replace paint with wool as our artistic medium as we create one large mural encouraging us to consider the many challenges and injustices of the past year. There will be three…

Join long-time North House instructor Judi Barsness from the comfort of your own kitchen to learn new cooking skills and prepare a delicious meal as she brings her popular Cooking with the Seasons courses to the online format. Each session will feature the step-by-step preparation of an entree and accompaniment,…