From Forest to Woodshop:

Furniture & Products Intensive

8-Week Fall Intensive | September 9 - October 31

  • Class meets M-F, 9am to 5pm, with some optional weekend workshops

  • Downtown Brattleboro location with 24-hour workshop access

  • Forest field trips • Fully equipped, dedicated learning space • Expert instruction 

HatchSpace is pleased to launch an 8-week, full-time, 300-hour intensive program in wood furniture and products innovation starting in the fall of 2025. Our woodworking immersion program is rooted in an integrated approach of study from forest to woodshop and offers participants the opportunity to study wood as a material, as well as methods of manipulation that support furniture and product design through sourcing, designing, drawing, cutting, sawing, joining, bending, and glueing.

Delivered in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, and surrounded by some of the world’s finest hardwood forests, students will gain not only the knowledge of fundamental woodworking practices, but also an awareness of the interconnected field of sustainable forestry. The curriculum includes both traditional and advanced techniques, blending craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology.

Through project-based assignments, field trips and a rotating roster of expert instructors, students will develop essential woodworking and design skills. They will also gain hands-on experience with a variety of tools, from hand planes to CNC machines, and milling equipment to laser cutters. 

Students leave with a Certificate of Completion.

The Program

The curriculum is divided into four modules, each of which focus on different conceptual and technical lessons for innovations working with wood. Students will benefit from a number of expert instructors, make three furniture pieces, and culminate their time at HatchSpace with a fourth and final furniture piece of their own design.

Module 1: Wood as Material

(Weeks 1 & 2)
Green Woodworking, Hand Skills, Sustainable Wood Harvesting and Crafting Objects with Purpose

  • From day one, students will be making hands-on in our workshop with the first lessons taught through the instruction of a greenwood ladderback chair. Module 1 focuses on why making things matters to our health and sense of purpose not only as individuals but as a society. Students will also be introduced to sustainable silvicultural systems or wood harvesting techniques, which participants will see up close in the field - the forests of Vermont - and understand the impacts of each method on wood products. From felling to the sawmill, students will learn first-hand how wood is harvested from our forest, and gain an awareness of the opportunities and challenges confronting the forest products industry.

    • Wood as a Material: Students will gain an understanding of the fundamental characteristics of wood, including the dynamic qualities of wood moisture and the importance of understanding the basic principles of wood grain.

    • Green Woodworking Techniques: Students will be introduced to green woodworking, which is the use of unseasoned and ‘green’ timber for woodworking projects that still contains a high level of moisture. Students will also learn fundamental ways in which green wood is manipulated, from riving, shaping, bending and joining techniques and using greenwood tools such as a drawknife and shave horse.

    • Forest Visit & Wood Selection: Students will visit a Vermont hardwood forest  and a local sawmill, gaining insight into forestry best practices, what to look for when selecting wood from a lumber yard, as well as greenwood selection principles.

    • Wood Species of Vermont and American Hardwoods: Students will be introduced to the characteristics and traits of wood species harvested in Vermont, the differences between hardwoods and softwoods, and what makes certain woods more desirable for different types of applications. Students will also be introduced to the economic trends, challenges, and topics of importance concerning American hardwoods and forestry products more broadly. 

    • Fundamentals of Hand Skills: Participants will be introduced to and practice the range of core hand skill techniques and tools in woodworking, including the use and tuning of chisels, hand planes, spokeshaves, scrapers, drawknives, and other edge tools, as well as tool sharpening techniques.

  • Students will finish Module 1 with a greenwood ladderback chair complete with a woven seat.

  • Charles Thompson: Charles makes chairs and carvings in a humble workshop on a hill in western Massachusetts, and has been teaching at HatchSpace since 2022. His work reflects on vernacular forms, and uses a mixed vocabulary of techniques, patterns, and materials that speak to the efficacy of hand work. He typically works straight from the log, splitting, bending, manipulating, then rejoining wood in a process that leverages personal intention and celebrates common materials. He senses, in the back of his mind and now in his work, a deepening curiosity as to what could count as his own tradition. Learn more about Charles at his website here.

