I'll give your eyes a moment to adjust. I know you were just gazing out your window, lost in the beauty of spring. Or, maybe you just came back inside from checking on your little bebe pea shoots. However you're doing it, I'm glad you're basking in this sunshine!

But now, it's time to read the Hammerstone Newsletter!

Hey Hammerstone Fam! We've been a-moving and a-shaking these last couple of weeks, really gearing up for the summer ahead and getting into the thick of our teaching schedule. In this newsletter, check out our class recaps from April, Tiny House '24 updates and stories, Hammerstone in the Community, and .... a giant gourd?? Yep, a giant gourd! Read on to find out more!

Happy Hammering!
Christina and the Hammerstone Team

Be a Part of
Tiny House '24

Each year at Hammerstone, we build a tiny house and organize classes around the construction of said tiny house. On the face, it seems pretty straightforward: take a class, build a house, The End. I want to dive deeper into what it means to participate in the Hammerstone tiny house project.

Do You Have An Inkling?

Are you baffled by the voice in your head nudging you every time you see a post about our tiny house courses? Why is the voice is talking about tiny houses? It's not your dream to build a tiny house; why would you want to take a class about it?

Our summer teaching series uses a tiny house project to teach construction topics, but these concepts are not exclusive to tiny houses. Quite the contrary. We teach stick framing techniques and residential building skills that are translatable to projects you will find around your home or yard.

Are you thinking about building a shed or fixing up an existing one? Our Rough Framing course teaches the stick-framing fundamentals you need to tackle that project. Learning about sheathing, door/window installation, and flashing in our Dry-In course will help you understand how to protect your structure from rot-causing moisture.

Do want to mount a TV on your wall but can't find the dang studs? Learning about rough framing will give you a map to what is behind your sheetrock.

Putting up a partition wall in your basement? Rough framing.

Planning to put some windows into your garden shed to convert it into a writing nook? Dry-In.

Building new kitchen cabinets or a bathroom vanity? Building a Free Little Library that matches your house right down to the exterior trim and siding? Replacing the trim inside your house?

It's all here.

So that inkling you're ignoring because you're not a "tiny house person" is worth reconsidering, because we teach a lot more than just how to build a tiny house.

***"For years I wanted to gain experience and confidence with rough framing and the Tiny House project provided an opportunity."***

Barbara Rapin,
TH23 Student/Crew

But the Obstacles...

Yes, of course, there are always valid reasons why you can't do something. But, if you want it, if you REALLY want it, you can get it. Hammerstone intends to stick around for awhile, and we will keep building tiny houses and teaching carpentry skills. If your budget (financial budget, time budget, energy budget, etc.) only allows for you to take one class this year, then take it! It doesn't matter which one you choose. Our tiny house classes are set up to be taken independently of the others - you don't have to take them all at once and you don't have to take them in order. Rest assured, next year, you can sign up for another one. We will be here teaching as long as you are here wanting to learn.

***"For me the first obstacle to signing up for the class was the language because I did not speak English [at] the time. Overcom[ing] the English obstacle was a great thing for me."***

Sophie Vasseur,
TH23 Student/Crew

I Signed Up and Now I'm Nervous

Well of course you are! You're about to embark on a 2- to 5-day (or more!) journey with some random people. Except, they aren't random people. They are people who signed up for a Hammerstone class just like you. Each of you come from different backgrounds with different skills, but each of you chose to sign up for this class. That's some common ground to start from. While we're building the house, we'll build bridges and figure out that what makes us all unique is also what connects us.

You come into this not knowing anyone, and within a day, you're laughing and getting to know each other. After a week of working together, you know who you're going to call for help on your own projects - or just to grab lunch!

Take One or Take Them All

Sometimes we find ourselves looking for fulfillment but we don't know how to get it. Many of the students who took our tiny house classes last year started by signing up for one or two classes. Then, after each class they took, they were compelled to sign up for the next one. It was like they knew they were looking for something, but didn't know what it was, and they kept finding that ethereal thing at Hammerstone.

