Woodworking (Basic Skills Course)

Mission Statement

To deliver expert woodworking instruction that joins practical skills development with creative problem solving to raise the confidence and craftsmanship of each student in a dynamic and inclusive environment.  

PFW Story

Philadelphia Furniture Workshop, founded by Alan Turner in 2006, began as a woodworking school, offering a variety of project based and skill-based courses. Its first class, taught by renowned wood finishing expert Jeff Jewitt, ran in March 2006. Noted author and woodworker Mario Rodriguez joined the school in mid-2006 and taught here until his retirement in mid 2017.

Over the years the course offerings expanded, so that PFW taught not only basic furniture making skills, but also operated at the other end of the spectrum, teaching highly sophisticated pieces, ranging from a Hepplewhite butler’s chest with fitted gallery to an appropriately decorated Federal period card table to a Chippendale corner chair with hand carved ball and claw feet.

In 2014, in order to assure that PFW would continue beyond Alan’s association with it, the school was transformed to a nonprofit, and was granted tax exempt status as a 501-c-3 by the IRS, effective October 2014.

Craig Vandall Stevens joined PFW in July 2017 as its first Executive Director. Craig is a 1993 graduate of the College of the Redwoods where he studied under the legendary James Krenov. He brought with him enormous woodworking skills, together with the experience of having taught furniture making at most of this country’s most prominent woodworking schools for over 25 years, as well as having taught in Japan.

PFW looks to always expand its course offerings so that woodworkers of all skill levels may learn the skills needed for the design and building of furniture, the successful completion of which is its own reward.