Classes and Workshops
Sign up for wood identification, gilding, or restoration classes by professionals in the field of furniture conservation. These weekend workshops are popular and well received by attendants. Learn more about the wood in your collections or how to take care of your antiques in classes by Randy Wilkinson or Tad Fallon.
Come to beautiful New England in the fall or spring!
Featured Class
What wood is it and why? Seeing and understanding wood in a whole new way.
Three days over the weekend, March 27-29, 2026
(Friday, Saturday 9.00am-4.00pm, Sunday 9:30-2:00pm)
HISTORIC DEERFIELD, MASS – Did you ever look at a piece of wood and wonder what wood it is? And why it looks the way it does? Were you ever confused about which wood it is? Is it mahogany or walnut? Am I looking at cherry or poplar? Is it a hardwood or a softwood?
This three-day hands-on workshop at the dynamic Historic Deerfield is taught by Randy S. Wilkinson and will answer all these questions and more. It is designed specifically for curators, collectors, antique dealers, appraisers, and conservators. The goal of this workshop is to familiarize the student with the physical properties of wood in order to recognize species specific cell structures. No experience is necessary.
Read this review on our Videos page about one of our past Wood Identification Workshops.
Present and Past Classes
What wood is it and why? Seeing and understanding wood in a whole new way. Three days over the weekend, February 7-9, 2025 (Friday, Saturday 9.00am-4.00pm, Sunday 11:00 – 4:00) HISTORIC DEERFIELD, MASS – Did you ever look at a piece of wood and wonder what wood it is? And why it looks the way it [...]
Designed for furniture makers, restorers, collectors, homeowners, and dealers alike, this exciting two-day hands-on class, taught by Tad Fallon, will focus on the restoration and conservation of gilded surfaces including frames, furniture, and architectural elements. We will review the basics of traditional water gilding and oil gilding techniques. Emphasis will be placed on identifying different [...]
SOLD OUT, take me to Deerfield instead What wood is it and why? Seeing and understanding wood in a whole new way. Three days over the weekend, September 13-15, 2024 (Friday, Saturday 9.00am-4.00pm, Sunday 11:00 – 4:00) MYSTIC, CONN – Did you ever look at a piece of wood and wonder what wood it [...]
Thank you so much for the wonderful antique restoration class that you held this weekend. I enjoyed learning about shellac and all the best practices that you have both amassed over your years of working with antiques. It was a lot of fun for me. I made it home ok with my couch and look forward to starting to work on it early next year.