Tim Coleman creates custom furniture in a shop he built a few paces from his home in rural Western Massachusetts. He has been creating furniture for clients and exhibition for more than 35 years after studying at the College of the Redwoods with James Krenov in the 1980s. Tim is known for his graceful and dynamic furniture forms which often feature richly patterned and textured surfaces. Using low-relief carving, marquetry, embossing, and thick veneer tiles, he has developed simple but innovative techniques that put a new spin on traditional embellishment. As passionate as Coleman is about his own work, he is equally excited to pass on his knowledge as a frequent contributor to Fine Woodworking Magazine and by teaching at schools throughout the US.
Tim Coleman
Upcoming Classes
Cracked Ice Tabletop
Instructor: Tim Coleman
Weekend course: May 2 – 3, 2026
Price: $435
In this weekend workshop, students will learn to create a round tabletop with a cracked ice pattern in figured maple. The cracked ice pattern is seen widely in Chinese decorative arts and is a great way to learn how to construct geometric veneer patterns. The pattern utilizes the wood’s natural chatoyancy to create a surface with shapes that shift from light to dark.
Class fee: $385
Materials fee: $50
Class size limited to 10
Tim Coleman creates custom furniture in a shop he built a few paces from his home in rural Western Massachusetts. He has been creating furniture for clients and exhibition for more than 35 years after studying at the College of the Redwoods with James Krenov in the 1980s. Tim is known for his graceful and dynamic furniture forms which often feature richly patterned and textured surfaces. Using low-relief carving, marquetry, embossing, and thick veneer tiles, he has developed simple but innovative techniques that put a new spin on traditional embellishment. As passionate as Coleman is about his own work, he is equally excited to pass on his knowledge as a frequent contributor to Fine Woodworking Magazine and by teaching at schools throughout the US.
Unique Side Table
Instructor: Tim Coleman
5-day course: May 4 – 8, 2026
Price: $1,050
This 5-day workshop follows the Cracked Ice tabletop weekend. Students will create this unique table with a base that gathers in the middle. The table is 22-inch-tall table with a 22-inch diameter solid wood top which we will overlay with decorative veneer. This versatile table design will introduce students to the possibilities and dynamics of pedestal tables and the design decisions that go into them.
This pedestal table design is perfect for those who took the Cracked Ice Tabletop class, but for those who didn’t, Tim will show you his novel method for veneering onto a solid wood substrate which allows you to shape the edge of the table as you would solid wood.
Class fee: $900
Materials fee: $150
Class size limited to 10
Tim Coleman creates custom furniture in a shop he built a few paces from his home in rural Western Massachusetts. He has been creating furniture for clients and exhibition for more than 35 years after studying at the College of the Redwoods with James Krenov in the 1980s. Tim is known for his graceful and dynamic furniture forms which often feature richly patterned and textured surfaces. Using low-relief carving, marquetry, embossing, and thick veneer tiles, he has developed simple but innovative techniques that put a new spin on traditional embellishment. As passionate as Coleman is about his own work, he is equally excited to pass on his knowledge as a frequent contributor to Fine Woodworking Magazine and by teaching at schools throughout the US.
Make a Krenov Plane
Instructor: Tim Coleman
Weekend course: October 24 – 25, 2026
Price: $450
Wood hand planes are a joy to use, and once you know the steps to make them, you will be able to make planes in any shape and size, including curved bottom planes. In this weekend workshop students will construct a classic smoothing plane with a 1¾” iron, and it may become your new favorite hand tool. Tim was a student of Jim Krenov in the 1980s and learned directly from him how to create “the cabinetmaker’s Stradivarius”, as Krenov referred to the handmade plane.
Class fee: $350
Materials fee: $100
Class size limited to 10
Tim Coleman creates custom furniture in a shop he built a few paces from his home in rural Western Massachusetts. He has been creating furniture for clients and exhibition for more than 35 years after studying at the College of the Redwoods with James Krenov in the 1980s. Tim is known for his graceful and dynamic furniture forms which often feature richly patterned and textured surfaces. Using low-relief carving, marquetry, embossing, and thick veneer tiles, he has developed simple but innovative techniques that put a new spin on traditional embellishment. As passionate as Coleman is about his own work, he is equally excited to pass on his knowledge as a frequent contributor to Fine Woodworking Magazine and by teaching at schools throughout the US.
Past Classes
Contemporary Pedestal Table
Instructor: Tim Coleman
3-day course: September 19 – 21, 2025
Price: $600
Learn to build a contemporary side table that looks complex but is quite straightforward once you know its secrets. The base is assembled using five mortise and tenon joints, so it is as sturdy as it is attractive. Tim will show you how to use files, rasps and scrapers to create the sculptural shape for the feet and will show you how to make a tabletop using his unique approach to veneering onto solid wood. This technique allows you to dress up a surface with a decorative surface veneer while still being able to profile the edge as you would solid wood.
This project is a great way to learn:
- Design considerations for a pedestal table
- How to read the grain of the wood when selecting parts
- Making mortises with a hollow chisel mortiser
- Cutting tenons using the table saw
- How to make custom clamping blocks
- Devising strategies for tricky glue ups
- How to apply a shellac finish
Class fee: $550
Materials fee: $50
Class size limited to 10
Tim Coleman creates custom furniture in a shop he built a few paces from his home in rural Western Massachusetts. He has been creating furniture for clients and exhibition for more than 35 years after studying at the College of the Redwoods with James Krenov in the 1980s. Tim is known for his graceful and dynamic furniture forms which often feature richly patterned and textured surfaces. Using low-relief carving, marquetry, embossing, and thick veneer tiles, he has developed simple but innovative techniques that put a new spin on traditional embellishment. As passionate as Coleman is about his own work, he is equally excited to pass on his knowledge as a frequent contributor to Fine Woodworking Magazine and by teaching at schools throughout the US.