The Krenov School of Fine Woodworking at Mendocino College is pleased to announce its 2026 Midwinter Show. Recognized internationally for its keen and sensitive approach to craftsmanship, the school will feature exceptional works of furniture from the first semester of its 9-month program. The show runs from January 31st until February 8th at Northcoast Artists Gallery in downtown Fort Bragg.
Furniture making is a discipline increasingly defined by computers, machines, and a speed-of-production ethos. By sharp contrast, the Krenov School offers a deeply thoughtful and intimate approach to form, material, and tactility. The mundane interactions with furniture that often go unconsidered are elevated here: The simple act of opening a drawer or closing a cabinet door is imbued with detail that you may not be able to see or articulate, but which you can feel. The pieces produced here convey warmth and an element of sweetness, both of which are hallmarks of the work of the school’s founder and namesake, James Krenov.
Each year, 23 people from all over the world come to Fort Bragg to train in this special environment. The school attracts students from a variety of professional disciplines — from architects, engineers, designers, and carpenters to veterinarians, sculptors, teachers, and tradespeople. The diversity of each class is reflected in the work produced, with projects that range from classic Krenovian cabinets to original chair designs to work that challenges conventional forms and categories.
Krenov was about 60 years old when he founded the school, notes Laura Mays, Professor of Fine Woodworking and former student of Krenov. “This was like a second life for him.”
Mays hails from Ireland and came across Krenov’s books in a Dublin bookshop. “I did a Google search and found a very basic website for the school.” Before she knew it, she was on a bus, traveling to Fort Bragg on Highway 20. “I remember thinking, ‘What am I doing? This can’t possibly be the road to anywhere,” she smiles. “I thought to myself, ‘If I don’t like it, I can just go home.’” She enrolled for a two-year program in 2003, taking instruction from Krenov during her first year- his final year of teaching. Mays had completed her education in architecture prior to attending the school, and though she’d enjoyed the schooling, she didn’t find the work satisfying. But wood called to her. “I’d taken a woodworking course in Ireland and had a little business. When I came across James’ books, they really resonated.”
Mel Weber’s legged box is almost entirely veneered. The show takes place at the Northcoast Artists Gallery from January 31st until February 8th. (Carole Brodsky — Ukiah Daily Journal)Mays returned to Ireland following completion of the course and returned to lead the school in 2011, where she is now the de facto director. All of the staff- shop manager Todd Sorenson and woodworking teachers Greg Smith, Ejler Hjorth-Westh, and Jim Budlong are graduates of the program.
The school was designed to accept 23 students. Enrollment numbers dropped during the pandemic, but the school is back to full enrollment. This year, there are 17 first-year students and 6 second-year students.
With its world-class reputation, the school attracts a diverse range of students, bringing with them a variety of interests and reasons for spending one year or two, moving to a small, rural community, and dedicating 6 days per week to the course. “Unfortunately, there tend not to be many Mendocino County residents who enroll. About half are from California, and the rest are from all over the country and the world. We have a student from Austria, one from Israel, and we have had people from many countries. James’ books got around, she continues. About half the applicants mention his books in their applications. The other half is familiar with the school.” One of May’s students, Taimi Barty, teaches the Advanced Woodworking Course at Mendocino High School, and Mays is hopeful that one of Barty’s students will want to continue their education at the Krenov School.
People come to the school with varying degrees of woodworking experience. “Students spend the first 6 weeks doing exercises, making tools, and familiarizing themselves with the machines and ethos of the school. Then it’s off to making their own projects.”
One of the main things Mays teaches is respect for wood. “This leads to craftsmanship. Respecting the nature of the material, paying attention. Looking at the iterative possibilities of wood- the plane facing one way instead of another. Not allowing assumptions to take over the process. The making of a piece is like a journey- we have an idea how to get there and might be diverted if necessary. The journey is part of the point.”
Second-year student Louis Faivre used a Toyota Tacoma to run over a prototype joint for the chair he’s constructing. The former Boeing employee hopes to start his own furniture company following completion of the course. (Carole Brodsky — Ukiah Daily Journal)The Krenov ethos is based on tenets found in all the great crafts, learning gradually and going slow. “There’s a constant paradox between speed and slowness,” Mays continues. “I encourage students to go as slow as it takes, with, of course, the expectation of completion of a project. It’s really about doing something well for its own sake. Our school goes slower than any place I’m aware of, and I believe that’s a good thing. In doing that, students achieve a higher standard. We encourage students to do something as well as you possibly can- then, when you go out into the world, you can make whatever compromises you must make, having known that you have tasted that sense of completion.”
The point of the school is not just creating a finished product. “So much of what we do is about the person doing the work. Most people are aware of what they’re getting into when they come here- a year of being immersed in this experience where you can reach this high level of craftsmanship.” Very occasionally, someone leaves the program- usually because of a personal conflict.
