Although men have historically dominated the craft of woodworking, half of all new woodworking hobbyists are women, according to recently published reports.
Highland Woodworking, formerly known as Highland Hardware, has taught woodworking classes in Atlanta for the past 30 years. Popularity among women has increased to the extent that it now offers classes specifically for budding female woodworkers.
Marilyn MacEwen, author of Woodworking 101 for Women: How to Speak the Language, Buy the Tools & Build Fabulous Furniture from Start to Finish, will appear at Highland Woodworking’s retail store on Saturday, April 14, 2007, to speak about this growing phenomenon, as well as to demonstrate some of the key hand tool techniques she recommends for women, including cutting dovetails, basic use of hand saws and planes, and using marking and measuring tools.
A professional woodworker since 1980, MacEwen builds furniture and home accessories at her studio in Fairview, North Carolina, where she draws upon her love of the forests, mountains, rivers and wildlife surrounding her home to inspire her unique furniture designs. Her customer base extends throughout the country and abroad.
The event on April 14 is part of an ongoing series of free demonstrations known as “Saturday Mornings at Highland”. At 10 AM each Saturday of the year, the Virginia-Highland store offers a free, live, 90-minute demonstration of woodworking skills, tools and techniques presented by instructors from its knowledgeable staff, local woodworking clubs and guilds, manufacturer’s representatives, guest authors, and others.
A schedule describing other upcoming Saturday Mornings at Highland is available online, or you may call the store at 404-872-4466 for information about the current week’s event. Each demonstration is free of charge, and no registration is necessary. Anyone interested in expanding skills and exploring new woodworking techniques is invited to drop in the store at 1045 N. Highland Avenue, NE in Atlanta any Saturday at 10 AM.