Remarkable Mentors: North Bennet Street School

Teaching tradition. Phil Lowe (left) and Lance Patterson (right) were two key forces in the invigoration of the furniture program at North Bennet Street School in the 1970s. Lowe taught at NBSS for 10 years, and later 20 years at his own school, the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts. Patterson, spoken about with reverence by former students, still teaches at NBSS.

The North Bennet Street School had been in business for over 80 years when Phil Lowe enrolled as a student in 1967. Founded in part on the principles of the sloyd system of manual arts instruction, it was housed in a quirky collection of interconnected buildings in Boston’s North End. In addition to woodworking, the school embraced programs in restoration carpentry, book binding, violin making, piano tuning and repair, and locksmithing. The Cabinet and Furniture Making program, founded in the early 1950s by George Fullerton, was somewhat sleepy when Lowe arrived, but the rising interest in craftsmanship brought in other inspired students. Lowe became a teacher at NBSS in 1975 and stayed until 1985. By all accounts, his leadership—along with that of Lance Patterson and others—revitalized the program and locked in a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum.

The two-year course of study taught traditional drafting and hand and machine skills, along with the joinery and structure embodied in classic American period furniture. It began turning out students whose skills were superior and whose period-influenced pieces were impeccable. A roster of outstanding teachers in the ensuing decades ensured that the school’s standards stayed extremely high. If there was a caveat about NBSS, it was that there was no original design component in the curriculum, and deviating from tradition was dissuaded. But in recent years, more and more makers who trained at NBSS have been producing furniture that, while hewing to high levels of craftsmanship, exhibits far more stylistic freedom and originality.

Stellar stuff. The level of work achieved by NBSS students and graduates is a calling card for the school. These people know how to make. The chest is by John McCormack; the table is by William Thomas; and the cabinet is by Miguel Gomez-Ibanez, who attended and then directed the school.

NBSS teachers and graduates have contributed mightily to Fine Woodworking. Phil Lowe, who ran his own school after leaving NBSS, led the way with some 30 articles. Lance Patterson anatomized a Boston bombay chest in FWW #45. The most recent? Ellen Kaspern’s article on building a lantern.

Fine Woodworking Live 2019 Student Exhibition

Imagine building a piece of furniture and putting all your attention, experience, knowledge, hopes and dreams into it (OK, that might be a little dramatic, but you know what I’m…

The History of the North Bennet Street Toolbox

For some it is a place to put your tools, but for the students of North Bennet Street School, their toolbox is a badge of honor.

Ellen Kaspern’s Elegant Twig Lantern

This project is packed with details and joinery exercises

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Blum Drawer Front Adjuster Marking Template

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