Courses

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,…

Outfit your own blacksmithing tool chest while developing and refining your skills on the forge. In this course, you will create the set of tools needed to become a backyard blacksmith, while simultaneously learning the basics of blacksmithing. Initial tool projects will include tongs and fire-tending tools. Heat treatment, forging,…

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…

This course will introduce students to the methods and techniques involved in hand crafting an all metal friction folding knife, a project suitable for beginners to experienced smiths that want to learn more about knife making. Students will learn to forge, grind, heat treat, and polish a carbon steel blade…

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…

The impact of hull shape on the overall aesthetic of a boat cannot be overstated. Before the advent of computers and modern drafting technology, boat builders and shipwrights used half hull models to determine a boat’s lines and symmetry. In contemporary application, half model building is more decorative as a…

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

Boro is a Japanese word meaning “broken” and has now become known as Boro cloth or fabric, an aesthetic that is based on fabric or garments that have been heavily used, tattered and repaired using darning techniques such as sashiko. Boro cloth has a sense of humility and an understated…

Create a beautiful very handmade piece of clothing: right down to the fabric design! Students will create a lightweight, drapey, felt tunic using fine wool and two layers of silk. They will dye the tunic and then complete the design by steam printing with leaves and flowers. Students should bring…

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

Using hand tools to create beautiful and functional bowls from freshly split birch can be something of an addictive pursuit. For those who have taken the introductory session of this course before and/or have experience carving with green wood, long-time instructor Jon Strom offers this new extended course focused on…

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 of…

At North House, you can build your own timber frame and bake your own cake! Learn to make the bûche de noël, a classic French cake elaborately decorated to resemble a holiday yule log for the Christmas table. This class, open to novice and experienced bakers, is a chance to…

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…