New director at Maine school

Matt Hoggle will succeed Peter Korn as executive director of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, starting June 1.

“I am delighted to have the leadership of the school pass into Matt’s capable hands,” Korn, the school’s founder, said in a statement. “We are mutually committed to a seamless transition, and I look forward to seeing the Center thrive with his guidance as new opportunities and challenges arise.”

Hoggle joins the Center from the Contemporary Austin in Austin, Texas where he served as director of the museum’s Art School at Laguna Gloria for the past 15 years. He was responsible for all aspects of the school’s operations, including programming for more than 600 classes a year, faculty and staff hiring and management, strategic planning and budgeting, and operational oversight of an 8,500-sq.-ft. facility on a 13-acre campus. He is eager to start his new role.

“I am so grateful for the kindness shown by the board and staff and the trust they have placed in me,” Hoggle said in a statement. “This opportunity at the Center fulfills a long-held desire to marry my experience in educational leadership with my personal affinity for woodworking.

“Craft has been an integral part of my life and its expression in a variety of media has been the focus of my work at the Art School at Laguna Gloria. With this new and exciting chapter, I am eager to immerse myself in the mid-coast Maine community and get to work collaborating with the board and staff to ensure the continued success of this remarkable school that Peter built.”

The Center offers programs for beginners to professionals. For more, visit woodschool.org.

Two representatives of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America will present a nuts-and-bolts workshop focused on helping woodworking companies develop effective in-house training programs at IWF 2022 in Atlanta.

The session, “Building a Training Program for Your Workers,” will be led by Scott Nelson, president of the WCA, and Bruce Spitz, former owner of Classic Millwork & Products and a member of the WCA board of directors. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Aug. 25, at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Attendees will learn how to develop a pre-hire test, set benchmarks for accomplishments, create standard operating procedures, and access training resources. Register through iwfatlanta.com.

The Cabinet Makers Association will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a national conference in Nashville, Tenn. on March 8‐10, 2023. The event will be held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel and focus on growth strategies. The agenda includes several presentations, plant tours, and networking opportunities. For more, visit cabinetmakers.org.

The International Society of Furniture Designers is accepting applications for Innovation + Design 2022, a juried, furniture industry competition. It is open to professional maker/designers and students within the continental U.S. For entry details, visit isfd.org. 

This article was originally published in the June 2022 issue.