I can’t say enough good things about my experience at Inside Passage during the 12 weeks I spent at the school over the Summer of 2010. I've attended a few different woodworking schools, and finding a School that instills such thoroughness, integrity and commitment to excellence is very rare. You can tell that Robert really cares not only about the craft of fine furniture making, but also about being a great teacher.
I signed up for the Artisan Program, where I learned the fundamentals of fine furniture making using hand tools and machines, and then immediately followed that course with the six week Resident Artisan Program, where I was able to put my skills to use building a small cabinet.
I was amazed at how high a level of craftsmanship Robert was able to teach to all of us during the program. He never takes short cuts or lets students with less experience fall behind. He was very patient and always willing to answer questions, even those that were asked repeatedly. I appreciated how he would put in extra time for individual attention when anything was challenging and also give extra small projects to people who were moving ahead quickly. When I was working on my cabinet during the second part of the program, Robert was great about giving me the flexibility to design my own piece, but was always available to help me work through problem spots.
The facilities and equipment at the school were excellent and I thought Robert and Yvonne fostered a nice, collegial atmosphere amongst all of the students. Spending the summer 300 yards from a beach with views of snow-capped mountains in the drop-dead gorgeous Pacific Northwest was a treat as well, although I found myself drawn to the woodshop most of the time.
Inside Passage is a really unique school and I consider myself lucky to have had the time to attend their program.