Are you an early-career fine woodworker looking to grow your practice in a supportive, professional environment? An opening has become available in the Victorian Woodworkers Association’s Artist in Residence program starting in November 2026.

The 3-year program includes the provision of studio space at our North Melbourne headquarters, access to a fully equipped machine room and opportunities to network with like-minded professionals. This is a unique opportunity to build your skills, develop your practice, and connect with a community of passionate makers.  
 
As a resident artist, you will receive:  

• – Subsidised rent 

• – 24/7 access to a fully equipped machine room 

• – Dedicated bench and personal workspace 

• – Bookable office space 

• – Professional support and promotion through VWA networks 

• – Connection to a dynamic woodworking community 
   

We are looking for a candidate who: 

• – Can demonstrate competency with common woodworking machinery and hand tools and the ability to operate safely & independently in the workshop through prior training or on-the-job experience 

• – Demonstrates a clear intention to develop a professional woodworking practice, including a business plan and some evidence of initial steps in this direction 

• – Ability to operate in a self-directed manner 

• – Financial means to support themselves in the start-up stage of their practice, whilst making the most of the space & meeting minimum attendance expectations (part time work elsewhere is fine, but the position is not suitable for someone who can only attend on weekends) 

• – Will work cooperatively in a shared space with the other artists 

If you’re ready to take the next step in your woodworking journey, we’d love to hear from you.  

Applications are now open and close on Wednesday 9th September – don’t miss out!  

Fair to say, Oslek coatings demonstration at the workshop was a real eye opener!

We’re really grateful to Boyd for sharing his knowledge and letting our members get hands on with the products. Members were impressed, not only by the speed of the process, but also by the quality of the finish.

Oslek proudly manufactures a world-class surface coating in Australia, combining fast-curing performance with next-generation sustainability. Their LED curing Hardwax oils are incredibly easy to apply, are VOC free (no smell) and are Australian made. And the most impressive part is that they cure instantly under their LED lights.

If you weren’t able to join us, we’ve share a couple of short videos on our socials here and here.

Visit Oslek website: https://oslekcoatings.co.uk/

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We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who visited our workshop during our Artists’ Open Studio as part of Melbourne Design Week.

Over three incredible days, we were thrilled to welcome hundreds of guests into our workshop-turned-gallery at our Wood Design Centre in North Melbourne.

If you weren’t able to join us, we created the perfect atmosphere for this very special event. We turned down the lights and let our Artists in Residence’s pieces do the talking, showcasing their work in a beautiful way.

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Melbourne Design Week is an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative
Victoria. designweek.melbourne

As part of this year’s Melbourne Design Week, we’re incredibly excited to be hosting our own exhibition and to be part of a city-wide program that celebrates creativity, making, and contemporary design in all its forms.

With the next few weeks set to be packed full of open studios, exhibitions, talks, installations, and workshops across Melbourne, there’s no shortage of inspiring things to see and experience. We’ve been busy planning our own contribution, but along the way we’ve also come across a number of events, exhibitions, and makers that genuinely caught our attention.

So, whether you’re mapping out your Design Week schedule or simply looking for an excuse to explore the city a little differently, here are a few of the events we’re especially looking forward to.

Industry 

Presented by Isabel Avendaño Hazbún with Raven Mahon 

Industry is an exhibition about legitimate sustainability with the aim of creating a circular economy model within a small designer–maker studio. The result is a series of speculative works — furniture, lighting, homewares, textiles and sculpture; some finished, some still concepts — where the entire ecological impact of the object is considered: materials, production, use, storage, transport and disposal, compelling a revision of outdated manufacturing models where sustainability becomes the true measure of an object’s worth.

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100 CHAIRS 
Presented by Friends & Associates 
 
100 CHAIRS features the work of over 100 Australian creatives, studios, artists, architects and practices exploring the chair as a medium. The exhibition provides a platform for creatives at all career levels to present work collectively. Following on from Melbourne Design Week 2025’s landmark exhibition 100 LIGHTS, 100 CHAIRS imposes stricter requirements that the work must be both designed and made within the country. 

