Courses

Always wanted to try your hand at the forge? This is the place to start and to continue developing your blacksmithing skills. You will be introduced to the basic skills of the blacksmith, including safety, fire control, tools, and equipment in both a classroom and "on the forge" setting. Student…

A blanket coat made from a Hudson Bay-style blanket is an inspiring and distinctive example of style and craft. In this skill-building workshop, students will gain the patterning, fitting, and sewing skills they need to create their own unique blanket coat. Made from new or recycled wool blankets, these coats…

Crocheting, knitting, tatting, and needle lace focus on a single thread to construct lace. Bobbin lace making is one of the traditional forms of making lace and is the only technique to use multiple threads concurrently to create lace. The technique has some similarities to weaving but is made on…

Boro is a Japanese folk textile with an indiscernible eloquence & aesthetic that was originally created out of necessity, in which small scraps of precious fabric are carefully stitched together to create a larger cloth or repair a garment. In this course students will review a brief history of Boro…

We may spend a lot of time enjoying the gift of Lake Superior’s beauty from the shores or from a vessel.  How often do we think of the delicious food ingredients dwelling below the surface?  In this class, we will discover different species of fish that thrive in the Lake…

Make the wood chips fly!  This course is for students ready to stand at the chopping block and learn to use classic wooden bowl-carving hand tools—the adze, axe, gouge and push knife. During this class, topics including selection of wood stock, elements of bowl design, strategies for hand-hewing, use of…

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. Arrows include field point and feathers. String is made using…

Commercial liverwurst (braunschweiger) can’t hold a candle to the real thing. Learn to make your own healthful liverwurst out of ingredients that you choose, with flavors that you can adjust. Craig and Dianne Peterson have always enjoyed eating various forms of liver, in gourmet recipes, liver pate and of course,…

This fall, let’s celebrate the power of our sun with baking! Through stories, songs, and hands on baking practice, students will learn all about what it means to be a baker…and even make their own Sun Bread (as featured in the book by Elisa Kleven) and butter. By the end…

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…

Create for yourself a comfortable living space: a spare bedroom, office, studio, sauna, or whatever else you can dream up. The 18-foot yurt is an excellent shelter option that provides comfortable living arrangements for all four seasons. Working with skilled yurt builders, you’ll build a simple yurt, complete with a…

Pockets full of pebbles from the shores of Lake Superior? Ready to turn them into jewelry? Pebble drilling has long been a popular course at North House, but not all pebbles are meant to be drilled. In this four day class, students will learn several different ways to capture and…

How about carving a wooden figure for the upcoming holiday season—either as a gift for someone special, or for yourself (since you are special, too, right?). Harley, who says, "If you can peel a potato, you can carve a figure," will lead new as well as experienced carvers through the…

The spoon is in the eye of the beholder. A crooked branch can become a perfect ladle; a slight bend makes a lovely eating spoon. Enjoy three days of handwork in this greenwood carving class focused on ladles and spoons. Working with birch, you’ll use simple hand tools and carving…

North House Folk School is delighted to welcome Drew Langsner to campus for the first time to teach a course in bowl making. Drew has been well-known in the traditional craft world for decades as the founder of Country Workshops, a school devoted to the teaching of traditional woodworking with…