Courtesy Saratoga Joinery
By Susan Elise Campbell
One of Saratoga’s newest non-profit organizations will launch in January to help woodworking novices and experienced hobbyists “build, collaborate and learn” skills in the community workshops at 69 Caroline Street, former home of The Children’s Museum. Saratoga Joinery is the latest endeavor of entrepreneur John Haller, who personally purchased the 8,500 square foot building in March of 2022 when he learned the museum would relocate.
“Some of the equipment and even the dust collector takes a lot of space,” said Haller, who has designed the first floor as a machine room and the second floor as a quieter workspace with benches and tables. “The whole building is coming out as nice as we expected.”
Haller is doing some of the construction and finishing himself, along with a number of local tradespeople and a mass of volunteers who share his compassion for the project, he said. He is not a woodworker by trade but a self-described “type A” personality who had a career in software beginning with his first start-up after graduation from RPI.
Several businesses later, Haller is “devoted full-time” as president of an eight-person board of directors from within the community and “doesn’t mind spending a day sanding a piece,” he said.
Haller’s interest in woodcrafts began when he and his wife purchased an “1883 Victorian home that needed a lot of work.” He said that he observed different master craftsmen as they renovated the house and the experience helped him “understand and appreciate how the house was built and how to make repairs and improvements while keeping the beauty that has been there all along.”
As he looked around for access to a shop where he could practice his new skills, he found there was no such place in the area.
“I thought, why not create a communal environment with machines that can be used by lots of people, since it is hard to justify buying nice equipment for yourself as a hobbyist,” he said. “That is the mission we set out on.”
Haller had a “life changing experience” two years ago when he sold his last business and with his free time went back to school, enrolling in a three-month woodworking program in Maine.
“The school is a non-profit focusing on furniture making,” he said. “There are a few of these in the country and I could immerse myself full-time with amazing teachers and 10 other students.”
“Now we are building a bright, welcoming space here in Saratoga,” said Haller. “There is a lot of talent in the community and woodworkers who want to share what they have learned.”
Whether a bowl or a desk, many who are new to wood crafts can learn how to make an object as well as how to avoid pitfalls at the Joinery. Haller said he hopes to bring many different types of instructors on board and that shop stewards will train people in safety and help them feel comfortable using the equipment.
Saratoga Joinery has employed two stewards and an executive director, Victoria Colarusso, who Haller describes as “the face of the organization.” Colarusso has not-for-profit experience managing communications and community leadership development for the Burlington, VT chamber of commerce.
Membership allows access to the space and equipment.
“Starting in January, we will be selling memberships starting at $85 a month with a discount for purchasing a full year,” she said.
The Joinery has every type of hand tool, saw and heavy machinery one would need as a woodworker. Such an investment is out of reach for most hobbyists, she said.
“A lot of woodworkers need their own shop in their basement or garage in order to do what they want to do, and many don’t live in a place where they have that luxury,” said Colarusso.
“Our goal is to make the space and the tools available to anybody who is a new woodworker or hobbyist looking to hone their skills,” she said. “We are not offering access to do commercial work.”
Hours have not yet been confirmed, but Colarusso said there will be weekend and evening hours to accommodate people with jobs during the regular work week.
The space also features a large conference area that will be rented out as a meeting space or a workspace, perhaps for a quilting group or other hobbyists, Haller said.
There will also be a curriculum of low-cost courses and training, such as introduction to woodworking, make-and-take classes to come in and finish a project in a few hours, how to mill rough wood, and other skills, she said.
“The feedback we have gotten from the community has been education,” she said. “Newcomers can take a class while they decide on a membership.”
Woodworking is an essential craft that “empowers people to build and repair instead of throwing away and buying new,” according to Colarusso. It also offers transformative life skills and mental health benefits.
Haller said he knows of a seriously ill man who credits his recovery to the focus he put on woodworking because “it gave him purpose and hope.”
Throughout his career Haller has been “a tech guy” but when operating a new non-profit organization “there are still problems that need to be resolved,” he said. The big difference between these divergent careers is that now there is “a tactile element. You see and smell the wood, immerse yourself in a project, and see the art in it.”
Most of the equipment and machines were purchased new or used and some were donated. Haller said “there is still a need for lots of hand tools and people are dropping off donations regularly.”
People from the community are also donating their time and skills as electricians, painters and general workers, an outpouring that is helping Haller and the team prepare for opening in the weeks ahead.
“Community support has been incredible,” said Colarusso. “We envision Saratoga Joinery as a hub for everyone to create, become inspired and connect with each other.”
Hence the name “Joinery,” Haller said. It means not only the ways two pieces of wood join together but also the ways people can join together “in a safe, inclusive and collaborative environment here in the Capital District.”
Colarusso said that any local non-profit organization that needs help with a project that the Saratoga Joinery can help tackle, it should contact her at tori@saratogajoinery.org or submit a proposal on the website.