    Ethan Tapper: Ethan will lead the forest-based workshop. Ethan is a forester, digital creator, and the bestselling author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World. For more than a decade, Ethan has been recognized as a thought-leader and a disruptor in the worlds of forestry, conservation, and ecosystem stewardship, winning multiple regional and national awards for his work. His message of relationship, responsibility and hope reaches millions of people each year through his writing, his social media channels with tens of thousands of followers, and the dozens of walks, talks and keynotes that he delivers across North America each year. In his personal life, Ethan works, writes, hunts, birds at Bear Island, his 175-acre working forest, homestead, orchard and sugarbush, runs three small businesses – Bear Island Forestry, Bear Island Consulting and Bear Island Maple – and plays in his 10-piece punk band, The Bubs. Learn more about Ethan here.

Module 2: Wood Machining Basics

(Weeks 3 & 4)
Intro to milling, machine room safety, principles of joinery & understanding technical drawings for building furniture

  • In Module 2, students will gain the fundamental skills required to manipulate and make wood-based furniture and products in most any woodshop through the project of making a shaker side table. We’ll cover the most commonly used stationary and handheld power tools in workshops today, while also introducing and practicing a broad range of fabrication techniques.

    • Rough Milling: Extending the knowledge gained in visits to the saw mill, students will learn step one of most any woodworking project: squaring a board. Students will be introduced to rough milling machining techniques including on the jointer, planer and table saw.

    • Machine Techniques: Building on their skills from rough milling, students will learn to safely operate the bandsaw, compound miter saw, drill press, router table and belt, edge, spindle & disc sanders.

    • Woodturning: Students will learn to safely operate a lathe and use  gouges to turn a square into a cylinder, and create beads, coves, tapers and round tenons. Once students understand the fundamentals of spindle turning, they may choose to turn legs for their side table project  

    • Project Preparation: Students will learn how to read furniture plans and elevations, create stock lists, calculate board feet and create a list detailing the order of operations for fabrication.

    • Principles of Joinery: Students will be introduced to joinery techniques including edge joints, mortise & tenon, through & blind dovetails, grooves and table top fasteners. 

    • Glue-Up Basics: Students will learn the fundamentals of lamination practices, working with clamps and wood adhesives. 

    • Finish Techniques: Students will gain an understanding of the importance of finish work, from best practices within the sanding process, to the differences between various finish products.

  • Students will make a Shaker side table complete with a drawer. 

  • Heather Tauck: Heather is a woodworker who designs and builds custom furniture and small housewares out of her wood shop in Easthampton, MA. She is a graduate of The Evergreen State College, The North Bennet Street School, and has 10+ years of experience working and learning throughout New England in woodworking. Her furniture is modern and contemporary, and has been described as elegant, vibrant, minimal and thoughtful. Above all, she is interested in making functional art objects that embody handmade quality and highlight the intrinsic beauty of wood. Her works are exhibited in stores and at fine art festivals around Western Massachusetts and beyond. View Heather's work at HT Woodshop and on Instagram.

    Erin Bell: Erin is the owner and operator of Curiosity Woodworks, serving the Upper Valley community and the surrounding New England area since 2017 with sustainable and locally made furniture and woodworking design. Instead of specializing in one certain genre of furniture, Erin revels in the opportunity to work with different clients on bespoke projects that serve their needs and dreams through imaginative design, innovative resourcing and engineering, and classic hand and power tool fabrication. View Erin's work on Instagram.

    Special Topic Instructors:

    Additional instructors will lead special topic workshops within this module, including:

    Tom Bodett, Finishing Work: is a lifelong carpenter and woodworker who founded HatchSpace in 2019. In addition to his successful 40-year career in publishing and broadcasting, he now devotes himself to serving the rural communities he has lived in, and has always lived in. With half of his adult life spent in Alaska and the other half in Vermont, Bodett has learned to appreciate the beauty and the bounty of our natural landscape and the indomitable spirit of the communities that occupy it. Through hands-on effort and philanthropy, Tom and his wife Rita work to leave these places better than they found them, and have learned when to leave well enough alone.

