Continuing Education Courses
Meet Your Instructors
LUKE BARNETT
WINDSOR CHAIRMAKER & PRESIDENT
SPECILIZATIONS
Green Woodworking
Windsor Chairs
Fine Furniture
Luke is a wood artisan that specializes in traditional American Windsor chairs. He has won awards and been featured in internationally published magazines. Early American Life Magazine named Luke as Top American Craftsman in the Windsor chair making field for 3 consecutive years. His chairs have been displayed in the traveling Smithsonian museum exhibit called “The Way We Work”. Luke was a featured speaker at 2018 International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta, Georgia. His speech titled “Be the Spark” focused on engaging students at younger ages through community outreach. Learn more about Luke Barnett at www.barnettchairs.com
LOGAN BALIS
ARITST IN RESIDENCE
SPECIALIZATIONS
Fine Furniture
Spoon Carving
Logan Balis is a recent graduate of the Wood Design program from Greenville, Michigan. He currently resides in his van here just south of Adrian in Fairfield with a family that has adopted him while he was in school. They influenced his life to be responsible and patient, which therefore influenced his work ethic in the shop. When he was 13, he started a small lawn/light landscaping business as the “Backyard Barber.” He began this business with a $50 push mower. After 7 years, the business grew and eventually Logan owned a full set up with all of the modern day equipment. With a few years of doing odd jobs with lawns and landscapes, he gained a deep interest in gardens but specifically sustainable gardens and agriculture. After graduating high school in 2022, Logan took a gap year. During that time, he found the Wood Design program and enrolled immediately after a visit. He is a curious student seeking hand skills and knowledge in all crafts fields.
MICHAEL BELZOWSKI
MASTER CARPENTER
SPECIALIZATIONS
Carpentry
Steam Bending
Mike is an award-winning master carpenter with over 35 years of experience. He has studied with some of the great craftsmen of our time, including Sam Maloof, Frank Klausz, Stephen Proctor, Michael Fortune and Steve Latta. In 2008, Mike completed the Masters Program at Marc Adams School of Woodworking. His work has been featured in Fine Homebuilding and profiled by Festool USA in their Presents video series. He frequently demonstrates woodworking techniques at wood shows and guilds in the Midwest region. He owns and operates Belzowski Woodworking and Design, located in Northwest Indiana. Mike lives on 60 acres in LaPorte County with his wife Nora, their two children, Mira and Zeke, and two dogs, two cats and four chickens. In his free time, Mike enjoys biking, baking and beekeeping.
MATTHEW BICKFORD
WOODWORKER & AUTHOR
SPECIALIZATIONS
Hand Planes
Matthew S. Bickford began working wood as a hobbyist interested in period work. He soon became intrigued with moulding planes, specifically hollows and rounds, as a means to being able to copy or create specific profiles. After spending a moderate amount of time with antique planes, he started making his own. This pursuit ultimately lead to his career as a maker of 18 th-century British reproduction planes. Matt is the author of Mouldings in Practice, published by Lost Art Press. He also worked with Lie-Nielsen Toolworks to release a DVD with the same name. Both book and DVD illustrate the process of creating any moulding profile with a simple set of tools. He has also taught at various woodworking schools from Maine to Washington and authored several articles for various woodworking magazines. Fascinated by the flexibility that these hand tools afford, Matt has been pursuing customers since 2010 through his work and website, www.msbickford.com.
ARMANDO COVARRUBIAS JR
FURNITURE MAKER & GRADUATE INTERN
SPECIALIZATIONS
Fine Furniture
Custom Leatherwork
Armando Covarrubias Jr is a furniture maker originally from Arrey, New Mexico. After many years working in the food science and agriculture industry with his family, he made the decision to change careers and attend the Wood Design: Furniture Making program at Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute. He builds custom-made furniture by combining hand tools, craftsmanship, and modern machinery. He has always loved working with his hands. He spent most of his life working on his family farm in the chili fields or building and welding farm equipment for their manufacturing facilities. This lifestyle naturally accommodated to a strong sense of community, and Armando developed patience to watch a seed grow into a fully matured crop. An organic career transition for him was furniture making with a lot of the same principles he has always been so drawn towards. Moving forward, he aspires to design and build commission furniture.
