Fellowship Opportunity!
The Fellowship program started in 2019 as the grant-funded Staff Apprenticeship program. Part of the Crafting Diversity Initiative, the program expands students’ exposure to, and understanding of, the breadth of makers in the craft world. Visiting fellows hone their skills alongside students, learn from Craft staff and receive focused mentorship from Director of Fellowships Hunter Elliott. Since 2019, Berea College has provided 26 visiting fellows with a paid staff position and housing near campus for three months of intensive learning and craft exploration. Under Hunter’s leadership, the program has grown and provides dedicated time for each apprentice to design and create a documented and exhibited special project.
Woodcraft
Woodcraft began in 1895 in two different divisions: buildings and furniture. Its earliest design inspirations drew from the material culture of early white settlers to Appalachia.
Today’s 25 Woodcraft students are modernizing and diversifying design expression with a focus on explaining the College’s core values through the work they create. They employ traditional hand tools, power machinery and digitally driven tools like a CNC router and laser engraver. They design and produce objects that explore the College’s Great Commitments while learning to be a part of an inclusive and healthy work culture. Students are encouraged to begin with the tools and techniques they feel the most comfortable with and are provided opportunities to deepen learning and connect their work with academic pursuits. Director of Woodcraft Rob Spiece and Manager Cleo Lewis help them understand the breadth of ways through which they can engage with the world as professionals, and the true strengths of a liberal arts education.
Application Deadline: March 22nd
Application Link in Bio
Join Rob Spiece in Artful Joinery as he sheds light on some techniques for elevating your furniture work with considered joinery details.
Building on the techniques we learned in Foundations of Furniture Making, this class will explore delicate and exacting joinery while building a carefully proportioned side table. The details in this piece highlight the maker's hand at every corner.
Link in our Bio
Over six days, we’ll build a unique dulcimer or tenor guitar from the ground up. Starting with raw materials, we’ll glue up neck blanks and book-match tops – steam bend sides and make all the parts necessary for a beautiful and functional folk instrument.
While we’ll be working in a similar design framework, each instrument will be unique based on material selection and detailing.
I’ve been a musician since I was a teenage punk and a furniture maker for the past twenty years. Over the past year I’ve had enormous fun sticking those two disciplines together – borrowing from each to make some weird little stringed instruments. Over this week, I’ll share what I’ve learned.
Join Rob Spiece for six days of the foundational skills of furniture making. We’ll start this week with three rough boards and finish with a completed table. Along the way, we’ll cover the safe use of woodshop machinery, develop a deep understanding of wood as a material, learn many fundamental joinery techniques, work on our sharpening skills, engage with furniture design, think about processes, and cover multiple approaches to finishing.
The hall table is a vehicle for building sound practices in the woodshop – it’s not necessarily the ultimate goal. With the skills learned in this class you can adapt the methods for any number of furniture pieces. Along each step of the process, I’ll show you multiple ways accomplish a given task depending on the workshop you plan to work in.
We’ll offer two sessions this spring and summer. April 13-18 and July 27- August 1.
In each stool class, between ourselves and students we make about 20 stools over the course of three days. It’s worth the price of admission just to stand amongst the wonderful stack of stools.
On the first day, we use jigs and fixtures to produce uniform & accurate parts. On the second day, we shape by hand and eye - working on the lathe to turn stretchers and at the bench to shape the seat. After that, each stool can take on a life of it’s own becoming each student’s own creation. Everyone makes at least two stools over the course of three days.
Join Rob Spiece & Katie Bister for three days of learning the foundational elements of chair making. March 20-22
THE JOLT
Electric Banjo AVAILABLE NOW! Link in stories!!
This unique banjo is more of a tenor guitar but embodies the classic form. Made in collaboration between Student Craft and Beth Ireland Studios, the Jolt combines a love for natural materials, the tradition of instrument making in Appalachia, and a punk aesthetic that defines our current Woodcraft crew.
Materials
The body is made of segmented walnut rings, turned at the lathe to create a shell. The top and back are made from curly maple, book-matched to highlight the lovely figure. The back is removable to access the pickup, knobs and input jack. The neck is a lamination of maple and walnut.
The knobs were turned from walnut at the lathe, and each copper tail piece carefully cut to shape, sanded and bent by hand. Each bridge is hand-shaped from walnut.
Each headstock is unique and features a mixture of woods in the saw blade marquetry—an original work from Woodcraft designer/maker, Janee ’28.
Tuning
A tenor guitar can be tuned in many ways. Use the supplied tuner to see what your favorite tuning might be.
CGDA, DGBE, GCEA, GDAE, EADG are a few options.
Amplification
The Jolt will work with any guitar amplifier but can also be played as an acoustic.
Strings
D’Addario EJ66 Tenor Guitar Strings
📸 @100percentacetone
📸 @ciahbelle
📸 Tristan!
The DULCI-MATIC
Dulcimer Guitar Available now! Link in stories!!
The Dulci-Matic is a riff on the traditional Appalachian Dulcimer—delivered in a uniquely shaped guitar body. Each instrument is made by hand in small batches by the students at Student Craft and was the product of a rich collaboration with Student Craft and woodturner/sculptor, Beth Ireland.
Materials
The guitar top is a book-match of figured cherry—a wood that will get darker and richer with age. The back is a book-match of air-dried walnut, and the sides are steam-bent walnut. The neck is a lamination of walnut and maple with a maple fingerboard. Each Dulci-Matic has a unique marquetry emblem on the headstock that includes a variety of woods. We’ll release a different headstock icon for each production run of instruments.
Tuning
An open tuning creates a lovely tone and is tuned to DADD. The diatonic scale on the fretboard makes playing this instrument easy and accessible.
Strings
D’Addario EJ66 Tenor Guitar Strings
Each instrument is dated and numbered on the inside label. Enjoy!
📸 @100percentacetone
📸 @ciahbelle
📸 Tristan!
Woodshop Quintet
Rob Spiece, Beth Ireland, Janee ’27, Collin ’26, Ameer ’26, Sylivie ’27
Walnut, maple, Kentucky Coffee Tree, cherry
2025
The Woodshop Quintet includes a dulcimer guitar, an Ukelele, a tenor guitar and an electric banjo and tambour cabinet (with enclosed amp!). These instruments were designed by Director of Woodcraft Rob Spiece in collaboration with visiting artist Beth Ireland and woodcraft students. During the Spring 2025 term, Rob led his students through the instrument design process teaching the skills necessary for production along the way. Bringing instrument making into the woodshop has allowed our students to express both their love and appreciation for heritage and tradition while also expressing decidedly punk aesthetics and values along the way.
Our electric banjo and dulcimer guitars will be available for purchase soon!
📸 @seandoesfilms
📸 @evelensmedley@robert.spiece@thebethisyettocome
So much fun working with @thebethisyettocome in this week’s TURNT class @pinecroftwoodschool
This print was made with the spiked bracelet I bought in St Marks Place, NYC circa 1997- then wrapped around a few turned rings. Brought it all together with a wooden spiked collar and broomcorn mohawk.
Many thanks to @evelensmedley for the nice photo!