Module 3: Computer-Assisted Techniques

(Week 5)
CAD/CAM Computer Numeric Control (CNC) + Computer Aided Manufacturing applications in woodworking

  • Module 3 serves two purposes: to introduce students to digital fabrication, streamlining design & production for a competitive marketplace while simultaneously opening up creative opportunities that blend computer-aided and traditional techniques. 

    • 3D Design Workflow: An overview of the benefits of drawing in 3D, emphasizing the ability to navigate CAD/CAM systems.

    • Face Frame Cabinetry Basics: Students will learn a method for creating face frame cabinets out of solid woods and sheet goods, the bread and butter of many professional woodworkers. While we will be emphasizing the time-saving opportunities of CNC, there will be ample focus on building without these resources.

    • Tool Path Creation and CNC Operation: Building on the skills learned in Module 2, students will learn the basics of turning a drawing into a cut file and automating routine tasks.

    • Templating Techniques: Students will learn how to take advantage of CNC accuracy for templating and form building.

    • Vacuum Laminating: Students will apply veneer to a CNC cut form

    • Embellishing + Branding: We will explore engraving and texturing using both the CNC and laser cutter to create unique products.

  • All students will make a decorative wall mounted cabinet with a hinged door.

  • Rowan Norlander-McCarty: Rowan is the Director of Operations at HatchSpace. He is a cabinetmaker driven by curiosity and the pursuit of quality. He believes that in melding the industrial, applied, and fine arts, we all have the opportunity to live in a more harmonious, sustainable world. Rowan has worked as a cabinet maker, fabricator, machine operator, custom millwork installer and artist assistant for a range of design studios and creative businesses. A lover of trees from seed to stump, when not in the shop you’ll find Rowan in the forest or the garden.


    Madison Dunaway: Madison has over a decade of experience building community spaces designed to foster innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has taught various community and college level courses in digital fabrication techniques across the east coast. She currently works at Dartmouth College overseeing the DALI Lab.

Module 4: Cabinetry & Casework

(Weeks 6-7-8)
Drawing & Drafting Skills, Casework Design, Advanced & Special Techniques

  • In the final module, students will synthesize the skills gained in the first five weeks of the program to design and build their own unique cabinet on a stand. Starting with pre-determined parameters, students learn to design furniture for longevity and expand on their machine woodworking skills. Students will also benefit from one-off, optional short form workshops on a range of special techniques, as well as have the opportunity for additional tool time in the CNC studio, on the laser cutter, or at other specialized equipment, like the lathes.

    • Casework Design & Drafting: Students will work through an iterative process to sketch, model, and technically draft unique designs for a small cabinet on a stand.

    • Joinery Techniques: Students will build on their joinery techniques and be introduced to new methods, like Japanese joinery. 

    • Door-Making: Students will be introduced to additional drawer and new door-making techniques such as frame and panel and sliding door construction techniques.

    • Joinery and Machine Techniques: Students will continue to build on their hand and machine skills, learning new techniques on the table saw, band saw and router table, among others.

    • Portfolio Management: Students will learn ways to document, photograph and communicate project objectives and results. 

    • Special Technique Workshops: While specific workshops are still being confirmed, areas covered may include Japanese joinery, wood bending and veneer applications, among others.  

  • All students will make a small cabinet on a stand.

  • Heather Dawson: Heather Dawson is a working furniture designer, journeyman cabinetmaker, woodworking instructor and alumna of the Certificate in Furniture Design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and North Bennet Street School, Boston, MA. View Heather's work on her website.

    Heather Tauck: Heather is a woodworker who designs and builds custom furniture and small housewares out of her wood shop in Easthampton, MA. She is a graduate of The Evergreen State College, The North Bennet Street School, and has 10+ years of experience working and learning throughout New England in woodworking. Her furniture is modern and contemporary, and has been described as elegant, vibrant, minimal and thoughtful. Above all, she is interested in making functional art objects that embody handmade quality and highlight the intrinsic beauty of wood. Her works are exhibited in stores and at fine art festivals around Western Massachusetts and beyond. View Heather's work at HT Woodshop and on Instagram.

