Renowned Maine designer and builder of yurts Bill Coperthwaite greatly valued well-designed, handmade items. He believed that making common household items by hand, things needed and used every day, can empower people to feel more connected to their own abilities and also open a path to simpler, more enjoyable ways of living.
Coperthwaite encouraged people to make all kinds of things by hand, from smaller items like brooms, bowls, and spoons, to building large shelters like his well-known, multi-level wooden yurts.
Coperthwaite was a beloved mentor and friend to the founders of The Maine Coast Craft School. His philosophy of simple living and handcrafts continues to guide them as they teach hand tool woodworking at their off-grid school in Bristol.
The Maine Coast Craft School’s small hand craft classes often fill up months in advance, but there are several spots available in its Coperthwaite chair-making class in July.
The five-day workshop is by far the most accessible and basic chair-making class the craft school offers. Coperthwaite spent years perfecting the four-board design and construction techniques for the simple workhorse of a chair, creating many different versions to tweak the angle of the back and the overall weight and ease of construction to get it just right.
The chair provides lightweight, stable, fun, and comfortable seating.
Building the chair is an excellent lesson in fundamental hand work, as students use only human-powered tools, pine boards, and screws to construct their chairs. Instructors will share some firsthand stories about Coperthwaite, his philosophy, his homestead near Machiasport and his book “A Handmade Life,” plus show some examples of collaborative projects that Kenneth Kortemeier, the craft school’s founder, and Coperthwaite worked on together.
Class dates for the class are Wednesday through Sunday, July 16-20. The class meets every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about Coperthwaite and his work, go to at insearchofsimplicity.net.
For more information about the Maine Coast Craft School, go to mainecoastcraft.com or email mainecoastcraft@gmail.com.
