Our Story
The Joinery is a premium craft experience with the mission to grow the craft of woodworking and making. Unlike most maker spaces, The Joinery is owned and staffed with experts who maintain the facility and machinery. We offer quality educational experiences and work to create an environment to build a community of crafters.
Experience
Established by friends Steven Ricks and Gary Bewick out of a desire to find the space, connections, and tools they needed for a project but could not always access.
Steven’s 30 years of woodworking experience with a master’s certificate in woodworking and Gary’s 40 years in business as a co-owner of ETC, Inc. created a partnership of collaboration that is The Joinery.
Objectives
- Become the gathering space for skilled craftspeople and newcomers in the Middleton/Madison area
- Offer a quality learning experience to all members
- Maintain quality, well-maintained tools and machinery, plus new technology
- Offer scholarships to students and others to experience woodworking
Meet Steven
The Team
Bill “Flash” Florac
Shop Master
Flash brings 40 years of hands-on experience spanning industrial machinery, electronics, software, and mechanical design. He’s built corporate themed environments, designed stage scenery, and hand-fabricated reproductions of Frank Lloyd Wright lighting fixtures. By day he’s a Senior Technical Product Specialist in the Advanced Research Group at ETC, Inc. At The Joinery, Flash leads the volunteer team that keeps the shop running, growing, and constantly improving. If you’ve got a tool issue or a tough problem, he’s your guy.
Eric Millichamp
Lead Instructor
Eric started as a student in The Joinery’s Introduction to Woodworking class in 2023 and never really left—he just moved to the front of the room. He’s since introduced nearly 200 people to the craft, and his background in adult education (he works in the Education department at Epic Systems by day) shows in how well his students actually learn. You’ll find Eric leading classes, staffing shop office hours, and pitching in on the administrative side. He’s one of The Joinery’s most dependable all-around contributors.
Steven Ricks
Co-Founder & Principal Craftsman
Steven has been making things from wood for more than 40 years. His career has taken him from firefighting to touring with major entertainment productions to founding Stage Tech International—and today he serves as Product Development Manager for the Rigging Division at ETC, Inc. The Joinery is where all of it comes together. Steven co-founded the studio in 2023 with a simple conviction: that making something with your hands changes you, and that everyone deserves access to that experience. He co-hosts The Joiner’s Bench podcast and stays active in the shop.