On February 17, 2007, we began our Saturday Mornings at Highland educational program, a series of free woodworking demonstrations every Saturday morning here in our retail store. So far the response has been tremendous.
Our first Saturday featured our own Phil Colson turning toy tops. The crowd quickly overflowed to the second floor with folks watching over the balcony. Phil engaged the crowd with his easygoing manner, answering questions and then going back to the lathe. After teaching turning techniques, Phil switched over to decorating the tops with various pens, inks and finishes. A bunch of kids, young and old, left with some sample tops and having had a great time.
On Saturday the 24th of February, Highland's finishing guru, Sidney Dew, taught easy finishes. As you might have expected, this demonstration was well attended. Since finishing is the area where most of us get in trouble, copious notes were taken. Sidney covered everything from surface preparation and material application to adjusting the final sheen. The question and answer session definitely went over the allotted time much to the delight of frustrated finishers.
Our special guests on Saturday, March 3, were Laveta Hilton and Gaines Burnette from the
Atlanta Woodcarvers Club
. They taught the classic form of spoon carving. Spoon carving has experienced a resurgence in popularity lately with the recent proliferation of cable cooking shows. Laveta and Gaines discussed design considerations, cultural aspects and how spoons can be carved into an almost endless assortment of forms from traditional to contemporary.
Over the next several Saturdays, we'll have free demonstrations on topics such as design software, turning decorative eggs, handplane tuning, Kreg jigs, turning bottle stoppers, and a book signing with Marilyn MacEwen, author of Woodworking 101 for Women: How to Speak the Language, Buy the Tools & Build Fabulous Furniture from Start to Finish . Please check our online schedule at highlandwoodworking.com under the Classes link . We start around 10am and have plenty of free parking. So if youre visiting Atlanta, come on down and enjoy some great woodworking demonstrations. Well even put on a pot of coffee for you.
See the Saturday Mornings at Highland Schedule