ABOUT
At BenchSpace, our mission is to share the joy of working with wood.
Through our diverse and inclusive community, anyone who wants to work with wood can learn skills and work with others, access tools and workshop facilities, and acquire the necessary materials.
Our values
HAPORI
Community
We believe collaboration, connection, and mentoring are vital in a healthy community and are a great way to transfer knowledge, keep craftwork alive, and support wellbeing.
Community
We believe collaboration, connection, and mentoring are vital in a healthy community and are a great way to transfer knowledge, keep craftwork alive, and support wellbeing.
WHAKAURUInclusivity
We believe woodworking should be accessible to everyone. A desire to create and willingness to learn are all that is required.
We believe woodworking should be accessible to everyone. A desire to create and willingness to learn are all that is required.
WHAI RAWAResourcefulness
We believe in encouraging people, individually or with others, to solve problems, invent solutions, and make vs buy.
We believe in encouraging people, individually or with others, to solve problems, invent solutions, and make vs buy.
KAITIAKITANGASustainability
We believe in socially and environmentally sustainable craft principles and practices.
We believe in socially and environmentally sustainable craft principles and practices.
Trustees
Chair
Martin is a newbie in the woodworking scene. Having always enjoyed using wood for projects at home, he decided to do a course and learn the basics properly, and since then has been re-arranging his workshop on an almost weekly basis in an attempt to fit his projects around those pesky kids’ bikes. Martin’s also runs Wellington’s only specialist timber merchant.
Secretary
Ted got into woodworking when he responded to an advertisement for a kit to make his own “Martin” guitar. Building the kit into a guitar began a journey into the world of musical instruments and woodworking tools. Ted has been working with wood in his own workshop in Karori for the past 20 years.
Ted finds the gradual process of learning how to use tools and gaining skill highly satisfying, and using those skills to create something beautiful is extremely fulfilling. He sees Benchspace as a place where people can learn a skill, practice their craft, share their expertise, and enjoy the company of others who enjoy creating with their hands.
Trustee
Luca is a furniture maker and architectural designer. She studied architecture in Dublin before moving to Wellington and later retrained as a furniture maker at UCOL, Palmerston North. She now divides her time making custom furniture from her workshop in Brooklyn and contracting as a design professional.
Accessibility and inclusivity are Luca’s key motivations for getting involved in Benchspace. A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Luca is excited to create a safe woodwork space for queer and transgender people, women and others who may not have had access to a workshop or simply not been encouraged to learn.
Trustee
John has decades of teaching experience across a broad range of subjects, at various levels from intermediate school to university, and in different countries including the USA, Saudi Arabia and Czechoslovakia.
From balsa gliders through to guitars and violins, John has always loved making things and teaching others how to make. He is currently finishing his 21st violin. John teaches at Benchspace, drawing on his vast experience as a volunteer and teacher working with people of all ages, making a difference in the community and learning about people, cultures and craft.
Supporters
Wellington City Council
WCC have provided grant funding to help us get our workshop set up.
Te Toi Mahana
Te Toi Mahana provide us with our workshop space and connect us with the local volunteer community.
Department of Internal Affairs
DIA have provided grant funding to help us operate our space and gain first aid certifications.
Donate
Our workshop uses equipment donated by generous people. We can assess the value of equipment donations for tax deduction purposes. Currently, we’re keen to find the following equipment...
- Table saw
- Drill press
- Router table
- Belt sanders
- Wood lathes
- Hand planes
- Spokeshaves
- Hand saws
- Marking knives
- Marking gauges
- Bevel gauges
- Squares
- Chisels
- Sharpening stones
- Finishing oils
- Clamps
- Scrapers
- Rasps
- Rulers
- Files
- Aprons