The Educational Grants committee has announced two awards for 2023. Awards of $2000 each go to Bonnie Hawk of Frederick, Maryland and Wilson Newman of Defiance, Ohio.
SAPFM’s educational grants are an important part of our mission. Through our Education Grants program, SAPFM provides support for full-time academic study in a field directly related to period furniture making, research for a book or article directly related to period furniture or attendance by a student at a seminar or conference. Applications for educational grants are accepted any time. Details of the awards and the application form are available online at https://sapfm.org/about-sapfm/sapfm/educational-grants. Members can donate directly to the fund at: https:// sapfm.org/component/jdonation/ educational-fund?Itemid=0.
Bonnie is enrolled in the nine-month comprehensive program at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship was founded by Peter Korn, in 1993, to meet the educational needs of contemporary woodworkers. It began as a summer workshop program in a barn behind his house and moved to its present location in 1996. The Center became a non-profit organization in 1999, and Korn served as Executive Director until his retirement in 2021. The Nine-month Comprehensive program is designed for aspiring professional furniture makers and dedicated amateurs who seek in-depth training at the highest standard of excellence. The hands-on, project-oriented format includes the full range of furniture making skills. Sequential projects take students from the fundamentals through the fine points of design and craftsmanship. Bonnie is transitioning from a career as an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church. As she stated in her grant application “My shortterm interest in furniture-making includes gaining proficiency and integrity with the craft itself so that I can have a small furniture-making side business. But my long-term goal is to build community around woodworking. Craft is a way of life that encourages humility, patience, compassion, wisdom and creativity. I am always looking to build a community around these shared values. Assistance from the Society of American Period Furniture Makers will not only help me, it will help those who benefit from the work that I hope to do in the future.”
Wilson is enrolled in the two-year Cabinetmaking and Wood Product Design program at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Founded in 1972, Hennepin Technical College is the largest stand-alone technical college in Minnesota. With campuses in Brooklyn Park and Eden Prairie, the college offers degree and non-degree courses in over 40 programs. Hennepin Tech prepares students for in-demand, and high-paying employment opportunities. The Cabinetmaking and Wood Product Design Program exists to ensure that skilled crafts people remain available for the professional woodworking industry and to train individuals who are looking to learn woodworking purely for the love of creating beautiful wood creations. The curriculum focuses on the many aspects of the woodworking trade by providing hands-on experiences. Threaded throughout the whole program are the concepts of quality, accuracy, and attention to detail that have been handed down from one professional cabinetmaker to another through generations. Wilson graduated from high school earlier this year and has worked at a local furniture store for more than a year and has enrolled in the two-year program with goals to graduate debt-free and to gain the ability to create furniture at a high level, incorporating detail work as found in antique furniture.