    Additionally, students will benefit from available one-on-one advisement sessions with: Tom Bodett, Charles Thompson, Rowan Norlander-McCarty, Madison Dunaway and others.

Meet Our Instructors

  • ✺

    Heather Tauck is the Program Leader of the HatchSpace intensive, and a woodworker who designs and builds custom furniture and small housewares out of her wood shop in Greenfield MA. She is a graduate of The Evergreen State College, The North Bennet Street School, and has 10+ years of experience working and learning throughout New England in woodworking. Her furniture is modern and contemporary, and has been described as elegant, vibrant, minimal and thoughtful. Above all, she is interested in making functional art objects that embody handmade quality and highlight the intrinsic beauty of wood. Her works are exhibited in stores and at fine art festivals around Western Massachusetts and beyond. View Heather's work at HT Woodshop and on Instagram.

  • ✺

    Charles Thompson makes chairs and carvings in a humble workshop on a hill in western Massachusetts, and has been teaching at HatchSpace since 2020. His work reflects on vernacular forms, and uses a mixed vocabulary of techniques, patterns, and materials that speak to the efficacy of hand work. He typically works straight from the log, splitting, bending, manipulating, then rejoining wood in a process that leverages personal intention and celebrates common materials. He senses, in the back of his mind and now in his work, a deepening curiosity as to what could count as his own tradition. Learn more about Charles at his website here.

  • ✺

    Tom Bodett is a lifelong carpenter and woodworker who founded HatchSpace in 2019. In addition to his successful 40-year career in publishing and broadcasting, he now devotes himself to serving the rural communities he has lived in, and has always lived in. With half of his adult life spent in Alaska and the other half in Vermont, Bodett has learned to appreciate the beauty and the bounty of our natural landscape and the indomitable spirit of the communities that occupy it. Through hands-on effort and philanthropy, Tom and his wife Rita work to leave these places better than they found them, and have learned when to leave well enough alone.

  • ✺

    Erin Bell is the owner and operator of Curiosity Woodworks, serving the Upper Valley community and the surrounding New England area since 2017 with sustainable and locally made furniture and woodworking design. Instead of specializing in one certain genre of furniture, Erin revels in the opportunity to work with different clients on bespoke projects that serve their needs and dreams through imaginative design, innovative resourcing and engineering, and classic hand and power tool fabrication. View Erin's work on Instagram. 

  • ✺

    Heather Dawson is a working furniture designer, journeyman cabinetmaker, woodworking instructor and alumna of the Certificate in Furniture Design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and North Bennet Street School, Boston, MA. View Heather's work on her website.

  • ✺

    Madison Dunaway has over a decade of experience building community spaces designed to foster innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has taught various community and college level courses in digital fabrication techniques across the east coast. She currently works at Dartmouth College overseeing the DALI Lab.

  • ✺

    Rowan Norlander-McCarty is the Director of Operations at HatchSpace. He is a cabinetmaker driven by curiosity and the pursuit of quality. He believes that in melding the industrial, applied, and fine arts, we all have the opportunity to live in a more harmonious, sustainable world. Rowan has worked as a cabinet maker, fabricator, machine operator, custom millwork installer and artist assistant for a range of design studios and creative businesses. A lover of trees from seed to stump, when not in the shop you’ll find Rowan in the forest or the garden.

  • ✺

    Ethan Tapper is a forester, digital creator, and the bestselling author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World. For more than a decade, Ethan has been recognized as a thought-leader and a disruptor in the worlds of forestry, conservation, and ecosystem stewardship, winning multiple regional and national awards for his work. His message of relationship, responsibility and hope reaches millions of people each year through his writing, his social media channels with tens of thousands of followers, and the dozens of walks, talks and keynotes that he delivers across North America each year.  Learn more about Ethan here.

