The Vermont Wood­work­ing School is a fine wood­work­ing and furni­ture-design school offer­ing educa­tion in both tradi­tional wood­work­ing tech­niques and contem­po­rary build­ing methods. Our core offer­ing is our four-semes­ter Immer­sion Program, which teaches students to design and build wooden furni­ture of their own design. The program begins in its first semes­ter with students build­ing a Shaker table and then design­ing & build­ing their own small table; the second semes­ter students design and build a wall-hung cabinet that includes a drawer and a door; the third semes­ter students design and build a case­work piece with at least three drawers; and the fourth semes­ter students design and build a chair that incor­po­rates compound angles and uphol­stery into the design. We aim to educate the next gener­a­tion of wood­work­ers who will carry on tradi­tional tech­niques into the modern world.

Current instruc­tors: Mario Messina, Brian Bright, and Terre Morrison

Cather­ine Emil & Jared Williams completed the Immer­sion Program in 2018 and together founded a custom furni­ture company, Towards Night­fall. After two years running Towards Night­fall, Cather­ine and Jared returned to the Vermont Wood­work­ing School as Direc­tor and Direc­tor of Operations.

Cather­ine is dedi­cated to ensur­ing that all students get a top-notch educa­tion and leave school with a love of wood­work­ing. Cather­ine directs the school’s day-to-day oper­a­tions, provides strate­gic plan­ning over­sight, and fosters the orga­ni­za­tion’s part­ner­ships. Before coming to Vermont, Cather­ine worked in the cultural sector in New York City. She grad­u­ated from Dart­mouth College.
Jared is passion­ate about educat­ing the next gener­a­tion of wood­work­ers. You can find him walking around the shop all day long giving helpful advice at student benches. As Direc­tor of Oper­a­tions, Jared ensures that the facil­ity runs smoothly and that all tools and mate­ri­als are avail­able when needed. Before moving to Vermont, Jared was honing his wood­work­ing skills and crafts­man­ship in Nebraska and Texas.