Courses

Often overlooked and clearly underappreciated, our lichens are wonderfully diverse and surprisingly beautiful. We will explore habitats from the shore of Lake Superior to inland forests and rocky outcrops. Practice with tools and techniques that will catapult you from nerdy novice to local respected authority (you’ll amaze friends and family).…

Join Wooden Boat Show Featured Instructor Douglas Brooks in this three day workshop to learn lofting, traditionally the first step in the boat building process. Lofting is an invaluable tool, since it allows the boat builder to correct any discrepancies in scaling to full size from a drawing and derive…

This course takes us back to a time when the building process was mostly human-powered. Starting with a stack of freshly cut logs we will use a combination of felling axes and broad axes to make square timber. For the smaller scantlings (smaller cross-sectioned timbers) we will re-saw some timbers…

Rings on fingers have been around since the beginning of civilization. Egyptian and Greek legend place the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand, because of a belief that the vein of that finger traveled directly from the heart. The Romans extended this description and called this…

The lucet is a simple, historic handheld tool that is used to create practical square braids. The sturdy braids may be used for decorative purposes, embellishment and tying.  Wool, cotton, and novelty fibers can be used with different results.  Once the techniques are mastered, the useful braids are created quickly. …

Luffarslöjd is an old craft that is part of the tradition of making beautiful and useful objects for everyday use, using one’s hands and simple tools. Farmers used wire to mend fences and make and repair basic tools around the house and barn. Hobos traveled across the country offering to…

"How did I ever do without this?” Be the proud maker and user of an essential woodworking tool: the kebiki, a Japanese marking gauge. Rather than scratching a sharpened pin across wood fibers (the tool most often used for scribing in Western woodshops), a kebeki slice the fibers, which increases…

North House Folk School is excited to partner with Sugarloaf: The North Shore Stewardship Association and University of Minnesota-Extension to host the Northwoods-Great Lakes Master Naturalist Volunteer Training Course on the spectacular North Shore of Lake Superior. Dig into northern ecology in this five day immersion course that offers a…

You eat meat, you love meat, but it is hard to find (and expensive to buy) meats prepared without unnecessary preservatives or from responsibly sourced animals. In this class you will revisit time honored skills that have fallen out of daily use and learn important lessons about how meats have…

Stylish, cool and durable, these are a far cry from a farmer's straw hat! Craft your own personalized straw hat using millinery parasisal or Panama straw blanks. Over a two day period, you will block and finish at least one straw hat. Starting with a “blank,” finely woven straw that…

Discover the designs, color, styles and technique of traditional bead embroidery as you work with Ojibwe cultural specialist and Grand Portage band member Marcie McIntire, sewing and decorating a pair of moccasins in this course co-sponsored by the Grand Portage National Monument. The course begins with an overview of the…

Learn to embroider jeans, knitting, and anything else in need of embellishment! We’ll cover all the basic stitches needed in this course, focusing on free-form embroidery with thread and wool yarn. We’ll be inspired by traditional styles from Scandinavia, Japan, and beyond. We’ll sample different techniques and materials, and cover…

Late summer brings on a plethora of mushrooms, and the North Shore and Superior National Forest are great place to see myriad species. From the fairytale Amanita to the mysterious Lobster mushroom to the unusual Ramaria species, there’s no shortage of beauties to find and identify. Michael Karns, a certified…

Explore nature-based green medicines in this intensive botanical class. You'll discover a bounty of foods and plants to use during the seasons and cycles of plant life to create your very own natural medicine kit, including over 30 botanical and herbal mixes and applications. The course tailors to individual needs…

Dyeing cloth using natural materials is a magical process: Add a bit of steam, hot water and assorted leaves, flowers, and old rusty nails, and wait an hour…the results are extraordinary. Who knew all the colors of nature were hidden in plain sight? In this course, you’ll learn a bit…