Courses

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

Considering when and where to start on that big cabinet project you want to build and install?  Start here.  Before you jump into a big project, learn the basic techniques, tools and equipment used by both traditional and contemporary cabinet makers.  As a class project, each student builds a pine…

Peter Follansbee has specialized for 25 years in making reproductions of 17th-century style oak furniture, based on originals from both England and New England. Most of this furniture features extensive carved decoration. This 3-day class will explore the carved decoration in great detail. Using just a few carving gouges, compass…

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…

Weathered lines on faces can tell a thousand stories...and present a challenge to any woodcarver. Face up to any fears you may have and spend two days carving eyes, ears, noses, mouths and beards with Bruce Futterer. Focusing especially on fishermans’ faces, Bruce will have a number of projects students…

Create beautiful and useful things for your kitchen using simple hand tools and native woods. Participants in this course will be introduced to the Swedish traditions of ‘köksredskap,' or the process of carving functional utensils, including butterknives, small spoons or bread boards. Students will start by splitting a green log,…

With more than just aesthetic appeal, cedar-strip boats are known for being lightweight, strong, and quick to build. Gain the know-how and confidence to complete a boat project in your own backyard through seven days of hands-on instruction building a tandem canoe with other students. Techniques involve setting up the…