New England American Craft Woodworking Tour

Follow the roots of American woodworking through the historic workshops, museums, schools, and makers that have preserved the craft for generations. From Boston's colonial trades and the renowned North Bennet Street School to the hand-tool makers of Maine, the shipwrights of Mystic Seaport, and world-class furniture collections in Connecticut, this immersive New England tour offers rare behind-the-scenes access to the people, places, and traditions that continue to inspire woodworkers today. Along the way, explore charming coastal towns, connect with fellow enthusiasts, and experience the rich woodworking heritage of New England.

Tour Complete

This tour occurred on October 5–October 10, 2026. Past tour information is preserved for informational purposes only. Visit Tour Highlights below to see a recap of this trip.

Itinerary

DETAILS

Day 1, October 05, 2026 Boston: Foundations of American Craft

Arrival on own into Boston Logan Airport. Meet your New England Tour Manager at your hotel. Gather in the lobby as a group to explore Boston.

Boston Town Crier–led walking tour of historic Boston. Focus on early American trades, guild traditions, and the built environment. Ideal grounding for the week’s craft narrative along the Freedom Trail.

Lunch on own in downtown Boston.

Guided visit to North Bennet Street School. You'll have an inside look at one of the country’s premier schools for fine woodworking, preservation carpentry, bookbinding, and piano technology.

Dinner included locally in the Italian North End.

Day 2, October 06, 2026 Living History & Early Building Traditions

Enjoy your included breakfast at your hotel. Travel to New Hampshire on a private mini coach with dedicated driver.

Enjoy a private tour at the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH. The private tour includes a local docent, focus on preserved homes, joinery details, period furniture, and discussion of historic trades, materials, and construction methods. Plus, tour host Al Breed has pieces currently on display at the museum.

Lunch on own in downtown Portsmouth, NH.

Tour of the Allan Breed's Woodworking school and personal workshop.

Travel to Freeport, Maine where you will enjoy the rest of the evening on your own.

Day 3, October 07, 2026 Tools, Makers & the Craft Economy

Enjoy your included breakfast at your hotel.

Guided tour of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks with a factory floor walkthrough, discussion of tool design and manufacturing tolerances. You will also have a chance to enjoy time in the showroom.

Lunch is on your own.

Visit to Liberty Tool, one of the most beloved second-hand tool stores in the U.S.

Day 4, October 08, 2026 Maritime Craft & Large-Scale Woodworking

Enjoy your included breakfast at your hotel. You will then travel from Maine to Connecticut. Lunch will be on your own during one of the stops during the drive.

In the afternoon, you'll visit the Mystic Seaport Museum with a focus on shipwright shops, maritime carpentry, spar making, and restoration work. You'll have insight into large-scale joinery, bending, and working with massive timbers.

Dinner on own.

Day 5, October 09, 2026 American Furniture & Scholarly Craft

Enjoy your included breakfast at your hotel.

Visit the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven

Lunch on own.

Visit the Yale Furniture Study where you'll have access to one of the most important study collections of American furniture. Plus, tour host Al Breed has pieces currently on display at the museum.

Farewell dinner is included this evening.

Day 6, October 10, 2026 Departure

Enjoy your included breakfast at your hotel. There will be one group transport to Bradley International Airport in Hartford, CT to accommodate travelers plans.

Please Note: Exact times/days are subject to change.

Hotel Accommodations:

After full days of touring, we will retire to the comfort of the following hotels. Hotels are subject to change.

Battery Wharf Hotel, Boston Waterfront (Night 1)
Harraseeket Inn, Freeport, ME (Night 2)
Camden Riverhouse Hotel, Camden, ME (Night 3)
Hyatt Place Mystic, Mystic, CT (Night 4)
Hampton Inn & Suites, New Haven, CT (Night 5)

Coach Travel:

A private mini coach with dedicated driver will be provided throughout the duration of the trip.

Transportation to departure of Hartford/New Haven CT airport with regards to the following: If your departure is before 10AM, you may wish to make sure you secure transportation to either Hartford or the New Haven airport.

Driving to Boston?
If you're driving instead of flying, you may park in the Boston area and meet the group at the hotel at the start of the tour. On the final day, the coach bus will return from Connecticut to Boston, where you can retrieve your vehicle before heading home.

Tour Highlights

Tour Hosts

Jonathan Binzen

Deputy Editor, Fine Woodworking

Jon Binzen, Fine Woodworking’s deputy editor, has been documenting the field of furniture making as a writer, editor, and photographer since 1993, when he joined the magazine. He and Kevin Rodel wrote the book Arts and Crafts Furniture, a history tracing the international scope of the style, which had its roots and perhaps finest expression in England. With a particular passion for design, Jon has written about a range of makers and styles, curated furniture exhibitions, and spoken on the craft at schools and conferences.
For the past twenty years, he has been writing about exceptional makers for Fine Woodworking’s back cover. After college, where he studied literature and the history of art and architecture, he worked in furniture shops in Philadelphia. He lives in New Milford, Conn., with his wife, book designer Carol Singer.

Al Breed

Cabinet and Chair Maker, Carver

Growing up in New Hampshire, Allan Breed began buying, repairing, and reselling antique furniture in his early teens, and before he was 20 he was serving an apprenticeship in conservation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In the decades since, he has worked as a consultant and conservator on some of the most prominent pieces of American period furniture and has reproduced hundreds of pieces, including the famous Nicholas Brown Desk and Bookcase, the Newport secretary built by John Townsend that sold at auction for $12.1 million. Prized by Sotheby’s and Christie’s as an expert on period craftsmanship, and a longtime contributor to Fine Woodworking, Al also teaches classes in carving and period furniture making in his New Hampshire shop.