And Then We Have a House

People in the trades often say that what they enjoy most about their job is seeing the physical success at the end of each day. Well, add up all the "end of day" successes at the end of the project and you have something pretty amazing. You get to see the tiny house move through the entire building process, from a naked trailer to a livable, cozy, and eco-friendly home. Even if you were able to make it to just one tiny house class, you still know that you contributed to the build and are part of its success. We always try to have a little gathering after the house is complete for anyone who played a part to enjoy and see the fruits of your labor, so that's something that you can look forward to :)

Being a part of the Tiny House building project means so much to us here at Hammerstone. We thrive on learning, progress, and connection.

Join us for Tiny House 2024 - be a part of this success!

April Class Recap

Basic Carpentry Skills 101

A big class of 13 fantastic women showed up to learn new skills and have fun. This April Basic Skills was the last class of the season taught at our partner shop, The Red Barn Cabinet Shop. We always appreciate their enclosed and heated shop space during the winter months, but we're excited to enjoy the sunnier weather at Hammerstone.

Table Saw Fundamentals

This class is filled with plenty of practice using a tool that can be intimidating at first glance. Students learned about drills, drivers, trim routers, countersink bits, and, the piece de resistance, the table saw, all while making the pieces to build an apple crate. During class, students decided that these crates are great for more than just apples: vinyl records, toys and books, a car organizer! If you have other ideas, join us in September for the next session of this popular course. Sign up now (early bird rates!).

Hammerstone in the Community

Build a Planter Box
No-cost Class for Immigrants and Refugees

Fourteen women from the Ithaca community ventured to Hammerstone in April for a basic carpentry skills class. In this condensed, 1-day class, students learned to use hand saws, circular saws, impact drivers, and drills - but the class was about more than the carpentry skills and tools. The women who joined us are all immigrants or refugees fairly new to this country and to the English language. We came together to build planter boxes, something that is hand built and will bring beauty to their homes.

Over the course of the day, we witnessed these women step out of their comfort zones, overcome language barriers, and learn together. This class is a favorite of ours to teach and always fills to capacity. Countries represented in this year's class were China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil, and Venezuela.

It is because of the support from you that we can make this event happen. Thank, you to everyone who volunteered time, food, money, and child care services to help us offer this course.

Special thanks to: Open Doors English, Sasha and Mary, Hammerstone Friends, Leonore, Gwen, Carrie, Suz, Maria, Moon, Kelly, Hadas, Molly, Rachel, Jo, Taylor, Kathy, Cristina, Myrna, and Carlos.

We are already looking forward to next year's class!

BOCES Women in the Trades Day

You all know Em Moss, one of Hammerstone's lead instructors, but did you know that Em's full-time gig is teaching Construction Trades at TST BOCES? Em, along with the support of BOCES staff and students, organized and executed an awesome event to highlight the trades as a potential career option specifically for high school girls. There were nine different stations for the students to check out where they could talk with real tradeswomen about their jobs and experiences. Every station had some hands on aspect, whether it was brazing pipes, hammering nails, or welding initials on metal, these young adults had a fun and engaging introduction to the trades.

Hammerstone is proud to be a supporter of Em, TST BOCES, and any young folks thinking about the construction trades as a career path. We can attest, it is a very rewarding experience!

photos courtesy of TST BOCES Career and Tech Center social media

giant gourd

I promised you a giant gourd, so here you go! Graham, our good friend and local artist enhances gourds' inherent personalites at her gourd creation shop, Gourdlandia. Her creativity knows no bounds and her latest endeavor is to build a giant gourd-shaped gourd trellis -- a gourd growing gourd! Not only is Graham dreaming big dreams (10' high by 12' wide kind of big) but she is also trying to achieve these dreams with a big amount of small donations. She's experimenting with a crowdsourcing campaign that asks for no more than $10 from anyone contributing (you can, of course, contribute more if you feel called by the gourd).

From the GoFundMe page:

"But Graham, can’t you just pay for this yourself? Why use GoFund Me?”
True, I could pay for this myself. But then it would be my giant gourd. I have an idea that if many people contribute $10 or less, then it will end up being everybody’s gourd, which is as it should be.

If you feel so inclined to contribute, here is the link. We are excited to see how this gourd grows!