The students are tasked to create one project per semester. The first one says Mays must follow four guidelines. “It must be small, sweet, solid, and simple.” “Small” can be negotiated, but in general, students’ first projects are something they could pick up and hold with both hands. Students may purchase wood from the school’s exquisite collection of native and non-native wood. “Local wood is purchased from little millers around the area. We buy madrone from a man in Oregon who’s perfectly worked out the drying technique.” Much of the wood is air-dried, and thankfully, the school has been the recipient of generous bequests of excellent wood.
David Pfeiffer’s jewelry cabinet is nearly complete. The shape, on its face, is a simple rectangle, but upon further inspection, one sees that the entire cabinet is subtly, beautifully curved- taking the eye to a central point- an ebony pull. “There were many interesting challenges creating this box, where all points come to this door. This was a new idea I wanted to explore. It’s more of a black hole than a traditional cabinet.”
The classrooms consist of individual workbenches for each student, and unlike so many environments, there is no music- just the tapping and scraping of people using tools. Krenov often mentioned that he felt that wood was alive, and the workshop is brimming with a quiet, Zen-like sense of presence and otherness. The machine room harkens back to another time, with most of the machines pre-dating the opening of the school in the 1980’s. “Some of the machines were constructed in the mid-century- that really heavy cast-iron stuff from the 1940’s. The heavier, the better,” says Mays. “There are no CNCs. There is no computerized equipment. “One of the only new pieces of equipment we’ve purchased was a table saw, which has sensors that stop the blades instantly if they touch flesh.”
Students have opportunities to learn the fine art of veneering. Mel Weber is creating a legged box out of Kwila wood. “Almost the entire piece, except the legs are veneered,” Weber explains. “I started with edge bands and laminated them all around to make a better surface. These sheets are thicker than most veneers. I laminated them together with different woods on both sides. This prevents expansion and contraction once it’s all put together.”
Second-year student Louis Faivre was living in Seattle, working as an engineer for Boeing prior to enrolling at the school. This year, he’s creating a chair- probably one of the most challenging pieces of furniture one could attempt. “We generally encourage students not to make chairs,” smiles Mays. It’s taken Faivre months to create multiple prototypes, but he’s hopeful he will have the chair completed for the Midwinter show. The body of the chair contains a beautiful, “odd” joint. “I built a test version, and we ran over it with a Toyota Tacoma.” It held. Now he is putting the finishing touches on the frame and preparing for his next challenge: upholstering.
Not every student intends to become a full-time woodworker. Some are here, taking sabbaticals from other types of work. Others, like Faivre, see wood in their future. “I’m really going to try to make it as a furniture maker,” he smiles.
“Krenov once said that the word ‘amateur’ can be translated to ‘love.’ “It’s about people carrying on the work in any way they can- whether they are a hobbyist or professional. Some people set up shops, with kitchen work being most lucrative. Others go on to become woodworking teachers. Some go on to other degrees. There are dozens of things that people go on to do that are woodworking-adjacent,” says Mays.
Mays emphasizes how grateful she is that the school continues to be part of the Mendocino College family. “This means that for Californians, the program fees are very low. The program is accessible to many people. I’m pleased that this is the way it landed, and thankful to the college for supporting the program and truly seeing the value of what it is.”
James Krenov’s daughter still lives nearby and keeps in touch with the school. “She is a big fan. She always comes to our shows, and we visit her to see some of her dad’s furniture.” Mays is very aware that she is the bearer of an important legacy. “It’s a balance between keeping it alive while always being respectful.” The further we stray from the hand-made world, the more important Mays feels schools like this will become. “As we stay the same here, we become more relevant. This school is like a seed bank- holding onto skills and ways of thinking that took thousands of years to develop.”
Personally, Mays feels like there was one job on the planet she was perfect for, and luckily, she found it. She makes time to work on her own projects- some of which will be on display at the show, along with work by her colleague and co-instructor Ijler Hjorth-Westh. And what does she enjoy making? “Little cabinets,” she smiles.
Mays recalls looking at one of Krenov’s books many years ago. It contained a photo of the detail he created on the back of a drawer- the part that no one ever sees. “I saw that photo and thought, ‘That’s where I want to be.’”
The Midwinter Show will be open to the public from January 31st through February 8th, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily at Northcoast Artists Gallery, 362 North Main Street in Fort Bragg. Please join the Krenov School’s Class of 2026 at the public reception on Friday, February 6th, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., part of Downtown Fort Bragg’s First Friday Art Walk.
Learn more at thekrenovschool.org or follow @thekrenovschool on Instagram. To view thoughts and work by Laura Mays, visit lauramays.com.
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