Furniture making courses and workshops in Mount Egerton, Victoria.

Moonlite Studios offers small-group, hands-on learning for people across Melbourne, Ballarat, and regional Victoria.

We offer safe and inclusive classes and mentoring covering all aspects of woodworking, with an emphasis on developing fine hand skills and the careful, appropriate use of machinery.

Furniture Making Courses Near Melbourne

Moonlite Studios offers furniture making courses and workshops within easy reach of Melbourne.

Located in Mount Egerton between Ballarat and Melbourne, the studio provides a focused, small-group environment for learning and making.

Workshops and Courses

Foundations

Box Making 2 days · $330pp A two-day introduction to woodworking through one of its oldest and most satisfying forms. Butt joints, rebates, mitres and bandsaw boxes. Complete beginners very welcome. View workshop and register your interest

Sharpening 1 day · $250pp A one-day workshop in techniques to get and stay sharp. Chisels and plane irons, judgement over systems, approaches that work across a range of budgets and tools. View workshop and register your interest

Hand Tools Fundamentals 5 days · $1,400pp A deep dive into the fundamentals of fine furniture making, using a simple table as the vehicle. The skills to make furniture for the rest of your life, with a minimal palette of hand tools. View workshop and register your interest

Safe Machine Practice 2 days · $550pp A two-day workshop in safe and confident use of woodworking machines. Bandsaw, tablesaw, mitre saw, drill press, thicknesser and jointer. Open to all levels. View workshop and register your interest

Machine Tools Fundamentals 5 days · $1,500pp A five-day introduction to machine tool woodworking. Safe and accurate use of workshop machinery, angled mortise and tenon joinery, and a workshop stool to take home. View workshop and register your interest

Joinery 2 days · $750pp A two-day deep dive into the fundamentals of timber joinery. Mortise and tenon, dovetail, housing and their variants with hand and machine techniques. Joinery nerdism. We make no apology for going deep. View workshop and register your interest

Wood Bending

Hot Pipe Bending 1 day · $150pp A one-day introduction to hot pipe bending. Transform solid timber into bent form using heat and intention. No prior experience required. Open to all levels including complete beginners. View workshop and register your interest

Introduction to Wood Bending 2 days · $660pp A comparative, hands-on introduction to steam bending, kerf bending, bent lamination and coopering. No prior bending experience required. View workshop and register your interest

Contemporary Coopered Form 2 days · $660pp A focused workshop in coopering as a contemporary making practice. Hollow forms, tubes, shells and bowl forms at any scale. One of the oldest and least-taught traditions in woodworking. View workshop and register your interest

Bent Form: Design and Studio Practice 2 days · $750pp A design-focused studio workshop using bent form as a tool for creative practice. Begins with hot pipe bending as a physical modelling tool. For designers, makers, artists and creative workers. No woodworking experience required. View workshop and register your interest

The Bent Stick and the Sculptural Form 5 days · $1,800pp A masterclass in bending wood and expanding practice. Steam, hot pipe, microwave, lamination, coopering and kerf bending as tools for sculptural expression and material dialogue. Open to all levels. View masterclass and register your interest

Chairmaking

Make a Chair 5 days · $1,600pp Build a contemporary dining chair with compound mortise and tenon joinery. All participants work to a standardised plan with individual variations through slat spacing and crest rail shaping. Intermediate to advanced. View workshop and register your interest

Chair Design 5 days · $2,200pp A guided process of designing and prototyping a chair of your own. Ergonomics, proportion, joinery, bending, jigs and simple upholstery. Ross works with each participant on their individual design. Intermediate to advanced. View workshop and register your interest

Design

Design Process for Makers 3 days · $990pp A three-day workshop in how to get ideas and how to develop them, and maybe, just maybe find your own voice. For woodworkers, furniture makers and anyone working in any material who wants better tools for developing ideas. View workshop and register your interest

Material Understanding

Seeing the Wood and the Trees: Timber Tech for Makers 2 days · $400pp A two-day introduction to wood science, timber selection and material intelligence. How trees grow, timber conversion, moisture content, movement, species selection, provenance and ecological thinking. For woodworkers and furniture makers at any level. View workshop and register your interest

Have a question?

Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Mentoring

One-to-one mentoring in furniture making, wood bending and creative practice with Ross Annels. Online and in person from Moonlite Studios, or at your studio. Find out more about mentoring

Furniture Making Courses and Workshops

Moonlite Studios offers a range of hands-on furniture making courses, workshops, and mentoring programs.

Courses are currently offered on a scheduled basis, with upcoming workshops announced throughout the year.

These include short courses, intensive workshops, and longer-term learning pathways for people seeking to develop practical skills and deeper engagement with making.

Some training pathways are delivered with SkillBuild RTO 70059, including accredited Certificate II programs.

Other workshops and mentoring programs are studio-based and are not part of the SkillBuild qualification framework.

Location - Mount Egerton, Victoria.

All courses are delivered from our studio in Mount Egerton, Victoria, located between Ballarat and Melbourne.

The studio is easily accessible from Melbourne’s west and from regional Victoria.

Who These Courses Are For

Courses are suitable for:

- Beginners seeking a structured introduction to furniture making

- Intermediate makers developing skills and confidence

- Designers, artists, and tradespeople looking to expand their practice

Learning Pathways

Learning pathways include:

- Short workshops and focused skill development

- Extended courses building toward complete projects

- One-to-one mentoring and studio-based learning

For more individual or advanced development, see mentoring.

The Studio and the Work

Students work on projects relevant to their woodworking experience, developing skill through making.

Learning here begins with hand tools. Working to a fine level is fundamental to furniture making and forms the basis for all further work.

As well as making furniture, we explore drawing, design development, and approaches to sustainable design.

Skills and Equipment

The studio is equipped with high-quality tools and industrial machinery, but the emphasis remains on sensitivity to material, process, and the development of judgement over time.

Students learn how to use hand tools, sharpen edge tools, and choose, make, and tune tools.

We also cover safe use of power tools and the operation of major machinery, including panel saws, jointers, bandsaws, and thicknessers.

All necessary tools and machinery are supplied.

Courses Workshops and Mentoring Options

- Set courses in hand tool fundamentals, steam bending, chair design, and machine use

- Masterclasses and workshops with leading artists, designers, and makers

- One-on-one training by arrangement

Teaching and Experience

Ross is an experienced teacher who has taught extensively in studio, institutional, and workshop contexts.

He has worked at the Cooroora Institute, presented masterclasses for Wood Dust Australia, lectured in Product Design at the Queensland College of Art, and taught at the JamFactory (SA), Sturt School for Wood (NSW), and the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship (USA).

Enquiries and Bookings

Contact Ross to discuss opportunities to learn.

Upcoming courses are currently being scheduled.

Contact Ross to register your interest or to be notified when bookings open.

View our workshop archive

Past workshops from our previous location.

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