Furniture Making, Woodworking and Steam Bending Classes with Ross Annels

Ross Annels offers furniture making, woodworking and steam bending courses, workshops, and one-to-one mentoring through Moonlite Studios in Mount Egerton, Victoria – between Melbourne and Ballarat. Classes suit all levels, from complete beginners through to experienced practitioners.

Current workshops and courses

The Moonlite Studios program covers a broad range of making and thinking skills, from foundational hand and machine tool practice through to specialist workshops in bent form, joinery, chair making and design. Current workshops include:

Foundations Box Making, Sharpening, Hand Tools Fundamentals, Safe Machine Practice, Machine Tools Fundamentals

Wood Bending Courses cover the full range of wood bending techniques, including steam bending, hot pipe bending, kerf bending, coopering and Hot Pipe Bending, Introduction to Wood Bending, Hot Pipe Bending, Contemporary Coopered Form, Bent Form: Design and Studio Practice, The Bent Stick and the Sculptural Form (masterclass)

Chairmaking Make a Chair, Chair Design

Design and Making Joinery, Design Process for Makers, Seeing the Wood and the Trees (timber technology)

All workshops are taught in small groups of four to six participants in a working studio environment. Expressions of interest are welcome for all programs.

View the full program and register your interest

Mentoring

One-to-one mentoring in furniture making, wood bending and creative practice is available online and in person. Mentoring is available to makers at any level who want to develop their practice, work through a specific project, or extend a particular skill.

"Ross has a lifetime of experience. Knew the answers to all my questions. I learnt so much and was able to fast forward my project without making so many mistakes I would have made without his support." — Marcus Veerman, Google Review

Find out more about mentoring

Accredited training

Ross works with SkillBuild RTO who deliver the MSF20322 Certificate II in Cabinet Making and Timber Technology, a nationally recognised furniture making trade qualification delivered through a series of intensive, small-group workshops. This provides a serious pathway into furniture making without having to put your current life on hold.

Visit SkillBuild for further information

Teaching history

Ross has taught extensively across Australia and internationally, including masterclasses, workshops and regular classes at WoodDust Australia, the Maleny Wood Expo, the Cooroora Institute, Lomandra Place Studios, the Queensland College of Art, the JamFactory (SA), Sturt School for Wood (NSW), and the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship (USA).

"Ross is a world renowned studio furniture maker, sculptor and teacher. His skill set and generosity in passing on knowledge is very humbling." — Tim Quirk

"Ross isn't just offering how-to training, but the beginnings of a journey to understanding wood and tools and using them well. I could get addicted to this." — JCF