Gail Grycel has been a custom cabinetmaker since 1984. The balance of beauty and function exists in her cabinetry and furniture throughout New England. For over twenty years, and in three states, Gail has empowered women and girls through her class offerings in adult learning programs, woodworking courses in her studio, at HatchSpace, and the Claremont Makerspace, Rosie's Girls summer camp sessions, mixed gender workshops, and one-on-one tutoring. She is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and experience to all who want to explore the love of making things out of wood.

Heather Tauck serves as the Program Leader for the intensive and has been teaching at Hatchspace since 2022. She is a graduate of The Evergreen State College and The North Bennet Street School, and she brings 15 years of woodworking experience to her role. She cares deeply about creating a classroom atmosphere focused on safety, community building and self-expression. Heather believes that woodworking classes offer students more than practical hands-on skills—they inspire creativity, boost confidence, and foster a sense of belonging, which can have a meaningful impact on students’ lives and help them connect with what truly matters. In her personal practice, she is interested in making functional pieces that explore modern and contemporary forms, illustrate expert craftsmanship, and highlight the natural beauty of wood. Based in Western Massachusetts, Heather makes and exhibits her work locally. You can view her creations at HT Woodshop and on Instagram. 

Tom Bodett is a lifelong carpenter and woodworker who founded HatchSpace in 2019. In addition to his successful 40-year career in publishing and broadcasting, he now devotes himself to serving the rural communities he has lived in, and has always lived in. With half of his adult life spent in Alaska and the other half in Vermont, Bodett has learned to appreciate the beauty and the bounty of our natural landscape and the indomitable spirit of the communities that occupy it. Through hands-on effort and philanthropy, Tom and his wife Rita work to leave these places better than they found them, and have learned when to leave well enough alone.

Rowan Norlander-McCarty is the Director of Operations at HatchSpace. He is a cabinetmaker driven by curiosity and the pursuit of quality. He believes that in melding the industrial, applied, and fine arts, we all have the opportunity to live in a more harmonious, sustainable world. Rowan has worked as a cabinet maker, fabricator, machine operator, custom millwork installer and artist assistant for a range of design studios and creative businesses. A lover of trees from seed to stump, when not in the shop you’ll find Rowan in the forest or the garden.

Blake Johnson started his woodworking career in a teaching environment, at art college, and hasn’t let that learning/teaching thing go ever since. He has built scribed log playgrounds, museum casework and exhibits, furniture, and renovated houses. He appreciates making for himself, and loved ones, objects that evoke joy and character for years to come. He loves the process of making things, the mental machinations, the problem-solving, and the many discoveries that come while working with a natural material. Each project becomes a process of getting to know the work, the wood, and in some ways, a bit of himself. This sense of empowerment and responsibility to a personal environment is something he hopes to spread in every place where he works. Some photos of his work can be seen at www.heartsparkarts.com and on Instagram at @runeshai.

Heather Dawson is a furniture designer, studio woodworker, and woodworking instructor based in western Massachusetts. A 2014 alumnus of the collaborative Certificate in Furniture Design at Massachusetts College of Art & Design and North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA, Heather is an assistant professor in the program today. She is an experienced journeyman cabinetmaker and project manager and has devoted over a decade to developing curricula for adults to learn new skills in community woodshops. Heather's personal studio practice focuses on thoughtfully sculpted joinery, sustainability, and the invocation of delight. She has exhibited widely and is currently making new work in her Easthampton, MA studio. View Heather's work on her website. 

Erin Bell is the owner and operator of Curiosity Woodworks, serving the Upper Valley community and the surrounding New England area since 2017 with sustainable and locally made furniture and woodworking design. Instead of specializing in one certain genre of furniture, Erin revels in the opportunity to work with different clients on bespoke projects that serve their needs and dreams through imaginative design, innovative resourcing and engineering, and classic hand and power tool fabrication. View Erin's work on Instagram.