Story & Photos By Deborah Katsuva

Her hair tied back in a French braid, wearing blue coveralls and protective glasses, Melanie Castillo ’18 stood in the middle of a busy, littered, and dusty classroom on a late Monday night. She picked up a wooden box from the floor, put it on a flat table and ran her hands over it for a second before she started detailing and sanding the box. Castillo’s box is an ottoman, which can be used as a table or a seat.

“I’ve always had an interest in furniture making and furniture in general, so when I saw the opportunity for the class I took it,” Castillo said.

“This class is designed to be an introduction to heirloom quality woodworking,” said Brian Collier, associate professor of fine arts who teaches Woodworking and Furniture Design. “That means a serious investigation of design issues, the ability to understand the properties of wood and how to source and select wood for a furniture project, learning how to make heirloom quality joinery and the basics of high-quality finishing techniques,” Collier said.

While the class was open to all students, it consists of four women, all art majors, to whom professor Collier assigns a variety of projects: a small table, a box, and a seat that could be a bench or a stool. Earlier in the semester, the four women named themselves “The Founding Mothers of SMC Woodworking and Furniture Design,” and got matching blue coveralls.

“I think it’s interesting that we even say ‘craftsmen’ and we have four women doing ‘craftsmen’ jobs, building furniture by hand, and producing furniture product within an industry that is mostly man dominated, so there is an interesting dynamic there and we play with it a lot,” Castillo said.

“I personally do not use the term craftsman; I prefer woodworker or furniture maker. I am constantly frustrated by the fact that people are surprised by there being only women in this particular course,” Collier said, explaining that his teaching style would not have been affected by the presence of male students. “I did not set out intending for this course to have only women, but now I’m glad it does. These are highly dedicated and capable art students who are tackling everything I throw at them.”