This International Women’s Day, we were thrilled to see our Woodworking and Gender project take center stage. The project was highlighted by our major funder, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as a leading example of how to reshape the heritage skills sector. The Fund celebrated the women and marginalised communities who are reshaping spaces in…
We’re now accepting applications for the 2026 Woodworking & Gender 6-Week Workshop Experience Course, running 11 May – 18 June 2026 at Sylva Wood School, Oxfordshire.
Cat Poppensieker, Project Coordinator, offers her reflections of the Woodworking and Gender Project project to date.
The Furniture Makers’ Company and the Sylva Foundation are launching the Woodworking Teachers Network – a new national initiative designed to connect, support, and empower educators working in woodworking and furniture making education. The network emerges as a direct response to the findings of a comprehensive survey conducted in spring 2025, which gathered the views…
Congratulations to our Wood School Senior Tutor Phil Gullam on receiving the Master Certificate from The Furniture Makers Company!
Ready to take your first steps into the furniture-making industry? This 6-week course offers hands-on training, technical skills, and the support you need to build your confidence and pursue a career in furniture. Whether you’re a recent graduate, career switcher, or looking for an entry point, this programme is tailored for you. Application are now open for our 6-week workshop experience as part of our Woodworking and Gender Project.
We recently had the absolute pleasure of hosting our second Woodworking and Gender seminar ‘Carving Change’, and what an incredible experience it was! Despite the challenges brought by flooding across the country, participants travelled from near and far to be with us, bringing energy, insights, and passion to help shape the future of furniture making…
For the third year in a row Paul Orsi, Sylva Foundation’s Director of Operations, donated two days of his time to support undergraduates and those on degree level apprenticeships at Harper Adams University. The focus this year was on woodland creation (as part of a wider Forestry Module) and Paul was able to show the…
Are you part of the UK’s Woodworking or Furniture-making industry? If so, we want to hear from you, whether you are an employer, worker, teacher or student. You are invited to take part in our national survey.
We are delighted to welcome Cathrin (Cat) Poppensieker to the Sylva team. Cat will lead our new Woodworking and Gender Project, funded by The National Heritage Lottery Fund and other generous supporters. The project aims to address the significant gender imbalance in the heritage woodworking sector. The project envisions a transformed woodworking industry, driven by…