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Second Nature

Presented by Mal Thomas Design & Jeanie Mulligan & Alex Lesniowski & Harry Zanios & Adam Stewart & Patrick Holcombe

In collaboration with Curve Design, Second Nature presents a curated exhibition of innovative, Australian-made furniture pieces designed specifically for small footprints and multi-functionality.

These objects facilitate connection and calm in busy urban ‘third places’, such as neighbourhood cafes or home retreats. The exhibition invites reflection on how conscious design shapes everyday social spaces.

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Felled: Reimagining Timber Supply in Contemporary Craft Practice 

Presented by Craft Victoria 

Felled reimagines timber supply sources in contemporary woodworking practice. Six makers and designers with specialised knowledge of timber engage the material beyond newly processed, machined slabs and find possibilities in existing materials, including timber waste and plant debris, as furniture and object-design making material.

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Australian Furniture Design Award 2026 – Living Well Living Small
Presented by Stylecraft Furniture & Lighting & National Gallery of Victoria

Visit the new Stylecraft showroom during Melbourne Design Week to see the winning and shortlisted entrants in the sixth edition of the biannual Australian Furniture Design Award – including new work responding to the theme Living Well Living Small by Joanne Odisho, Isabel Avendano Hazbun, Nika Biggs, Besley & Spresser, and Aileen Sage Architects. View the exhibition on the ground floor, then continue to Level One to explore Stylecraft’s Celebrating Australian Design exhibition.

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Latent Space: Tradition Reframed
Presented by Anton Gerner Furniture

Latent Space: Tradition Reframed presents a new body of work by Melbourne/Naarm furniture designer and maker Anton Gerner. Building on ideas explored in his 2025 Melbourne Design Week exhibition The Storm, The Craft & The Future, this exhibition continues an ongoing investigation into how traditional furniture languages can exist within a contemporary design context.

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Conversations by Jon Goulder and Collaborators
Presented by ALPHA 60

Jon Goulder presents a series of design outcomes shaped by ongoing dialogue, collaboration and material research. Central to the program is a partnership with Melbourne fashion house ALPHA60, culminating in the opening of Chapter House as a new Design Week venue formed through years of conversation between Alex and Georgie Cleary and Goulder.

New works include a lighting collection and pressed leather chair developed with Andrew Carvolth, grounded in material intelligence, hands-on process and the belief that form is resolved through making.

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Tactile Dialogues: Fragments of Matter
Presented by Ryan Fernandes & Made by Morgen

A fragment can be a physical piece of an object, a trace of something left behind, a half-remembered memory or a glimpse through a half-closed door. Sometimes detached or incomplete. Sometimes shifting.

Tactile Dialogues: Fragments of Matter invites audiences to experience fragmentation as both material and concept — a space where new forms, partial views and traces of thought become the starting point for dialogue, curiosity and reflection.

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Lines of Force
Presented by Ash Allen

This exhibition pays homage to the iconic work of three female design luminaries — Simone LeAmon, Helen Kontouris and Laura McCusker.

Ash Allen has recreated, in steel weldmesh, a piece from each of their portfolios and presents the narrative behind each work. Participants are: Simone LeAmon, Helen Kontouris, Laura McCusker, Ash Allen.

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Designed by Human, Cut by Machine
Presented by Conrad-S

Designed by Human, Cut by Machine envisions a future where Australian design embraces both human creativity and technological precision to shape a more sustainable, circular world. Through a curated collection of Conrad-S furniture, prototypes and sketches, the exhibition explores how design can balance craft and code to build the world we want, one that values resourcefulness, longevity and sustainability.

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Stonygrad: Material Encounters
Presented by Jessica Lillico and Sean Fennessy

Stonygrad, the iconic self-built home of modernist artist Danila Vassilieff, was constructed by hand in the Warrandyte bush from stone and timber found on site. Taking decades to complete, it is at once crude and considered, collapsing the distinction between art and design and challenging conventional ideas of dwelling.

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A State of Matter
Presented by Hortenzia

This site-specific installation explores the interaction of materials, form and light within a space. Hard and soft, light and dark, natural and manufactured, materials create tension through contrast while forms highlight negative space. Objects are positioned not as isolated items but as active participants within the environment, absorbing, reflecting and projecting light.

