Monday 3rd - Friday 7th July 2023
This one-week course is aimed at makers who are relatively new to woodworking and want to expand their knowledge and craft skills, as well as woodworkers who wish to extend their learning through new and contemporary techniques of furniture making.
The Colfen coat stand is an award-winning design by Aled Lewis and is in production in the USA. It will be available in the UK very soon, and this course offers an exclusive opportunity to make a copy while gaining insight and knowledge from the designer.
Each day will focus on a different stage in the making process and will progress at a “lively” pace. Participants will be shown the process of steam bending, and through a series of talks and demonstrations, Aled will teach the principles of steam bending and explain how and why it works. The teaching will progress to joinery and finishing.
Participants will learn to mark out and cut half lap, mortis and tenon joinery, surface preparation, glue up, assembly and final finishing. With a mix of traditional hand skills and basic machinery (bandsaw, router, table router), participants will learn new techniques that can be replicated in reasonably equipped workshops and studios.
Please note: The coat rack is 1.7 meters tall and can be flat-packed. All participants will need to take their final item away, or arrange for it to be transported.
As part of your course, you will get to experience a bespoke garden tour of the beautiful gardens at Highgrove, led by one of His Majesty The King Charles III's experienced guides.
Aled Lewis has 45+ years of professional experience designing and making products and furniture. He was the lead instructor at the Centre for Furniture Craftsmanship in the USA for 10 years and continues to teach in the USA and other institutions around the world. He holds a Bespoke Guild Mark and has shown work in US and UK galleries. His profile has been featured in Furniture and Cabinet Making magazine and Fine Woodworking.
The sale of Highgrove Products, Garden Tours and Events support and enable the life and work of The Prince’s Foundation.