ZACK FEALK
FURNITURE MAKER & LEAD INTRUCTOR
SPECIALIZATIONS
Fine Furniture
Historic Home Remodels
Zack is from Detroit, Michigan and graduated from MSU with a BS in Natural Resource Management. He is also a graduate of the Wood Design: Furniture Making program at the SBWI. Outside of the woodshop, he facilitates historic home remodels in the city of Detroit and builds custom furniture pieces. Zack is dedicated to learning other woodworking disciplines, including traditional timber framing, chairmaking, and advanced joinery skills. Zack’s goal is to push himself through design and building techniques that will allow him to prosper as a maker. Woodworking is a constant learning process, and he is eager to be a lifelong student. He is the Lead Instructor of the Wood Design program and teaches several specialty courses at SBWI. Zack was recently awarded a honoree of the Woodworking Network “40 Under 40 Awards" Class of 2024.
ALEXANDER GRABOVETSKIY
MASTER WOODCARVER
SPECIALIZATIONS
Classical Wood Carving
Carving in Grinling Gibbons Style
Architectural & Ornamental Carving
Alexander Grabovetskiy was recognized as the 2012 International Wood Carver of the year, and his piece Wall Decoration was awarded first place. His work utilizes the same approaches used for centuries by master woodcarvers, including techniques employed by Grinling Gibbons. In 2015 Alexander Grabovetskiy was Editors’ Choice to be Awarded with Woodworking Excellence in category: Turnings, Carvings & Objets d’Art by Popular Woodworking Magazine.
Grabovetskiy was born on July 4, 1973, in the Russian town of Dimitrovgrad. His grandfather taught him basic woodcarving techniques at six-years old, and at 16 he was taken on as an apprentice by renowned carver Vladimir Tokarev. Due to his faith and his refusal to enlist in the Soviet Armed Forces, Grabovetskiy was imprisoned by the Soviet authorities. He was freed after two years as part of an Amnesty International campaign for prisoners of faith incarcerated by the USSR. In prison he began a business making furniture and kitchen sets, and finding no work upon his release at the age of 21 years, he continued on to run his own woodworking enterprise.
In 1996, Grabovetskiy immigrated as a political refugee to the United States together with his wife Nadia and their 10-month-old son. The woodworking and custom home building business that he established in Goshen, Indiana, Aalmark LLC, employed a number of expert craftsmen who were also Christian refugees from the former Soviet Union. He currently works in South Florida.
MARY MAY
WOOD CARVER
SPECIALIZATIONS
Wood Carving
Architectural Moldings
European trained woodcarver, Mary May, has been carving for over 30 years and currently works out of her studio in Charleston, South Carolina, specializing in traditional, classical woodcarving. She takes on carving commissions from furniture makers, designers, and architects as well as creates her own designs. Mary teaches woodcarving at a variety of schools throughout the US and Europe and has her own online, video-based carving school -www.marymaycarving.com. She recently completed her first book, Carving the Acanthus Leaf (published through Lost Art Press), and has written articles for Popular Woodworking, Fine Woodworking, Woodcarving Illustrated, and the Society of American Period Furniture Makers. Mary has also appeared as a guest on Roy Underhill's PBS Show, The Woodwright's Shop four times. Her desire in all that she shares is to help keep this beautiful and traditional art alive and vibrant. Learn more about Mary May at www.marymaycarving.com/carvingschool/
STEVEN MCCARROLL
DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT/WOODWORKING WARRIOR
SPECIALIZATIONS
End Grain Butcher Block Cutting Boards
CNC Creations
Laser Engraving
Chili
Steve is a SBWI Alumni and woodworking hobbyist, who has always had an interest in woodworking. It wasn't until about three years ago that he truly decided to jump into the craft after serving in the US Army for the previous 24 years. Since then, he has created McCarroll Custom Cutting Boards where he enjoys designing unique patterns with a mix of domestic and exotic wood species. In 2022 Steve joined the Wood Design: Furniture Making program, and graduated on June 4th, 2023 with a 4.0 GPA.
