But I had taught before. I had taught a few one-on-one sessions in my shop, for hire. Those classes were exhilarating and rewarding, for myself and the student(s). And last spring, building the Morris chair was actually a tandem build with my friend Brett. I was sharing my shop with Brett that year, and he had been commissioned to build a Morris chair for a friend, and as that was on my bucket list, I couldn’t resist building it along with him. Brett was a newer woodworker, and the build ended up being an extended, multi-week tutoring session, where I spent time helping him through his build as I did mine. As I wrote at the time, helping him was an equally big help to me. It reinforced the lesson that teaching is a great way to learn too. I’d also been a woodworking student on many occasions from excellent teachers, and saw how they worked, and how they paced their classes. I recall watching them teach, taking notes, and imagining myself doing the same.
“OK, OK”, I felt ready to teach. I knew I had woodworking skills, experience, and passion to share with students. I knew I would be learning from Dave, and learning from my students. And it was an excellent chance to add more woodworking into my daily life. Dave and I worked on the plan for the school for months, getting together the facility (Dave’s space in Des Plaines, IL), putting together the classes, the website & registration system, the social media stuff, the marketing materials, etc etc. It was all a lot of work, but unlike a lot of work I’ve done in my life, it didn’t fell like work. I was so excited for the outcome that I just dove in and did what needed to be done.
So here we are, finally, and the doors are open. I hope this new chapter will become a big part of my life. If you’re anywhere in the Chicagoland area, and would like to learn woodworking in a great environment from passionate, experienced people, please take a look at what we have to offer. Classes start in a few weeks!
http://midwestwoodworkingschool.com
I will be blogging over there, as I continue to do here. So even if you can’t attend classes but enjoy my ramblings, keep an eye on the blog over there for my writing.