How to Enroll

No application required. Participants are selected on a first-come, first-served basis.

Our intensive welcomes beginners, though we strongly recommend students complete at least one short-term woodworking class before joining the intensive. We offer a range of short-term classes that can easily be completed before the intensive begins, and we’re happy to advise interested students on which short courses may work best. Please reach out to us to discuss at info@hatchspace.org.

Our intensive is perfect for advanced beginners and intermediate woodworkers looking to take their practice to the next level.

Tuition for Fall 2025 is $6,700. Tuition includes:

  • 300 clock hours of expert instruction

  • 24-hour access to the workshop (though note, students may never work alone)

  • A private and devoted Sjoberg workbench and station in a shared studio workshop that is used only by other students and instructors of the intensive

  • All hand tools, stationary machines and non-consumable equipment

Tuition does not include:

  • Most materials (i.e. most lumber, some elective tools)

  • Consumables (i.e. glue, sandpaper, finishes)

  • Housing or board / food

Scholarships are available.
HatchSpace seeks to make our programs accessible to early career & economically disadvantaged individuals. We also acknowledge how women, LGBTQIA+ community members, and people of color have historically been under-represented and under-celebrated  in trade and craft careers. With this in mind, a limited number of need-based partial scholarships are available. Awards range in amounts up to 75%, though the highest level of awards will be most limited. Those students who wish to be considered for need-based scholarships should indicate their intention on the enrollment form, and we strongly encourage students seeking scholarship funds to apply no later than June 1, 2025. A $600 deposit is still required at time of registration to hold your seat in the program. 

Awards will be determined by June 20 for those who applied by June 1, and any remainder funds distributed on a rolling basis thereafter.

Payment Plans are available.

Deposit Required.
A $600 deposit is required to reserve your seat in the intensive. Our payment plan distributes the cost of tuition across three installments with payments due on the following schedule: 

  • $600 due at time of registration. 

  • $2,033 due by June 25

  • $2,033 due by July 25 

  • $2,033 due by August 25 

Withdrawals, Refunds & Cancellations
A student who withdraws from the course 45 days or more from the start of class will receive 100% of their deposit and fees, less a $95 non-refundable registration fee. No refunds will be issued for withdrawals less than 45 days from the start of the class.

✺ Frequently Asked Questions ✺

  • At this time, HatchSpace does not offer housing directly, however, HatchSpace has many connections to providers of local housing and we can assist any student needing temporary housing in the Brattleboro area in their efforts to secure housing. We invite students who may need assistance in securing housing to be in communication with us at info@hatchspace.org.

  • Yes! As stated above, partial scholarships up to 75% off are available. Please see the “How to Enroll” section above for more information.

  • Amtrak provides service to Brattleboro via The Vermonter train line, and the MOOver! operates bus routes in our region. If one were able to secure housing in the immediate downtown area, it is conceivable that a car might not be required. That said, students should also know that cabs and ride share services are less available in Brattleboro than in cities, and we encourage you to thoughtfully consider these aspects ahead of time. Most people who live in Brattleboro have access to or share a car.

  • We are currently working to develop a materials list and will communicate any tools and equipment that students should secure themselves, to enrolled students.

  • There will be optional activities on some nights and weekends, but attendance at these events will not be mandatory.

  • Our program is designed for adult learners. If you will have finished high school but not yet be 18 by the start of our program (September 8, 2025), we encourage you to reach out to us to discuss before enrolling.

  • Students leave with a Certificate of Completion issued by HatchSpace that verifies the 300 hours of woodworking instruction. At this time, we are not able to offer college credit or credentials.

Why HatchSpace?

Founded in 2019, HatchSpace is home to a growing community of innovators working with wood like no other. We provide access to the tools and training necessary to build what you love, and launch careers in the trades and crafts. As our founder, Tom Bodett says, we’re all at our best when we’re making. Learn more about HatchSpace by watching the video below, and by visiting our About page above.