He is an avid sports fan who vigorously roots for all Detroit teams and the University of Michigan. He's a glutton for punishment! He also enjoys hunting, fishing, and outings with his fellow veterans.
Steve is a member of Woodworking for Warriors and his proudest moment in the wood shop is when his Woodworking Warrior peers voted him as both the Best Teacher and Most Helpful in 2021.
JOE MILLER
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
SPECIALIZATIONS
Design, analysis and fabrication of traditional heavy timber structures
Licensed P.E.in MI, WI, MN, KS, MO, IN, IA, NC, GA, OK, TN. P.Eng. in BC, AB, and ON.
In 2009, before the ink dried on Joe’s Ph.D., he joined the Fire Tower team, where he will continue his groundbreaking work on keyed beams.
Joe’s interest in timber framing grew from a project he took on with his father, rebuilding an ancestral barn in southern Indiana. In Joe's freshman year at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, he attended a lecture by Ben Brungraber. Ben must have said something inspiring, because Joe ventured forth on an ambitious track that eventually led to a Masters in Civil Engineering at University of Wyoming. While in school, Joe conducted innovative research on the strength of wooden dowels - findings that significantly advanced the acceptance of timber frame construction among engineers and code officials.
Masters degree in hand, Joe had a two-year stint with Yankee Barn Homes in New Hampshire, doing engineering, lateral analysis, drafting and frame design. Next came a spell with Trillium Dell Timberworks in Illinois, where he refined his design, engineering and cutting skills in the shop. Meanwhile, Joe sought out a school where he could undertake intensive research on key laminated beams. Michigan Technological University gave him the green light, and now Joe has a Doctorate of Philosophy in Civil Engineering for his analytic methodology for the design and engineering of keyed beams. Concurrent to his advanced studies, Joe privately consulted on timber frame designs and taught on-line courses for Norwich University in Advanced Structural Analysis.
Joe’s trailblazing through the industry has led him to Fire Tower, a team that shares his passion for extending the reach of solid sawn timber.
PATRICK MOORE
COMPAGNON PASSANT CHARPENTIER
SPECIALIZATIONS
Stereotomy
Preservation Carpentry
Patrick is Le Canadien 'L'Ami du Trait', the first North and South American Compagnon Passant Charpentier. His passion and ambition are to revive the "School of Practical Stereotomy Applied to Construction" founded by Compagnon Charpentier Pierre Guillon, (1871-1923). Mr. Guillon was a Master Carpenter, Professor, Mayor, and Freemasonic Dignitary. Patrick is North and South America's first and only Compagnon Passant Charpentier that completed the 'Tour-de-France' and was received by the 'Compagnons Passant Charpentier' (2013). He received a Masters from 'La Grande École des Hommes de Métier en Compagnonnage' in Carpentry. Patrick finished an apprenticeship program in Canada - Red seal certificate (2009) - and at St. Lawrence College - Advanced Carpentry Apprenticeship (2009). He received Algonquin College Diplomas - Heritage Masonry (2005) and Heritage Carpentry (2007) and has written articles on the Compagnonnage and Art du Trait for the Timber Framers Journal and Scantlings. He is registered with the CCQ and hold 'Carte de Competance' for Quebec. Patrick is a member of the Association des Compagnons du Devoir Guild in France, the Timber Framers Guild of North America, the Carpenter Fellowship in the U.K., The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America - Local 93, and the Heritage Carpentry Advisory Committee at the Algonquin College Perth Campus. Learn more about Patrick at www.historicalcarpentry.com
CAROLYN RACINE
INSTRUCTOR
SPECIALIZATIONS
Women’s Woodworking Classes
Fine Furniture
Upholstery
Carolyn grew up 20 minutes from SBWI and studied Creative Writing at The University of Michigan. After college, she moved to California and spent the next 11 years doing stand up and sketch comedy, writing for shows at UCB and The Pack Theater, and managing a very busy restaurant in Los Angeles. Sometime after the pandemic she found herself pretty burnt out and took a few woodworking classes for fun at Allied Woodshop. She immediately fell in love with being in a wood shop and making things. Carolyn's mom told her about SBWI's diploma program and, after touring the school, she was eager to pack up her Honda Fit, drive back home and be a student of the trade while living close to family. As the year-long program comes to an end, Carolyn is not sure she will ever make the drive back to the West Coast. Along with teaching courses at SBWI, Carolyn is also working towards opening a custom upholstery business.
