Woodworking Course in the Australian Festool Workshop (at IDEAL TOOLS)

[Anthony]

Hi,

We would love some feedback on the concept of international participants for courses at our Festool workshop in Australia.

Since building the Festool workshop and more recently holding woodworking courses here, we have had positive interest and feedback from the international community. Which leads us to ask: If we were to organise woodworking courses for international visitors would anyone be seriously interesting is coming down under and participating?

We will provide visitors with a chance to build a project in Australia with some very cool Australian timbers.

We can do either or both these formats:

1. A formal project course with Terry Fogarty providing instruction.

2. Or for those more experienced, come with your own project in mind. Terry can then be a local knowledge base on different Aussie timbers and what to expect and how best to work with them.

Additionally, we can arrange a few field trips like visiting an Aussie forest, go to a local timber mill, or something less woodie.

Other travel and accommodation details can be nutted out if we get a positive response to this poll. There are some nice places to stay here in Williamstown (Victoria). We are not far out of Melbourne city and on the edge of Port Philip Bay. What the costs would be is yet to be determined.

It could be a good chance to get some time away for yourself, or bring along a friend or family members.

Here is a pic of our Festool workshop and a link.

Our woodworking courses page, although we would probably create courses specifically for OS visitors.

Here are some links about Williamstown. Travel Victoria and Williamstown Info.

Let me know what you think - fill out the poll if this interests you and/or provide some feedback.

 

[Rob Z]

Hi Anthony

My compliments to you for assembling what appears to be a first-class operation.  If I ever make it to Australia, I would certainly visit your shop and would attend a class.  Because my main trade is tile-setting, I would also spend some times studying the trade while in Australia, and try to learn the methods and materials that are used in your country.

 

[Anthony]

Thanks for your feedback Rob. I have to admit I do love our place, and when I post up some new pics you will see some more improvements made for classes.

Until I posted the poll I did not really think about visitors combining a course with a trade tour. I was more thinking combining a course with family holiday was more likely. But both seem like good plans. I mean, people can do whatever they like and will, but it is good for us to be aware what else they would like to do here so we can facilitate a suitable course structure.

Thanks to those who have voted so far. Polls like this are a bit tricky, because they are part hypothetical, and part real depending on they results. By this I mean, if there is not a warm enough response (maybe because it is not really practical or appealing to people) the poll will remain hypothetical. But if there is a clear positive result and people would really like us to make it a reality, we will make it happen for sure. It would be exciting to have OS visitors spend some time in our workshop. So if anyone who is voting wishes to email me about seriously coming over for a course and/or holiday, please don't be shy - because we would love to do it if we can get the numbers.

Cool - 5 votes. 

 

[Anthony]

Cool - 7 votes. 

What's the best times of year for NA folk to take holidays to far away countries like Oz? I know when the good seasons are here, but I am not that familiar with NA holiday seasons, work 'seasons', etc.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Anthony, our summer months (June trough early September) are a popular time to travel. Of course January and February some people in the cold climates like to travel to warmer locations.

 

[Anthony]

Anthony, our summer months (June trough early September) are a popular time to travel. Of course January and February some people in the cold climates like to travel to warmer locations.

Thanks for that Brice. A chance to get away from a cold climate winter and experience our summer would be great. But summer accomodation rates are higher here of course. Not sure about airfares just yet.

We are thinking of offering courses at different times of the year. Some would be more suited to further travel and sightseeing than others. But either way, want to sync it up with the times of year that visitors can get away from their own country.

 

[Rob Z]

Anthony

One thing that many of us would need to consider is the time frame of early/late June through early/late Ausgust because of the kids' summer break from school.  This range of dates for start/stop of the school year varies around the country, usually from state-to-state. 

A trip to Australia, with the lengthy flight time. layovers, time changes, etc., would cause many to want to carve out a serious chunk of time to be able to complete the travel on both ends of the vacation. recover from the trip, and so forth. This would likely elimnate all of the vacation times during the school year, even at Christmas time.

My father-in-law's family is still in the Philippines, and we will someday make a trip there to visit, and when we do so we plan to make it to Australia and NZ.

 

[Anthony]

One thing that many of us would need to consider is the time frame of early/late June through early/late Ausgust because of the kids' summer break from school.  This range of dates for start/stop of the school year varies around the country, usually from state-to-state. 

A trip to Australia, with the lengthy flight time. layovers, time changes, etc., would cause many to want to carve out a serious chunk of time to be able to complete the travel on both ends of the vacation. recover from the trip, and so forth. This would likely elimnate all of the vacation times during the school year, even at Christmas time.

Thanks Rob - that's just the sort of input I am after. I can look at a calendar of US holidays, but that does not give me the full story at a personal level.

 

[Rob Z]

Hi Anthony

My home state (Virginia) and our neighbor to the south (North Carolina) illustrate the differences from state-to-state.  Virginia schools, by law, can't start school before Labor Day (in September), but in N. Carolina they don't have these restrictions and their school year starts early in August (or at least it did in the area where my sister used to live). The kids in NC are already out of school, but here my kids still have another couple of weeks.

What is the climate like where you live?  If it is cool in July, that would be a good marketing plan for you...come to OZ and beat the miserable heat and humidity that much to the US suffers through in July. ;D

 

[Anthony]

What is the climate like where you live?  If it is cool in July, that would be a good marketing plan for you...come to OZ and beat the miserable heat and humidity that much to the US suffers through in July. ;D

Ok Rob - you're on the marketing team.

Personally I like winter (June/July/August) in Melbourne, and when I go on holidays I like to go somewhere even colder. Although I gave in to my wife's needs and we went somewhere warmish earlier this year.

So it sounds tricky to match our course timing with holidays. I say it will suite some, but just miss out on perfect timing for others. For people to split the personal part of their trip (doing the course) from the family part could work. Come over a week earlier than the family and bond with some other fellas doing woodie stuff.

Although - according to the poll so far at 7 votes, seems like most participants would come for the course and holiday, but not be bringing the family along. So this might give some more room as far as best times of the year to travel.