Woodspirit School is dedicated to high quality craft instruction in the Chequamegon Bay Region, Ashland, Wisconsin. We offer classes in Textile Arts, Wood Carving, Wood Turning, Basketry, Furniture Building, Green Woodworking and more.
Upcoming Classes & Events
——June 13 & 14——Spin Cotton, Wool & Flax with a Spindle, 1 or 2 days
from $40.00
Related Courses: Textile Courses
Dates: Choose one or both days
WOOL: Saturday, June 13, 10am-4pm
COTTON & FLAX: Sunday, June 14, 10am-4pm
Optional: Friday, June 12, 6pm Turning Flax into Cloth Craft Night Series presentation & demonstration with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl. Watch or take part in the processes of making flax plants into fiber, thread and cloth.
Description: Spinning fiber into thread is a fundamentally human, age old skill that transverses eons of time and human cultures. Since we have had hands and fingers, and felt cold, we have known how to spin thread. We will begin learning this challenging and (when you get the hang of it) relaxing activity in this introductory course by settling in, relaxing, and focusing on coordination and feel. We will try out both suspended (“drop”) spindles and supported spindles (they spin on something) to turn fibers into thread. We will progress to plying, using nostepinne and niddy noddy, as time allows. We will discuss fiber preparation, washing, finishing, organizing and storing your thread, preparation for dyeing, and using your thread for weaving and knitting. Resources for exploring more spindles and fibers will also be shared.
WOOL: On Saturday we will spin wool fibers. We will explore a few different kinds of sheep wool (Faroe, Shetland, Gotland, Cormo) and Alpaca too.
COTTON & FLAX: On Sunday we will spin a few kinds of cotton (Pima, Raw, Sally Fox Organic Fibers) and use a distaff to spin Woodspirit School homegrown flax and European line.
Workshop Fee: $60 for a single day, $100 for both days
Optional: Spindle and Fiber Kit: A spindle and an ounce of fiber for more practice at home, $40.
JAZMIN HICKS-DAHL runs Woodspirit Handcraft and Woodspirit School in Ashland, WI with her woodworker husband. She makes indigo dyed and handwoven textiles when she can. She has been growing flax and indigo since 2017. She studied flax processing with Andrea Mycklebust and back strap weaving and spindle spinning with Louise Young. Her background includes art & design, a love of natural materials, folk textiles, and an obsession with indigo since her teens. @loveblueindigo
6 available
6 available
4 available
9 available
——July 10-12——Katazome Stencils & Sukumo Indigo Dyeing with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl
$285.00
Related Courses: Textile Courses
Registration closes June 26 so the instructor can prepare materials.
Date: Friday-Sunday, July 10-12, 9:30am-4:30pm
Optional: Friday, July 9, 6pm Japanese Textile Travels Craft Night Series show and tell of textiles and photos from three trips to Japan with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl.
Description: Katazome is a Japanese method of dyeing fabrics using a resist paste applied through a stencil. Over three days we will go through the process of designing and making stencils and applying paste through them onto cotton fabric. We will dye the fabric in special sukumo indigo vats from composted indigo leaves grown in Japan by Watanabe’s. This is a unique opportunity to experience sukumo which is very rare in the US and requires 1 year to make and 2 weeks to prepare for dyeing. Read about it here. We will discuss the magic of indigo dyeing, fermentation, vat maintenance, and different vat recipes.
The instructor will be in touch about preparing an appropriate design before class begins.
Bring:
apron/old shirt for dyeing in
well fitting rubber/nitrile gloves, 3 pairs
reading glasses if you need them
headlamp (optional)
Workshop Fee: $285
Materials Fee: $50 includes all materials, dyeing supplies, handouts, and fabric. Please pay the teacher directly during class.
Classroom: The classroom space is on the second floor accessible by stairs and outside under a shade tent. There is a small refrigerator, coffee/tea area and a place for eating lunch together.
JAZMIN HICKS-DAHL runs Woodspirit Handcraft and Woodspirit School in Ashland, WI with her woodworker husband. She makes indigo dyed and handwoven textiles when she can. She has been growing indigo since 2017. She studied katazome, sukumo, and indigo dyeing with Takayuki Ishii and shibori with Hiroshi Murase and Yoshiko Wada in 2019. She learned about making and maintaining sukumo vats from Kenta Watanabe in 2025. Read about it here. Her background includes art & design, a love of natural materials, folk textiles, and an obsession with indigo since her teens. @loveblueindigo
4 available
——June 4-7——Korgar: Scandinavian Split Willow Baskets with Jarrod Dahl
$375.00
Related Courses: Basketry Courses
Dates: Thursday to Sunday, June 4-7, 2026 9am-5pm
Optional: Wednesday, June 3 Korgar: So Many Scandinavian Baskets! Craft Night Series slideshow & basket collection exhibition plus splint making demonstration with Jarrod Dahl.