This exhibition is presented by the newly formed exhibition space Room, curated by Sophie Sideris.

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More Making 
Presented by Studio Eric Yuen 

More Making is an exhibition, a series of objects, an open studio and a workshop, all rotating around the act of object making from home. 

The materials used are easily acquired and off-the-shelf — timber battens, slotted angles, plywood, screws and bolts. The tools are accessible and low entry, including handsaws, measuring tape and chisels and cordless drills. 

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KEEP: Forever Objects Designed by Six Australian Architects 
Presented by American Hardwood Export Council 

What happens when some of Australia’s most respected architects turn their attention from buildings to objects? 

KEEP brings together six architectural practices to design furniture intended to last within a culture of disposability. Presented with Cult and curated by David Clark, the exhibition explores permanence, Australian craftsmanship and material integrity through a series of new works made from American hardwoods. 

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How Did “Sustainability” in Design Become a Dirty Word?
Presented by Authentic Design Alliance & Design Made Podcast

The word “sustainability” has lost its way. Once a serious commitment, it has become marketing-speak, and the open door to greenwashing.

So what conversations should we be having instead, and how do we contribute to genuine change?

Melbourne Design Week is an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative
Victoria. You can view the full program: designweek.melbourne

1) Introduce yourself – where are you based, what do you do and how long have you been a VWA member?

I’m Charlotte (Charlie) a British-born maker working from my home studio in Montmorency, Melbourne. I’ve been connected to the VWA through various friends for a couple of years but only recently became a member.

2) When did you first get into your craft/practice and what was your journey to it?

I started doing evening classes at Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking in July 2023 after looking for somewhere to learn skills and use tools because I wanted to make some stuff around the home for my cats (to date the cats haven’t received anything). It was instant love being back in a workshop for the first time since school. Between a combination of evening classes and weekend intensives I tried out furniture making, restoration and upholstery but it was a carving course that truly tipped me over the edge into being fully obsessed with wanting to work with wood as more than a hobby.

In 2024 I decided to career transition into woodworking. I choose turning as my route into making a collection of homewares I could sell, while continuing to develop my carving skills. I set up a home workshop in a studio space we had in the bottom of our garden. At the point I was trying to get a 300kg Vicmarc lathe down my steep driveway I was starting to question what the hell I was getting myself into and it’s been a wild ride but now I’m trading and getting such lovely feedback from customers, it’s definitely been worth the journey to get here.

3) Current top three music tracks you listen to or all time favourite song/artist Samples of music I listen to, and when:

Raye (ft Hans Zimmer) – Click Clack Symphony

Lady Gaga & Doechii – Runway

Drops of Jupiter – Train

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Charlotte will be at the Big Design Market in Melbourne on the 22nd-24th May.

You can follow Charlotte on instagram here or shop online here

Step inside the studios of the Victorian Woodworkers Association and meet the five current Artists in Residence – Freddy Mata Mendoza, Wanda Gillespie, Emily McRae, Caleb Biffanti, and Margot Feast.

This open-studio exhibition offers a rare glimpse into contemporary woodworking practice, from early sketches and prototypes to finished works. Over three days — 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of May — visitors are invited to explore works in progress, completed pieces, and the varied processes that drive each maker’s practice. An opening event will be held on Saturday 23rd May 6-8pm.

Across furniture, fine joinery, sculpture, and playful experimental forms, the exhibition highlights the handmade, the exchange of ideas, and the creative community shaping the world they want to build, one piece at a time.

Exhibition: Friday 22nd & Saturday 23rd May 2-6pm and Sunday 24th of May 10-4pm. No registration required.

Opening night: Saturday 23rd May 2026.
Time: 6-8 pm. Please register below

Location: Victorian Woodworkers Association – Wood Design Centre

5 Tyrone St, North Melbourne VIC 3051

Snack food and drinks will be provided 

 A return visit to Glen Arm Trees offered members an opportunity to step back into the full lifecycle of furniture-grade timber production, from tree to premium finished material.

The day centred around understanding agroforestry in practice: how trees are grown, managed, and ultimately milled into furniture-grade timber.

