A Handcrafted Life: Projects for Daily Use

Dates: 2/22/25 to 6/15/25

Hours: See below…

Deposit: $400

Tuition Remainder: $1400

Full Tuition: $1800

Early Bird Discount:

-$200 if enrolled by 1-15-25

Ages: 18 & Up.

Camping, Directions and Logistics

The things we make end up making us.

By connecting to the material objects in our life, creating them with our own two hands, we imbue an extra layer of meaning. There are the lessons learned, challenges overcome, personal creativity explored and good times shared with others. We can take ownership of the aesthetic that surrounds us and our creativity as we engage more fully in our landscape.

Roots School classes are engaging, relaxed while focused, and through experienced teachers set to catapult you ahead in the skill at hand. Dig into fabric, wood, metal, leather, wool. Use gouges, knives, needles, hammers, rasps, vices, saws, axes and hatchets and more.

There is nourishment in building with your hands.

This course is a series of weekend classes in which you come and craft by hand that which you use in your daily life. This program will foster comfort with the use and maintenance of hand tools. You will find empowerment that you are a capable maker. You will assemble a carving knife and utility knife, sew a leather sheath and a waxed canvas tool roll, weave a basket, fashion a broom, carve a wooden eating bowl and utensils, felt a wool hat, forge a hook.

There is magic in these practical arts.

As you gain skill in making things, they become true expressions of you, both in aesthetics and functionality. These are functional objects that live with you and build a patina of wear and use that builds the character of personal expression and intimacy within our material culture.

2025 Schedule

Class runs from 10am till 6pm on Saturday and folks are welcome to continue crafts after dinner on Saturday, and 9am till 4pm on Sunday, with an hour break for lunch. You are welcome to camp on the land and use the outdoor kitchen. In the first two sessions the group is welcome to sleep in the yurt with a woodstove and use the kitchen in the upstairs shop.

HardwoodBowl Carving, Felted Wool Hats and Small Woodcarving Knife	Feb 22, 23
Bowl Carving pt. 2 and Spoon Carving	March 29, 30
Scandi Utility Knife Construction, Sheath Making and Waxed Canvas Tool Roll	April 19, 20
Black Ash Plaited Baskets- From Log to Basket	May 17, 18
Brooms Broom Making and Basic Blacksmithing-Forging a hook	June 14, 15

Course Curriculum

Handcrafts that you can incorporate into your daily life.

With us and the talents of other instructors, you will:

Weave a black ash basket with Justin Sutera
Forge a hook and manufacture a small carving knife with Brad Salon
Work a wooden eating bowl with Will Nissen
Carve a spoon with Bradley Teeter
Assemble a knife and sew a leather sheath with Laurel Iselin
Felt a winter wool hat and sew a waxed canvas tool roll with Sarah Corrigan
Fashion a broom of broom corn with Hannah Mitchell

Payment Information

Tuition: Tuition is $1800 total, broken into a Deposit and Tuition. There are three payment options for this program to be chosen during enrollment:

Option 1: Pay the Deposit and Tuition in full at Enrollment.

Option 2: Pay the Deposit at Enrollment and then pay the Tuition on the first day of the program, either automatically with your card or through check or cash.

Option 3: Pay the Deposit at Enrollment and then pay the remainder split up on the first of each month from when you enroll until May 1st.

Early Bird Discount: To receive the Early Bird discount, you must be Enrolled before January 15th.

Payment Plan Policy: Please know that if you sign up for a payment plan and drop out midway through the course you are still responsible for the remainder of your balance. If you do not complete your payments on schedule late fees will be assessed.

Refund Policy: Tuition, minus the deposit is refundable up to one month before the beginning of the program.

Grants: Qualifying Vermont residents may apply for Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, (VSAC) Advancement Grants (Previously non-degree grants.) Be aware that VSAC begins its funding cycle in June and January of each year and awards grants on a first-come-first-serve basis while funds last. Please apply early! Students who apply for VSAC grants are asked to submit a non-refundable deposit with your registration form. When the grant is issued at the start of the program, we will refund whatever amount of your deposit is in excess of the tuition. VSAC application forms may be obtained from Vermont Student Assistance Corporation: 1-800-882-4166.