It’s September, the first week of school; the sunny classrooms are full of new students learning how to draw, how to make paste, how to follow instructions on a worksheet. But this is not kindergarten. It’s a new semester at Boston’s North Bennet Street School, where aspiring craftsmen come for accredited two- and three-year programs in piano technology; bookbinding; carpentry and preservation carpentry; locksmithing; and furniture-, jewelry-, and violin-making. North Bennet Street School, which started in 1885 as a trade school for immigrants, is nationally known for the caliber of its programs. “It’s like the Juilliard of furniture-making,” one student says, explaining why, at age 63, he’s just moved to Boston from Baltimore to enroll.
I am interested in the new students. What drew them to apply to a rigorous, fulltime craftsmanship program? Many have left successful careers in other fields to come here. What is it like to be a beginner again?
Comments
They turn out some very fine craftsmen and women, so I'm not surprised that employers would be eager to hire them. Some of the furniture on display in their showroom makes Norm Abram look like a 1st year apprentice!
It's also encouraging to see people so excited to pursue these trades in an era when the art and skill and commitment of the craftsman is becoming more and more rare.