MARCH 24-25
2007
 |
 |
 |
|
|---|
Advice on Starting Your Own Program Interested in starting your own apprenticeship program, but aren't sure where to begin? We've provided a few words of advice from Philadelphia artisans as well as profiles of the programs established by the past two winners of our Apprenticeship Award. In addition, Silas Kopf, one of our jurors for the 2000 show, shares his experiences with apprenticeships and getting hands-on experience.
One of the biggest reasons an apprenticeship fails is because the apprentice cannot financially support themselves while completing the apprenticeship program. The prospective apprentice should develop a sound cash flow plan beforehand. Do not take an apprentice cold turkey. Make sure they have had related job experience beforehand, such as working as a carpenter or in a kitchen cabinet shop. If they do not have it, have them get it. Develop a reading list of books to be read prior to and during the apprenticeship. Have the apprentice remake the same project over and over. Repetition builds speed and knowledge. Talk to related family members (spouses and/or parents) so that everyone involved knows what lies ahead. Have realistic expectations as to what an emerging apprentice will face as they enter the real world. Do not think that after a two year program that you'll have enough skills to start your own business. Be aware of the need for compatibility among different personalities. Develop a contract as to mutual goals and needs, such as requisite shop hours, learned skills and the availability of the mentor to answer questions. Establish a set of skills to be learned and mastered. Understand that skills needed in the real world are wide-ranged, from drawing to business management and client relations. Be ready for the apprentice to experience a tremendous amount of frustration. Understand that growth is incremental and small, and that large projects are far down the road. Have a clear review process, including set dates for review periods.
The one year apprenticeship I offer is an intensive exposure to the full range of activities required to succeed as a professional artisan specializing in rare solid woods. For the first two weeks apprentices are moved from one project to another so that I'm able to get a sense of their skill level. Following this, apprentices are given project assignments that they make entirely. As the program progresses, they are given increasingly advanced projects including a core group of pieces – an extension leaf dining table from rare solid woods with shop-made dovetail sliders, a high end set of dining chairs, a small piece of high end cabinetwork that employs the structural methods (dovetail joints, etc.) of classical solid wood cabinetry, and an assortment of smaller pieces (coffee tables, etc.). There is at least one custom order where the apprentice works directly with me translating freehand drawings to technical renderings and patterns to the finished piece. To run a program this way requires close supervision – the reputation of the shop rests on the quality of each piece. Apprentices are brought in on and taught professional quality photography; they are exposed to the business by participating in craft shows and through our gallery, learning lighting, bookkeeping, sales, and lumber buying. Apprentices are strongly encouraged to use the entire shop facility during unlimited overtime hours to build their own pieces. They are assisted in photographing their work to develop a portfolio which will enable them to enter shows. Design, including freehand drawing, drafting, patternmaking, scale model making, and mockups, is taught one afternoon a week. Apprentices who complete the one year may stay on indefinitely at no additional charge; they may be offered employment. Tuition is currently $10,600. Applicants must have basic experience in woodworking.
The apprentice position I offer is a fully paid position. The apprentice works on regular production work four days a week with an hourly wage set at $8.00/hr. The fifth day is set aside for his or her own studio experimentation, personal projects, library research or to spend however he/she sees fit. My studio is available for use by the apprentice for his/her own work and practice 8 hours a week or more if specifically requested. I am available for consultation during this time, but this time is his/her own, it is unsupervised, and he/she has full use of the studio at his/her disposal. Pretty much regardless of where my production schedule is, each new apprentice is introduced into the shop in the rough milling operation. This process includes stock selection, squaring techniques, color and grain matching and the appropriate use of material. This can be a very involved process requiring a keen artistic eye and a thorough understanding of the nature of the material. The process is also the foundation of a successful and profitable project. Since I design and build every type of household furniture, the order in which I teach the remaining necessary skills to each apprentice are determined by what projects are in current production. My studio is a for-profit operation so production work must remain unencumbered and on schedule. The apprentice learns by example with a demonstration from me covering a specific task or technique followed by an observed and critiqued practice period. When I am confident the apprentice can successfully execute the task, he/she refines the skill by immediately engaging in the activity on a production level. This is where the apprentice learns to improve technique and increase his/her speed so that he/she learns the best ways possible to profit from that activity. I can offer up a huge list of learning and practice activities that would cover everything from mortise and tenon joinery to lamination techniques and from finish work to upholstery preparations. But the most important focus of the learning activities and daily work in my studio is how to execute tasks profitably. This profitability factor is what will enable the individual apprentice to successfully enter a career as a professional studio artist. Without profitability, all the amount of skill in the world won't enable the individual to make a living as an artisan. Woodworking can be an extremely dangerous occupation. it can also be a completely safe one if one understands the nature of the material, the mechanics of the tools and equipment, and a good understanding of physics. Safety is the most important issue in every activity. Along with a paid hourly wage, each of my apprentices is given Major Medical Insurance and is fully covered under Workman's Compensation Insurance. However, in the more than ten years I have been in business, there has never been a serious job related injury in my studio.
My woodworking learning experience was as an employee. I decided I wanted to be a woodworker out of some romantic notion of what it means to be a craftsman. I became acquainted with the work of an "art" furniture maker by seeing his work in a gallery. I had no idea what was involved in making things from wood. This individual introduced me to the man he had worked for. I asked if there were a chance for a job. He suggested that if I had some experience there was a possibility. Ah, here is the Catch 22. How do you get experience until someone is willing to hire you (and no one wants to hire anyone who is completely green)? Eventually I found a beginning job in a cabinet shop doing aspects of the trade that required very little training (sanding, finishing, etc.). I stayed in touch with the man in the art furniture world, letting him know that I was learning something. Eventually he contacted me when he needed another helper. I worked there for two years. It was an excellent learning experience, and I was making some money while I was learning. I also saw how a professional was running a business. It was these two aspects of my experience that led me to believe I had a better "education" than those who had paid tuition to go to school. When I got out on my own I made a decision that when I needed help I would pay people rather than ask them to work for nothing. I had specific tasks that I was asking people to perform that at first were not particularly challenging. Gradually they grew into more demanding roles in the shop. I always believed I would get more out of people if I paid them, at least asking them to do the "grunt" work I wanted done. If I weren't going to have them as actual "on the books" employees, eventually they would resent it. The only time I deviated from this rule was with a young woman who wrote to me and said she wanted to learn marquetry. She reminded me of myself at an earlier age when I was running up against the "Catch 22." She also said that she only wanted to learn marquetry. Up until then I had always done all of my marquetry work. I spent some time teaching her the basics and then "created" a simple job for her. This was a project that would allow her to get her feet wet. It was not exceedingly difficult in the craft sense. She did an excellent job and I subsequently hired her as a free-lance marqueteur. This is as close as I have come to an apprentice. Anyone who I would now hire would need to be a competent craftsperson. They might well know more than I! However, I would consider duplicating the experience I had with the young woman. |
