An unusual woodworking space has sprung up inside a once-abandoned church in a small community in Wisconsin, just over the border from Gogebic County.
Known as Saint Maud’s Makerspace, the woodworking school operates on the
Sloyd principles, an educational model founded and developed in 1800’s Sweden.
This teaching method’s goal is to instill confidence by working with hands-on crafts.
Opened nearly three years, the makerspace is attracting people of all ages from both the sides of the Montreal River – the Ironwood, Michigan and Hurley, Wisconsin communities.
The program encompasses a series of woodworking projects with each one introducing a new skill and becoming progressively harder. The mission for
Sloyd at Saint Maud’s is to strengthen children’s character through woodworking.
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Karl Zinsmaster“Our aim is to foster self-reliance, nurture concentration, coach perseverance, encourage neatness, and instill a love of labor – all of which prepare them for their future,” says Karl Zinsmaster, who owns the building and teaches the principles. A native of nearby Pence, Wisconsin, he trained as an instructor with the
Sloyd Experience in Colorado.
“Saint Maud’s is a
Sloyd School for young people and a makerspace for people of all ages to do good work, learn from one another and feel at home,” he says.
Saint Maud’s offers a 2,000 square foot workshop with shared tools, expert assistance and space for members. So far, more than 80 students, ages 5 to 17, have taken part in the
Sloyd program. Most of them have come from Iron and Gogebic counties. In addition, the school teaches woodworking every Saturday for 12 middle and high school students in 4-H programs. Other participants may range up to 80-years-old.
“What happens inside Saint Maud’s is magical,” says Becky Pietrocatelli, an Ironwood resident and director of a home-school cooperative located in Gogebic County. The cooperative also includes students from Iron County, Wisconsin.
“I’m the mother of four kids who piloted with Karl in the beginning. Everything he does carries so well beyond the walls of their building and into the home, education and our life in general. There is personal growth beyond woodworking because the kids learn life skills and critical thinking. They learn to take risks, make mistakes and learn from them.”
Background
The story of Saint Maud’s began years ago when Zinsmaster left his hometown to attend classes at The Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in furniture design. That was followed by an artist’s residency through the Parsons New School in New York City. He stayed in New York to start his career in design and fabrication, later moving to Minneapolis where he worked as a designer and creative director for eight years.
Zinsmaster loved both New York City and Minneapolis and is glad he spent time away. However, like many Americans, he returned home during the pandemic only to then burn out from long hours of computer work and all-day Zoom meetings.
When the former Saint Anthony’s Church was listed for sale, Zinsmaster bought it with his father, Charlie Zinsmaster, a retired forester. Charlie Zinsmaster works alongside his son to restore the building into its new purpose. Additionally, he also serves as groundskeeper and frequent teacher.
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“I feel really honored and fulfilled to be doing something here, where I’m from, that will have a generational and positive impact,” Karl Zinsmaster says.
Karl Zinsmaster grew up less than a block from Saint Maud’s, the former St. Anthony’s Church. He always admired the building and wanted to see it repurposed in a meaningful way for the community after it became abandoned.
“The building is beautiful and affordable. We’ve turned this old church into a new and different kind of sanctuary for a lot of people,” he says. “My motivation is to be useful to my community.”
The makerspace
Membership is available for daily, monthly or annual use. Members have access to all shared resources during business hours, noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.
“We also offer classes and one-on-one assisted builds by appointment. We work exceptionally hard to keep all of these services available to our community for as little money as possible,” Karl Zinsmaster says.
“On alternate Wednesdays, we host almost 50 kids from the Superior Homeschool Co-op and teach
Sloyd woodworking, sewing and woodcarving. Their organization’s leaders have provided cooking, karate, robotics, art, drama, and yoga instruction for the kids,” Karl Zinsmaster adds. “Additionally, members are in the shop every week working on their own projects or with one of us on an Assisted Build.”
Last month St. Maud’s offered team-building exercises to leadership members from Ironwood Plastics, which produces injection molded parts for the agricultural and auto industries.
“This is something we’re trying out and will see how it fits into our mission for community outreach and enrichment,” Karl Zinsmaster says.
A variety of community classes have been offered, including Knit At Nite, Chop Chop (building an heirloom quality, edge grain cutting board), Yay Yoyos (a date-night woodturning class), Wanna Spoon (wooden spoon making), Knife Making and Stool Building.
While Karl Zinsmaster recognizes that not all of his students will become woodworkers or tradespeople, they will gain intangible skills like decision-making, critical thinking, and problem-solving, he says. They will learn from their mistakes, learn to persevere and correct those mistakes (or start over) in the process. The main lesson, he says, is one of learning “that if I can persevere through messing something up, my opportunities are endless.”
“Kids these days are amazing. They boggle my mind every day with their ability to do hard things when we trust them to,” he says. “Nothing brings me greater joy than to watch a young person see their potential through practice and perseverance.”
The building’s name has a sentimental attachment. Karl Zinsmaster’s dog, who died just before he purchased the property, was named Saint Maud. He notes that Saint Maud is the patron saint of misbehaving children.
Recently, the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce recognized him as Teacher of the Year with the Gus Swanson Educational Award. It was an honor Karl Zinsmaster found especially exciting because his background is not in teaching. “We operate outside the traditional avenues of teaching. We offer tactile, hands-on experiences working with real tools to instill a level of confidence,” he says.
A non-profit organization, Saint Maud’s has received a grant from the American Scandinavian Foundation to be applied towards 2025 operations. Other donations have been made by the Hurley Lions Club as well as individuals and families.
Future plans include developing a financial aid scholarship fund, training new instructors and expanding equipment and material resources. Programming in textiles and fiber arts will be added.
Plans also are underway to launch a Saint Maud’s
Sloyd Bus in 2026. The bus, outfitted with workbenches and a driver/instructor, will visit local school districts and tribal communities. A five-year plan would include official partnerships with Hurley and Ironwood School Districts.
Additional information may be found at:
https://www.saintmauds.com. Email:
karl@saintmauds.com. Phone: 715-391-9798
Ann Dallman has lifelong roots in Michigan’s UP. She started out as a newspaper reporter/photographer and returned to journalism after retiring from teaching. Her first Middle Grade novel, Cady and the Bear Necklace, received a State History Award (Books/Youth) from the Historical Society of Michigan as well as a Midwest Book Award, New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, was a Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist and a UP Notable Book. Her second book, Cady and the Birchbark Box, also received the Historical Society of Michigan State Award, is also a UP Notable Book and was a finalist in the New Mexico-Arizona 2023 Book Awards.