Sylva Foundation is delighted to offer up to eight free places for women, trans and non-binary designers / makers working with wood to take part in Sylva Summer School 2026.
This year’s Summer School will take place 7th – 11th September at Sylva Foundation in Oxfordshire. Across five immersive days, participants have access to our professional workshops, receive guidance from experienced tutors, and join a welcoming community of fellow makers.
Summer School is part of our Woodworking and Gender Project, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Through the project, we are working to address gender inequality in the heritage woodworking and furniture-making sector, while creating space for new voices, new ideas, and new routes into woodworking careers.
The brief: Legacy
This year we are asking participants to think about early exposure to woodworking, and how we might rewrite the books, adverts and stories that have traditionally shown boys and men as the default makers.
Participants will design and prototype a wooden product, object, or piece of furniture with teaching in mind. Final outcomes may be developed into open-access plans, and potentially printed as a small batch of zines for schools, community spaces, youth groups, and informal learning environments.
We are not asking applicants to apply with a finished idea. We want to hear from people inspired by making woodworking feel more accessible, representative, and exciting for young makers and DIYers.
Your response might be simple, playful, useful, practical, beautiful, or bold. What matters is that it inspires and invites people in.
What to expect: Explore, connect and grow
Across the week, you’ll be introduced to the work of Sylva Foundation, the Woodworking and Gender Project, and our partner Grown in Britain, exploring our shared interests in sustainable forestry, homegrown timber, and more equitable futures for craft, design, and furniture making.
You’ll develop and prototype a response to the brief in our fully equipped professional workshops, with support from experienced tutors and designers. The focus will be on experimentation, problem-solving, and thinking through making: who your project is for, how it can be shared through plans or instructions, and how it might challenge assumptions about who belongs in workshops.
Summer School is also a chance to spend time with other women, trans and non-binary makers, share experiences, build networks, and be part of a supportive creative community rooted in confidence, care, and collective growth.
Who should apply?
This opportunity is open to people who:
- are aged 18 or over
- identify as female, trans, including trans men, and/or non-binary
- have some previous experience working with wood
- are passionate about design, making, furniture, education, community, or social justice
- can commit to attending Summer School in full from 7th – 11th September, and the online brief on Wednesday 2nd September 6 – 7:30PM
- are excited by the idea of working with homegrown timber
- are curious about how woodworking can inspire young makers, DIYers, schools, and community spaces
- want to contribute to a more inclusive and representative woodworking culture
We are particularly keen to hear from applicants with strong communication skills, creative energy, and the drive to bring ideas to life. People who feel excited by the brief: rewriting “the woodworking textbook”, sharing a passion for making with home-grown wood with the next generation, and helping more people see themselves in woodwork careers.
How to apply
Please apply using this form: https://forms.gle/9L8EU6mYA2TXYeoA8
Deadline to apply: Sunday 19th July 2026
Shortlisted applicants will be notified by: Friday 31st July 2026
For further information, or if you have any questions about accessibility or the application process, please contact us at: gender@sylva.org.uk
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