Kelly’s work is characterized by the use of classic designs that emphasize the inherent beauty of natural grain patterns and colors of hardwoods. Kelly’s trademark furniture pieces often feature strikingly figured and matched wood that has been carefully air dried and sawed from a single tree. Kelly’s teaching reflects his emphasis on the appreciation of the beauty of wood.
Kelly is the author of The Tablesaw Book (1992/2002, Taunton Press). He is featured in two Fine Woodworking video/DVDs: Build a Shaker Table With Kelly Mehler, and Mastering Your Tablesaw. Kelly has contributed numerous articles to Fine Woodworking magazine, Woodworkers Journal, Popular Woodworking, Woodworker West, American Woodworker, Time/Life woodworking book series, and in other woodworking publications.
She is a graduate of the North Bennet Street School Cabinet and Furniture Making program, where she studied period furniture. Additionally, holding a BA in political science and gender studies, she ties in her decades long experience of working in the trades and the service industry, with her specialized study of both period furniture and critical thought.
She has taught woodworking classes nationwide at craft and trade schools including: North Bennet St School, Makeville, Fireweed Woodshop, A Workshop of Our Own (WOO) and has assisted classes at Lie-Nielsen and Penland School of Craft. She serves on both the Facilities Committee and the Education Committee at WOO. She received a Critical Craft Studies Fellowship from Winterthur Museum, Penland School of Craft Assistantships, the Future Craftsmen Scholarship from Oneida Air Systems, and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Summer Conference Scholarship. Her work has been exhibited at craft and furniture shows in the U.S and has been published in Wood Review Australia.
Kelly’s work is rooted in solid joinery and functionality, while reserving the space for a playful and nuanced design aesthetic that is both elegant and bold.
Her artwork is exhibited nationally and is published in American Craft, Fine Woodworking Magazine, Architectural Digest, Popular Woodworking, Luxe Magazine, Lost Art Press Blog, American Period Furniture, and others. She serves on the board of A Workshop of Our Own and as an ambassador to the Board of Fine Woodworking Magazine. She has received support for her work from The Windgate Foundation, Winterthur Museum, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and others and is the recipient of the 2020 Mineck Furniture Fellowship from The Society of Arts & Crafts.
Aspen maintains an active teaching practice and in 2020, with the help of the SA+C, founded The Chairmaker’s Toolbox—a project that provides free tools, education, and mentorship for BIPOC, Gender Nonconforming and female toolmakers seeking to build sustainable businesses. In support of the project, she has partnered with Winterthur Museum, Fine Woodworking Magazine, A Workshop of Our Own, The Furniture Society and chairmakers around the country.
Aspen does domestic and international commission work for designers such as Beata Heuman in the UK, The Harvard Design Project in Boston, MA and Building Preservation Associates in Nantucket, MA.
Most recently, Aspen has received a Windgate residency in the wood/furniture design program at San Diego State University and a Critical Craft Fellowship at Winterthur Museum to explore the physical and social history of the Windsor chair.
Measuring and documenting vintage furniture, then attempting to figure out the processes past makers used to build it is one of his favorite aspects of the craft. Then using the information and lesson learned from the old pieces to build new furniture.
Will teaches at several woodworking schools in the eastern US.
Her work has been included in many publications and exhibitions including Crafting A Continuum: Rethinking Contemporary Craft, Making A Seat at the Table: Women Transform Woodworking, and in American Craft Magazine’s February/March 2017 issue.
Hudnall lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where she runs the Woodworking and Furniture Program at the University of Madison, Wisconsin. When she’s not teaching she spends her time making tools for problems both real and imagined.
From the hand crafted log home he raised his children in, to the high chairs where they sat. On to the wooden horses they rocked upon and the hand woven baskets they collected their eggs in. Terry is a true workhorse who raised his family by the world of woodworking and shared his knowledge for all to gather.
Keeping our roots strong by using his master craftsmanship and passing down his skills to his kids and grandkids; He has dedicated his life to working the grain of the trees pulled down by his own two hands.
