We are all at our best when we are making.

Tom Bodett, co-founder and board president of HatchSpace, shares how making is fundamental to what makes us human.
Video by Akhil Srivastava, LifestreamFilms.com.

Our Mission

Our mission is to celebrate and advance the learning, practice and cultural varieties of woodworking. We provide access to the tools and training necessary to build what you love.

We are a 501c3 nonprofit woodworking school and community workshop in the heart of downtown Brattleboro, Vermont.

Community Driven

We know that the act of making is fundamental to what makes us human and to building a purpose-driven, fulfilling life.

We’re born makers, but some of us fall out of practice along the way. We’re creating spaces where people of all ages and backgrounds can feel welcome to learn to make anything with wood – from a skateboard, sign, or table, to a new career. Through our youth, lifelong learning, workforce development, members’ workshop, and community build programs, We offer multiple pathways to deepen one’s connection to making and to build bridges within their community.

Rural Renewal

Our vision is to inspire a national network of rural communities enlivened by the social and economic benefits of woodworking.

HatchSpace exists as a model to fill the cultural and economic void created by the disappearance of the trades and industrial arts training in our schools that is disproportionately impacting rural America. The challenge is so acute that, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors, the construction industry must attract about 500,000 new workers nationwide in 2024 to balance supply and demand. Our programs aim to address these urgent needs.

Our Values

We’re committed to fostering a culture of curiosity and problem-solving that encourages life-long, hands-on learning and builds creative condence in woodworking.
We prize a welcoming environment at all times, and we seek the participation of groups historically marginalized from woodworking and other trades including women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community members, New Americans, and returning citizens.
We value the positive social bonds that form when people come together. We welcome all woodworking traditions, encourage multicultural exploration, and seek ways to support the livelihoods of historically marginalized groups.
We recognize that the talent, skills and ingenuity of our members are the currency of our community; we strive to make room for risk- taking, discovery and fun in everything we do.
We are committed to delivering a reliable, high quality experience in our shops and recognize that this is the foundation of a viable, enduring business.

OUR HISTORY

Founded in 2019, HatchSpace launched to fill the community, cultural, and economic needs stemming from the disappearance of the trades and industrial arts in our schools.

First imagined in 2017 by two woodworkers, Tom Bodett and Greg Goodman, HatchSpace opened its doors two years later as a five thousand square foot nonprofit woodworking school and community workshop on Frost Street in Brattleboro, Vermont. In 2021, we moved into our forever home at 22 High Street, where we enjoy a longterm lease and serve as an anchor tenant within the “High Street & Green” community.

Watch Tom Bodett crafts his third act, an interview with Faith Salie in which Tom shares the founding story of HatchSpace for CBS’s Sunday Morning.

Today’s Growing Impact

Today it’s our talent, our culture of inclusion and support, and the breadth of capacity that makes us unique. Our community of members, instructors, volunteers and donors are building an irresistible place to learn and share the joy of woodworking. We consistently attract and enroll more than 360 students and serve a local members community of 150+. We’re open more than 350 days a year, and boast a facility that is nearing 10,000 square feet. We invite you to join our community.