Joiner’s Journal: A Journey in Woodworking Education

When we started The Joinery, our primary goal was to create a space where I could teach woodworking. Having spent many years honing my skills, particularly in furniture making, I felt a deep passion for sharing my knowledge. I earned a Master’s Certificate from the Marc Adams School of Woodworking and had the pleasure of helping friends and family build beautiful pieces for their homes. Our own house was filled with more wooden furniture than one family could possibly need, but I was still searching for ways to advance my skills further.

My experience assisting with teaching at Marc Adams, combined with my daytime career in education, led me to believe that teaching woodworking would be a natural progression. However, my shop was too small to accommodate this vision. Thus, the idea of a shared woodworking shop was born, and we officially opened our doors in October 2023.

To my delight, The Joinery took off far better than I had anticipated. Membership began to grow, and classes filled up quickly. Initially, we were cautious, working to keep costs low and avoiding long-term commitments. Our first lease of approximately 2,000 square feet was only for one year, allowing us the flexibility to walk away if things didn’t work out. Fortunately, they did! By March 2024, we were bursting at the seams, prompting the search for a new building.

By July 15, 2024, we proudly opened our new 7,500 square foot facility under a five-year lease. Membership surged, and although our class selection was limited, they continued to sell out. However, with increased expenses and a membership nearing 100, we were only managing to cover our bills. I made the decision to initially not pay my self a salary as I already had a day job, and I also relyed heavily on our dedicated members to volunteer their support.

I want to ensure that The Joinery remains a welcoming and manageable space, where we can maintain our commitment to quality tools, ample space, and an incredible community to help you create your next masterpiece. To achieve this, we need to explore additional sources of income to sustain our growth and potential.

Returning to my original goal of teaching woodworking, I plan to build out a foundational series of courses. We will expand our current offerings, starting with the Introduction and Intermediate classes, and complete the foundation with an Advanced class. Additionally, we will fill in gaps with specialized classes focusing on specific skills and project-based learning.

Recognizing the limitations of in-person classes, we also aim to produce a series of video-based courses. These will allow us to reach a wider audience, including members of other shops or individuals with their own workspace.

The hope is that by diversifying our educational offerings, we can create a consistent stream of income that allows me to take a modest salary and potentially hire a part-time shop manager to help maintain our facility.

As you can imagine, this is a long process. Developing quality courses takes time, and producing them for sale adds another layer of complexity. The good news is that we are currently covering our expenses, which buys us the time we need to grow.

Through a new blog series: The Joiner’s Journal, I will share my experiences in developing these materials, and I look forward to providing you with free previews of our upcoming work. I invite you to join me on this exciting adventure, and I encourage you to leave your comments and feedback.

Thank you for your continued support of The Joinery!