KATRINA TOMPKINS
FURNITURE DESIGNER & INSTRUCTOR
SPECIALIZATIONS
Furniture Design
Education
Katrina Tompkins is a Canadian furniture designer, maker and educator living between Newfoundland and Ontario. Her work explores regional craft histories, folklore and vernacular furniture. Katrina is currently developing a collection of heritage-inspired wooden toys through community interviews and heritage studies in rural Newfoundland. Katrina graduated from the Furniture Studio at Sheridan College (2009) and completed a Master of Design degree at OCAD University in Toronto (2019). She has spent time apprenticing in the shops of leading craftsmen Michael Fortune (Ontario) and Mike Paterson (Newfoundland) and ever learning at Anderson Ranch, Haystack Mountain, the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and Lost Art Press. Katrina is the grateful recipient of the Herman Miller Award, the Sam Maloof scholarship, The Chairmakers Toolbox scholarship and more. Katrina’s Finefolk seating series is part of the Fogo Island Workshop’s second collection, which launched at Supersalone Milan Furniture Fair in Italy in 2021. The Finefolk Chair was first shared in Philadelphia at the Museum for Art in Wood, Making a Seat at the Table exhibition in 2019. Katrina is passionate about design and exploring ideas through making.
EARL TORGERSON
MASTER WOODWORKER/INSTRUCTOR
SPECIALIZATIONS
Residential Carpentry
Building Energy Efficient Homes
Earl has taught Residential Carpentry at Bismark State College for 27 years and built 28 homes with carpentry students. His homes have been recognized by the EPA’s Homes Across Amcerica for excellence in energy efficiency and design. He is a Master Trainer for the National Center for Construction and Education and Research. Earl is also a Certified Green Building Professional and received his “Master Wood Worker” certificate from the prestigious Mark Adams School of Woodworking (a woodworking school second only to the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute). He developed curricula for Residential Construction, Commercial Construction, Green Building and Technology, and Fine Woodworking for BSC. Earl has also worked with charities in developing countries with God’s Child Project and developed a Carpentry Program at the Scheels Center Trade School in Antigua, Guatemala. He also developed a curriculum for Economic Development teaching carpentry skills in third world nations with the Narrow Gates Exchange Program located in Tennessee. When not building energy efficient homes, woodworking, or leather working, Earl enjoys mushing is Canadian Eskimo Sled Dogs, and was even a volunteer at the famous Iditarod Race in Alaska.
JEFF WYATT
WINDSOR CHAIRMAKER
SPECIALIZATIONS
Chairmaking
Writing
When Jeff Wyatt is not working in the oil refinery, you would find him in his workshop shop in Middle Tennessee. Jeff has been published in numerous magazine articles including This Old House Magazine and American Association of Woodturners. He has taken numerous classes with Greg Pennington, Jeff Lefkowitz, David Ellsworth, and Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute’s own Luke Barnett.
GARY ZIMNICKI
LUTHIER
SPECIALIZATIONS
Guitar Making
Watching the grand kids
Over the last 30 years, I’ve built my fair share of instruments. Each instrument has given me an opportunity to hone my craft and expand my skillset. Building completely unique instruments without any set models or guidelines has been challenging, but it has allowed me to offer something that most other manufacturers cannot: complete control over your instrument.
View All Guitar Making Courses
Learn more about Gary Zimnicki at www.zimnicki.com