About
The Craftsman
Background
Dan Faia has been a professional woodcarver, furnituremaker, chairmaker, and educator for over thirty years. He currently operates a woodworking shop and small group workshop program in Rollinsford, New Hampshire.
After completing two years of formal training at North Bennet Street School (NBSS) in 1994, Dan continued to develop and hone his skills early in his career by working alongside master craftsmen in the fields of furniture making, chair making, furniture restoration, and preservation carpentry. Since that time, he has maintained his own business as a furnituremaker and woodcarver, and taught extensively at several woodworking schools. Dan was a faculty member in the Cabinet and Furniture-making program at NBSS from 2006-2023, and served as department head from 2010-2023, before resigning from his position to pursue creative goals and new opportunities for professional growth as an independent maker and educator.
Over the years, Dan has completed a wide variety of custom commissions and period reproductions, ranging from chairs, tables, and case pieces to architectural elements and traditional woodcarving. His work is displayed in private and public collections. In acknowledgment of Dan's dedication to the art and legacy of period furniture, he was named the 2023 recipient of the Cartouche Award by the Society of American Period Furniture Makers. In 2024, Dan received the Distinguished Alumni Award from NBSS.
Dan enjoys sharing information, and has published numerous articles in Fine Woodworking and other digital and print media. He also produced a video workshop series on measuring and reproducing a Queen Anne chair for Fine Woodworking. In addition, he has been a guest on Fine Woodworking’s Shop Talk Live podcast and the Modern Woodworkers Association podcast.
Well recognized for his contributions to the woodworking community, Dan has participated in demonstrations, presentations, or exhibits for organizations such as Colonial Williamsburg, Concord Museum, Eastern MA Guild of Woodworkers, Fine Woodworking, Fruitlands Museum, Guild of NH Woodworkers, Museum of Fine Arts-Boston, NH Furniture Masters, NH Preservation Alliance, Old State House-Boston, Old Sturbridge Village, SAPFM, Strawbery Banke, The Furniture Society, and The Old Manse.