The highly anticipated Fine Woodworking Show & Sale comes to downtown Nelson on May 23 to 25, with this year’s class eager to show off the incredible creativity coming out of the shops on the Silver King Campus.
Starting Friday at 9 am at the Nelson Trading Company (430 Baker Street), the 22 students in this year’s Fine Woodworking Program cohort have some incredible custom-built pieces of furniture that display artistry and skill.
“It’s a fun experience to see people’s reactions to your work, how different people interact with the furniture,” says student Isabelle Keeling.
The show runs Friday until 9 pm with the opening gala taking place between 7 pm and 9 pm. Students and instructors will then be back Saturday (9 am to 5 pm) and Sunday (9 am to 4 pm). The entire community is invited and select pieces will be available for purchase.
As students were putting the final touches on their projects, we caught up with 18-year-old Keeling and her classmate Jake Aharoni amidst the sawdust and excitement of one of Canada’s most renown fine working programs.
Learning to Build Off of Mistakes
Jake Aharoni grew up just north of Toronto and spent considerable time outdoors. He went to a high school with a woodworking program and then moved to Whistler to become a snowboard instructor. The 23-year-old came to Selkirk College after finding out about the quality program that was offered in Nelson.
Why did you choose this as your program of study?
I wanted to study this at post-secondary and there were two programs that I identified. After research, I chose Selkirk College because it covered more topics and you earn credit for the cabinet maker trade training component of apprenticeship. That, and Whitewater. It was a mix of still being able to snowboard and also attend the best program in Canada.
I love building things and I love crafting. Creating, designing, planning and building a project is really appealing to me. Working with wood is really something important to me and being in a shop building cabinets and furniture appeals to me.
What impacted you the most in your time in the FWW Program?
Building resilience. At the beginning of the year, I would hit a wall and that would stop me for a half hour until I talked to the instructors [David Ringheim and Scott Stevens]. Now, when I make big mistake or hit a wall, I’m able to fix it myself really quickly. Being able to have the confidence and knowledge to try different things is important because there is not always one answer. I have been given the ability to adapt to the better.
Tell us about the pieces you will be presenting at the year-end show?
The first one is my dovetail box, which I love so much. That was hand-cut dovetails intro to the craft because the dovetail is the pinnacle of fine woodworking. We were using hand tools and it was great to learn how to use those properly. It’s a walnut and maple box with a walnut top and maple sides. It’s the favourite piece that I have made so far, I keep it on my bedside table.
My table is made of cherry and walnut. There is a lot of angles and curves that includes some really cool and challenging design aspects to it. My legs go up to a box shelf and it has the illusion that it continues through. The shelves and the drawers are all angled, so it was a really big challenge and it took me a long time. When I was planning it, the instructors warned me about the difficulty of what I was wanting to accomplish and it was tough. So I am proud of that.
When you complete your training, what is the next step?
I will actually be moving to New Zealand. My partner is from New Zealand and we are going to move to Wanaka which is the ski town. I got a cabinet making job and a high-end kitchen/cabinet manufacturing operation. It’s my first time working in the industry and I am really excited about it.
What should the outside world know about this program?
There is a really good blend of people in this program. The age range is from 17 to 70, so there is a diverse group and range of experiences. The class comes from so many different backgrounds and have such a range of goals. Some people want to make this a hobby and others are looking to make it a career. It creates a really good environment for creative and construction. There are a lot of different perspectives when we do our critiques.
We are all getting the same education and working with the same materials, but we have 22 completely different cabinets out there on display. It’s pretty awesome to see.
Taking On Challenges to Push Skill Level
Isabelle Keeling was born in Calgary and moved to Castlegar when she was eight. A graduate of Stanley Humphries Secondary with the Class of 2024, the 18-year-old made her way to Nelson to start in a trade that she hopes to continue onto earning a Red Seal.
Why did you choose this program as your area of study?
I’ve always loved woodworking. I started when I was 13 in high school and it’s something that my parents do as a hobby, so I have access to tools. I wanted to further my skills and expand my creativity.
I wasn’t really sure that I wanted to pursue this at post-secondary until I found out about this program and this was available. Then I knew that this is what I wanted to do.
What impacted you the most in your time in the FWW Program?
Struggling through mistakes was the biggest part of learning. You learn how to cope and get back on track faster and faster. I am noticing a lot in making my cabinet right now, that one little mistake is not a big deal anymore because I know how to fix it and move forward rather than just worry about it the whole time.
Tell us about the pieces you will be presenting at the year-end show?
I made my box to look like the night sky because I have always really liked stars, so that was really fun. It also gave me the opportunity to try marquetry which I was really excited about because that is not something that you usually have access to.
For my table, I wanted to challenge myself and try angled joinery, so my legs are on an angle. All my projects are really just trying something new and seeing what I can accomplish with new techniques. That is the idea with my cabinet where I am putting records in the doors and using an unconventional material with wood.
When you complete your training, what is the next step?
I would like to work in a cabinet shop and then go onto my Level 3 and Level 4 cabinet maker apprenticeship which is offered at BCIT. I really like the whole designing and building aspect of this trade, to create something and see it come to life is very rewarding.
What should the outside world know about this program?
At first it was pretty intimidating for me because it is a big shop. But the instructors here are great people and extremely supportive. Having them as mentors is really important.
Also, the range of ages and experience in this program makes the program unique. You get so many different people in this program and it all comes together as you to through it.
There’s a lot of creativity in this program and that is my favourite part. You can pretty much do whatever you want, it might need to be tweaked to make it possible, but the program makes you capable of doing it.
Learn more about the Selkirk College Fine Woodworking Program.
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