As a young man, Phil Lowe took a delight to woodworking and, 
as the years evolved, so too did that passion. In 1972 he entered the furniture making program at North Bennett School in Boston, Massachusetts, and over the course of the next thirteen years he divided his time as a graduating student, working in the field of the design and construction of furniture, and as an instructor himself (1978-1985) at North Bennett, where he positioned as department head for the latter five years. In 1986 Phil devoted all of his energies to the full-time operation of his furniture making business. Though the business is still in operation today, it serves primarily as an educational tool for his own recently founded furniture making school, the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts. Initially, F.I.M. offered one and two week summer intensives only, though it is now in its fifth year offering a post -secondary two year full-time furniture making program. Summer intensives remain in place, enabling furniture makers, be it their vocation or their profession, to incorporate the study of furniture into their existing lifestyles. Phil continues to be a visiting instructor, seminar speaker and demonstrator at various trade schools, private schools, and woodworking schools in the United States and Canada.
Phil's Work
White Oak Newel With Carved Corners
Shell Cupboard
Block Front Desk
Chippendale Entertainment Center
Gothic Bookcase
Sheraton Sideboard
English Chippendale Arm Chair
Gainsborough Chair
Fred is a recent FIM graduate of the full time furniture making program and has proved to have exceptional talent. I have asked Fred to stay on in the capacity of assistant and shop manager for the full time and summer workshop program. Fred also performs some work that filters through the shop I order to keep a balance between an instructional institution and functioning shop.
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS
Will Neptune studied cabinet making at NBSS in Boston. He later returned to be an instructor from 1986-2000. Fine Woodworking Magazine has published several articles by Will and he has also taught at craft schools across the country. He runs his own shop in MA, and accepts commission work for furniture and Architectural elements, with an emphasis on carving. One of his recent works, an Art Nouveau Pedal Harp, is shown in the Notes And Comment section of Fine Woodworking Magazine(Feb. 2005).
Dan Faia
Dan Faia is a graduate of NBSS and is one of the fulltime instructors. Dan worked a period of time with Phil and he was the lead instructor at the Windsor Institute in NH. Dan has authored several articles for Fine Woodworking Magizine and runs his own business in NH.