Description: Inspired by Scandinavia’s rich basketry traditions this 4-day class will explore a few of the many forms of split material baskets found in Sweden and Norway. In general, baskets styles from around the world are directly related to their intended use, but the availability of specific materials also has a big influence on the shapes and styles. In Scandinavia, thin flat “splints” were commonly used to make baskets for the activities and needs of rural farm life. These splints were hand split and shaved from larger shrubs like willow and hazel.
We will begin this workshop by learning about where to gather, harvest and process larger willow saplings into rough splints. We will spend a good portion of the time splitting and prepping willow for weavers. We will focus on two splitting methods—hand splitting and the use of a splitting brake—a simple jig used to help with leverage while splitting. We will then focus on shaving the rough splints into smooth weaving material for our baskets. After the weaving materials are made students can choose which basket to make from the available basket designs offered.
Here are a few examples:
a plank bottom handled Swedish picnic basket
a small plank bottom backpack with leather straps
a skruk ( a Swedish type of basket woven backwards from rim to base) or
a vedmeis, a Norwegian two handled utility basket
Some students may not be able to make all the split material needed for their project. Extra rough split material will be available for purchase by students as needed in addition to the basic material fee associated with the basket design you choose to make.
This class is for basket lovers, basket weavers and woodworkers alike.
Tools to Bring:
Pruning Shears (Okatsune recommended)
Optional: Craft knife (Morakniv 106 or 120 recommended)
Workshop fee: $375
Material fees:
Please note that material fees vary by project chosen, and can be paid in cash during class.
Plank bottom baskets without handle $25, with handle $50
Pre-bent and dried handles for vedmeis $25
Veg Tan leather straps for backpack $TBD
Extra splints ~$35-75 depending on quantity used
Jarrod Dahl received a grant in 2024 to study Scandinavian Basketry through the American Swedish Foundation.
JARROD DAHL is a full-time craftsperson, teacher, and writer. Jarrod has extensive knowledge of harvesting and processing natural materials, forging and using hand tools, and making a wide variety of craft from basketry to canoes. He began making black ash baskets in 1997 and has since made many kinds of baskets including birch bark, knutkorg, split willow, pine splint, and root. He studied with basket weavers Steen Madsen, Hege Aasdal, Bjorn Majors, Vladimir Yarish and Scogin Zimmerman-Mayo. He takes a philosophical, historical and pragmatic approach to making, teaching, and advocating for handcraft. Jarrod writes a blog on craft and runs Woodspirit Handcraft with his wife in Northern Wisconsin. www.woodspirithandcraft.com instagram: @jarrod__dahl @woodspirithandcraft
4 available
News
At the next Craft Night, Jarrod Dahl, woodworker and craftsman, will share images from the International Basket Festival in Lichtenfels. Where he met basket weaving super stars and saw many fantastic baskets. Jarrod teaches The Willow Laundry Basket May 16-17.
See Baskets at Craft Night on May 15
View our 2026 Calendar
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Support our developing school
We began construction in 2021, the same year we ran our first season of classes. We are almost done! Help us with storage sheds, patio paving, classroom set-up, scholarships, and expanding our offerings. Thank you!
What People Are Saying About Woodspirit School
“As a retired educator, I am really critical about the quality of instruction when I attend workshops, and Jarrod was excellent! He introduced the various spoon carving topics, performed demonstrations, and spent time one on one when needed, which is very helpful. I came away from the class feeling like I can carve the next spoon!”
— Spoon Carving Student from Brillion, WI
“It was an all around great experience: awesome instructor, beautiful workspace, and generous hospitality.”
— Danish Cord Stool Student from Bayfield, WI
“I truly appreciated Mike sharing his skills and creative process. He didn’t just have me carve a bird—he taught me skills that I will continue to use and build on.”
— Bird Carving Student from Madison, WI
“Great history/background information and examples, wonderful, casual teaching style, time well managed, left me wanting more! The classroom space was beautiful, comfortable and inviting, and the light was amazing for handwork.”
— Indigo Dyeing & Shibori Class Student from Ashland, WI