August 2025 Newsletter
Helen Gerry
Welcome to our August Newsletter
We're happy to have the sun warming up the workshop in the afternoons once again. Our short course classroom has been quiet this month, but our full-time classroom has been taking advantage of the extra space as they get stuck into term 3 - the wonderful world of chairs. We're so happy to have Stuart Faulkner back at the school to teach this challenging team.
As part of our Community Talk series, we were fortunate to have David Haig come to the school and give a talk to a full house on his impressive career as a designer/maker. A most enjoyable evening. More on that in the newsletter.
We've got some great courses coming up this year and we're busy populating our 2026 course calendar with more to come!
COMMUNITY NEWS AND EVENTS
Our Community News and Events can be found on our website. We're always happy to promote the news from our woodworking community. If you have news, or an exhibition or event coming up, please let us know!
If you're in the Raglan area, go check out the Raglan Arts Weekend. 25th - 27th October. Ben Grant will be there with his beautiful furniture.
The National Association of Woodworkers are holding their annual exhibition and awards with a furniture category. Entries close 15th September. For more info and to enter go here.
COMMUNITY TALK SERIES - "THE MAKING OF DAVID HAIG"
We had a wonderful evening at the school with David Haig. David talked about his career as a designer/maker, his start in life and in woodworking, and the influences and events that shaped his career. It's a talk full of entertaining and inspirational stories, and images of some of David's beautiful work.
David kindly allowed us to record it. It can be found on our webpage here or linked below.
ALED LEWIS IS COMING TO CFW!
We are very excited to welcome Aled Lewis to New Zealand and the school in October. Aled will be teaching the "Open Make Add Design" Term 4 for the full-time students and stay on to teach a 2-week short course in December, and our 2026 Residency in Jan/Feb.
Our friends at Australian Wood Review have an article in their fabulous e-newsletter here.
David Haig has shared some high praise for Aled...
"Aled Lewis is one of those very rarest of people, a stunning furniture craftsman, a great designer, and a phenomenal teacher and mentor. He was the lead instructor at the most prestigious furniture making course in the USA, at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, for 11years. In that time many of his students received awards and prizes in numerous shows and exhibitions, sometimes even making a clean sweep in all the categories in a given show.
His background in both traditional and commercial craftsmanship, allied with a huge natural talent and an ability to communicate to his students both professionally and with great personal insight, gives his advice a weightiness that all serious practitioners of this craft have enormous respect for. He's also got a great sense of humour (Welsh) !), is sympathetic and humble.
Really, for any serious furniture maker and designer, at whatever stage your career is at, or if you are a seriously committed hobbyist wanting some first rate guidance on design and sound process do not allow the opportunity to work alongside Aled to slip by. His single most important word of advice in this field? Boldness!.....how good is that!"
~ David Haig,
Aled's Course info can be found on our website (links below).
2-week Short Course - 8th December - 19th December 2025
Residency Course Dates: 12th January - 13th February 2026
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