Woodworkers make a community for all
Thanks to Hudson Valley One and Karlie Flood for this beautiful piece about our monthly Kez gathering. Hope to see you at the next one!
Hailing from the north of England, ambitious creative Suzanne Walton opened the doors in 2014 to a single-source woodworking studio in midtown Kingston called Rowan Woodwork.
According to the website, the word Rowan comes from an Old Irish alphabet called “Ogham.” The Rowan tree was sacred to the Celts and was associated with strength, protection, and success – honored for its balance of beauty and hardiness. The Druids considered it a magical tree used for wands, rods, and spells. The website reads: “We harness this magick in everything we do, from building cabinets to building community.” Additional magick was added when Walton opened up late on the first Friday of every month in 2022 and created space for an assemblage of woodworkers with various skill sets gathered to practice Kezurou-Kai, or Kez for short. It opened the door for non woodworkers to experience the space as well.
Walton describes Kez as “a Japanese woodworking tradition where we hang up our tools for a few hours, emerge from our solo workshops, apartments and studios to connect with each other. Kez is a place for creative people who want to learn more about Japanese hand-planing and connect with other local creators. No experience is necessary, and those with experience are encouraged to share theirs”
rowan
The science behind Kez lies in shaving back the wood at the cellular level, leaving a completely sealed and waterproof surface so soft that if you dropped water on the wood, the water would bead up on top of it instead of soaking in.
Walton credits the magick of Kez to the creative alchemy that happens when people are in community. “People come together around benches and hand tools, and something interesting happens: conversation slows down, people share techniques, someone shows a trick with a hand plane, someone else tells a story,” Walton said. “It’s very simple but very human. People share ideas, tips, questions, jokes, pizza, and drinks,” Walton stated.
Creating with your hands matters because it connects to reality in a very direct way, she explained. “When you’re planing a board, you can’t rush it and you can’t fake it. The wood asks for patience and attention, and when the tool is sharp and everything is right, you feel it immediately. When people stand around a bench planing wood together, something ancient and human happens — the world slows down and community appears.”
Walton finds that moment — when the shaving comes off clean and the surface suddenly becomes luminous — incredibly satisfying. “It reminds you that skill and care still matter,” she said. “Craft has always been passed along that way — shoulder to shoulder, not just through instruction but through shared experience. When people gather to work with their hands, they’re not just making things; they’re building a culture around attention, patience, and care. I think we need that more than ever.”
It’s not just woodworkers that are welcome here. It’s for anyone who admires the craft of making something with their hands. Everyone is included: all ages, all genders, all abilities, people with their own different abilities, and catering specifically to accessibility. Kids make “‘magic sticks” and teach other kids how.
Walton emphasizes that Kez is a safe space for everyone, especially people typically excluded from spaces and places.
I talked to some of the regulars at Community Kez about what they love about it and the advice they would give for beginners. For Patrick Murphy, a Kez regular who has been coming since summer 2024, Kez is “an opportunity to play with your cool tools and meet new people.”
Pointing to someone sharpening their knife, Murphy tells me that this is one of their best guys. “He’s awesome. He’ll sometimes sharpen for an hour or two straight before he even runs a shaving. So we’re over here solving the world’s problems. A year and a half ago, they were telling us that he had just won or came second at a competition up in Maine for Japanese hand planing. For the thinness of the shaving, the consistency.”
I asked him what the goal of Kez was. “Come here, I’ll tell you. So this is the reason. Feel it. It feels like butter, right? And then if you hold it in a certain way, you’ll see reflections hit the wood.”
For Dana Variano, communications director for Rowan Woodwork, it’s the inclusivity of Kez that is loved so much. “For those new to woodworking who want to come to Kez: welcome! This is a completely welcoming and open space for folks who want to learn more about woodworking. The amount of creative and artistic talent and skill at Kez is astounding. It’s matched only by the energy of openness and curiosity in the space. I came to my first Kez completely unaware of what a hand plane was … and a year later, I’m building chairs with Suz and carving spoons with Kate. We hope to see you at Kez!”
Kingston Kez meets on the first Friday of every month and everyone is welcome. For more information go to: https://www.rowanwoodwork.com/events.