Tidy Towns Alumni - Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking

Keep Australia Beautiful - Victoria
Aug 1
2 min read

The Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking (The Guild) was founded by Alastair Boell in 2007. After graduating from the world renowned North Bennet Street School, Boston, USA, Alastair felt that there was a great need in Australia for an educational facility that focuses on traditional skills. We travelled out to Blackburn to check out their workshop and training spaces... and to meet the workshop doggo! Alastair and Jacqueline were generous hosts, and took us on a tour of the facilities, the projects and the reclaimed timber storage!

Winner of the Tidy Cities Heritage and Culture category in 2024, the space is incredible. The facilities include a fully equipped machine room, 4 classrooms with workbenches, numerous hand tools, hardware, finishing products and a variety of exotic salvaged timbers.

They also offer onsite milling with their own mill and an in-house workshop milling service.

For those interested in ‘Commission’ work, they have a gifted community of furniture designers/makers on call.

The Guild is committed to preserving and advancing craft traditions in furniture making. They are also committed to promoting a greater awareness and appreciation of craftsmanship. In their classes they emphasise the skilful use of hand tools and power equipment and an informed use of appropriate materials and proportions.

They are clearly so passionate and knowledgable about what they do and want to share information, ideas and skills with their extended woodworking community.

It's a truly inspiring space, filled with kind, creative and helpful people, and enough interesting project ideas to keep you busy for as long as you've got to spare!

There will be a free hand tool and open day event weekend in November that we encourage everyone to go and check out!