Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute in Adrian is building a new facility that will help triple its capacity.
LENAWEE CO., Mich. (WTVG) - A woodworking and carpentry trade school in Adrian attracts students from all over America is expanding its footprint.
The Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute is an accredited hands-on woodworking and carpentry trades college.
It’s described as a destination for craftsmanship, creativity and community. We got a first-hand look at it’s far-reaching impact Monday. In fact, it’s been so successful in the last decade that work on a new multi-million dollar facility is underway.
Luke Barnett is the co-founder and president of Sam Beauford. He is a carpenter by trade.
“We are a college dedicated to the skilled trades, more specifically carpentry and anything that has to do with wood. Our current flagship program is in furniture design. Students will come for an academic year, ten months, and they will learn how to build and design very high-end furniture,” Barnett said.
Barnett described the college as a destination school.
“Students come from all over to learn to build a specific piece of furniture or learn a complex carpentry technique. We can currently take 24 students a year and we have about 250 applicants, so we have to turn away most of the people who apply to the program,” he said.
The school will soon be able to open the door to more students. Work on a multi-million-dollar new facility is underway, which Barnett said will triple the class size.
“We want to help as many people as possible earn a living doing what they love.”
Lissa Guyton interviews Luke Barnett in SBWI the machine room
Moi Sams is a student from the Toledo area who first heard about the college of carpentry after seeing a story about it on 13 Action News.
“I have a degree in Fine Arts from BGSU. I was supposed to be an art teacher and here I am now doing woodworking and it’s way better,” Sams said.
Furniture Design student Moi Sams preps wood at the assembly tables
Persais Gabehart is from Colorado. She was a student last year. She said she’s always loved nature and now creates art using wood.
“The tree continues on living. It’s not just firewood, it’s now a piece of art that other people can enjoy and stop and look at,” she said.
Gabehart loved her experience so much that she just bought a home in Adrian. She’s working as an artist in residence at Sam Beauford, and she’s helping design and build furniture for the new school.
“This place wants you to grow and it helps you grow,” said Gabehart.
Artist in Residence Persais Gabehart carves the legs of a walnut desk
Persais & her piece titled A minha flor silvestre
Detail image
Gabehart is just one success story. Last year’s furniture design class had a 95% in-field employment rate.
“I would say the majority of our students are students who went and got a traditional degree, and then worked in that industry and realized it wasn’t very fulfilling to them and they wanted to work with their hands,” said Barnett.
The institute helps people use their own hands to carve out a new path.
“I feel like I wasn’t really sure what I was doing before this and then I heard about this place and thought this could change my life direction in a way I’ve been wanting to go, but didn’t know how to get there. I am excited to see where it can take me,” said Sams.
The new building is set to open next August. It has price tag of a little more than $16 million which came from donations, grants and state funding. In addition to the 10-month program, there are also continuing education courses in the summer. Those courses attract people from all over the world.
So what’s in a name? Not what you might expect. Sam Beauford was the name of the Barnett’s family dog.
As seen on Action 13 News