I’m teaching four stick chair classes in Germany and Australia in 2025. Yes, it’s an American teaching a Welsh/Scottish/Irish form in places that are truly exotic for this humble chair form.
Here are details and links. First stop, Germany.
Comb-back Stick Chair With a Steambent Arm
July 7-11, 2025
Dictum, Niederalteich facility
This is the most ambitious chair to make in a class. Heck, I wouldn’t dare teach it anywhere else. But Dictum’s Niederalteich campus has a great steam box and – most importantly – incredibly good workshop technicians (Mattias and Wolfgang) who can make anything work. The classroom is in a converted barn in a monastery. It’s a beautiful and isolated place to take a class.
Irish Stick Lounge Chair
July 14-18, 2025
Dictum, Munich facility
This is one of my favorite chairs to build (I have two on the bench right now). It’s incredibly comfortable, and the joinery is perfect for a first-time chairmaker. This class is in Dictum’s Munich facility, which is across the hall from Dictum’s storefront in Munich. Peter runs the shop there, and it’s an excellent urban workshop. (Bring your family, and they will find lots to do in Munich.)
Second stop, Australia.
Seven-stick Comb-back Chair
October 6-10, 2025
Wood Dust, Melbourne
The Wood Dust people are bringing me (plus Michael Fortune and Matt Kenney) to Melbourne for a woodworking event. I’ll teach a five-day class in making a comb-back, and there are evening events in Melbourne as well. Tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, but the link will take you to the site that has more information.
Seven-stick Comb-back Chair
October 14-18, 2025
Wood Dust, Newrybar, NSW
After a couple days off and some travel, I’m teaching a second five-day class in making a comb-back in Newrybar. Tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, but the link will take you to the site that has more details.
Teaching overseas is difficult. Not just for me, but for the people who organize and execute these classes. Because of the difficulty, any one of these trips could be my last. Not because of me – my health is great, and I have plenty of energy. But because of the difficulty and expense of putting on a class with an instructor who has to travel 9,786 miles to get there.
— Christopher Schwarz
“I was part of the LAP World Tour of 2025 and all I got was this t-shirt and a lousy splinter”
Well, I’m in! Just got the confirmation letter from Dictum for the comb-back class!
Cheers and see you both soon and then,
Mattias