This time around, the weather reminded us we were firmly in the cooler months, but we were thankfully well protected by the Shining, Spotted and Blue Gums when the drizzle came through. For many members, it was a first chance to experience agroforestry up close, including everyone getting a turn on the bandsaw mill.

It was, once again, a generous and engaging day, with plenty of shared knowledge and a real sense of connection to the material we work with and those who grow it. By all accounts, a fabulous time was had by all.

We’re incredibly grateful to Tim, Tim and Steve and their families for their time and for being such amazing hosts. 

If you want to read a detailed description of what it takes to undertake this kind of agroforestry check out or blog here.

Find out more about Glen Arm Trees here. 

Photography: Tim Richards – Glen Arm Trees

We’re excited to be taking part in this year’s Lost Trades Fair at Hanging Rock. 
 
“Hanging Rock is one of the most iconic sites in the state and it is very exciting to be able to bring our artisans – the rock stars of traditional and heritage trades – together at such a magical site to share their skills, trades, talent, stories, culture, knowledge and celebrate the enduring pursuit of hand-made with the very finest levels of human craftsmanship on display”. 
 
As an organisation that supports woodworkers and makers, it feels right to be part of such an event that celebrates traditional skills, craftsmanship, and making by hand. 
 
We’re looking forward to sharing the weekend with so many talented artisans and hope to see you there.  

Our Artists in Residence are continually working new projects and we’re excited to share their 2026 updates.

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Follow Freddy on Instagram here.

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Also sharing a hand plane I’ve been restoring. Who knew doing this would be so time consuming!

Follow Caleb on Instagram here.

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I’ve also been working with a number of private woodcarving students in my studio at the VWA and have really enjoyed guiding them through projects including a Green Man, acanthus leaves, a vine-decorated butterfly, and, at the Guild, an upcoming puppet carving. 

Alongside teaching, I recently completed a custom walking stick carved with the likeness of a client’s Leonberger dog. This was a great project to test and extend my carving skills, and I particularly enjoyed working with Huon pine for the first time. 

The whittling workshops continue to be popular, and I’m enjoying working in a different context at Anatolia Studios in Collingwood. These sessions often run alongside other creative workshops such as Turkish glass lamp mosaics, ring making, watercolour painting, perfume making and silk painting. It has been refreshing to step outside the wood workshop environment and share space with a wider community of craft makers. So far, we’ve focused on birds and cats, and I’m currently developing new designs including a whale, an alpaca, and a manekineko cat with a moveable arm. I’m also planning to begin selling timber blanks on my website, and possibly whittling knives.

https://www.wandagillespie.com/workshops.html 

In terms of my art practice, I currently have work in the Maquette Sculpture Award at McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park until 22 February. The exhibiting piece is one of my abacus works from the Craft Victoria exhibition. The Wollongong Art Prize continues at Wollongong Art Gallery until 1 March, where my figurative sculpture Holding Hope is on display. 

I’m excited to have received a small Creative New Zealand grant to support my VWA residency. I’ve joined the Thursday afternoon class with Lionel and Isabelle and am enjoying learning alongside them while developing new work. My first project is a series of picture frames. Continuing my interest in language, I’m drawing on alphabet letterforms to inform their shapes, with a focus on curved structures. 

I also have an article in the current issue of Garland Magazine on the work of Indonesian-born, Japan-based ceramic artist Albert Yonathan Setyawan. I really enjoy the writing process and hope to find more opportunities to share words and images about inspiring artists and craftspeople in the future.

https://garlandmag.com/article/albert-setyawan/ 

Looking ahead, I have a solo exhibition coming up at Linden New Art at the end of the year, where I will present an ambitious new body of work including figurative carving and further Newton’s Cradles. 

Follow Wanda on Instagram here.

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Follow Emily on Instagram here.

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Margot Feast

Follow Margot on Instagram here.

During the quieter days of January, a few of our committee members and residents got together for a working bee at the VWA School of Woodwork to refinish the floors. As the saying goes, many hands make light work!

The job was completed quickly and efficiently, with a well-earned pizza lunch along the way and a lively debate about whether anchovies belong on pizza (or anywhere in cooking, for that matter!)

And the final result… Blinding! Good job Team!