Past Grad, Sean Harrigan Talks About His Experience at NIWF

Sean Harrigan graduated in 2008 from The National Institute of Wood Finishing, he is currently living and working in Livingston, Montana where he is the owner & operator of Deluxe Lustre Fine Wood Finish & restoration.

"In March of 2008, while researching a wood finish, I came upon the National Institute of Wood Finishing's website. Astounded, I thought "what is this?!?" Being a painting contractor and looking to expand my skill level into other ventures, this program immediately sounded like something designed just for me. As I read through the syllabus and testimonials I knew I must venture from Montana to Minnesota and see for myself what this was really about. When I toured the classroom and work area and saw what the current students were doing & I knew this is where I wanted to be. Fortuitously, I was able to secure the last open spot for 2008-2009. All this, just 3 weeks after learning of the program. Without delay my wife and I began to make plans to move to Minneapolis for 10 months.
Mitch eases everyone into this intense program. He shapes your skills from the ground up, building a sturdy foundation in color theory. Even the most talented students are challenged, and Mitch will not leave you with an uninteresting moment. As you strive further, Mitch pushes your potential as far as you dare to take it, leading you on the path to success. As the student advances through the program, you see how one class develops into the next, finally reaching the crucial goal; an unyielding understanding of color, coatings, wood, conservation, solvents, spot repair, adhesives, methods of application, tools used and modus operandi. Through Wood Finishing Technology, you as the student can find out how many things there really are to know about wood finishing. This is a sound program that Mitch has designed and honed for over 30 years.
Upon re-entering the workforce, I am slowly building my own Wood Finishing business. Now contracting on-site wood finishing work, I feel I have an edge over the local competition. I’ve executed successful spot repairs and attractive interior finishes. I am able to offer many finishing solutions and options on projects old and new from furniture to architectural millwork. My knowledge from N.I.W.F. is used on a daily basis. Everyday I think of new ideas and I am impressed how far this education has already taken me.
Mitch Kohanek is inspiring, passionate and dedicated to teaching you the art and craft of wood finishing. He has instilled in me a level of confidence and a thirst to seek out and learn more about finishing. This program is one of a kind. It has enhanced my quality of life immeasurably. Thanks Mitch. I’ll see you at one of your summer offerings."

Past Grad & Advisory Board member, Tammy Wold visits

Past Grad, Tammy Wold, came to visit and talk about spraying technique. Tammy graduated in 1980, and was hired on as a touch-up and repair tech at a furniture company in St. Paul, MN where she worked for 2 years. In 1982 she worked as a subcontractor doing refinishing of furniture and residential kitchens. In 1983 she went to work for a refinishing company in St. Paul until 1986 when she opened a small business in Maple Grove, MN. Their main work was prefinishing for other businesses in the industry, cabinetmakers, furniture makers, and store fixture manufactures. In 1998 Tammy went to work as a supervisor of the finishing department for Nevers Industries, a company that manufactures conference room furniture to order. We are also honored to have Tammy as a member of the Dakota County Technical College Advisory Committee, which she joined in 1999.

Wood 1021 Wood Refinishing: Glazing Color

Glazing is another wood finishing technique, that, at it's base is simply applying a pigment on top of a finish. it can be used to create any number of effects in your wood be it a subtle color shift, to obscuring the grain, adding depth, or distressing furniture to make it look old. Glazing is an invaluable refinishers tool to match colors and a skill that our students learn that will serve them well in the field.

Wood 1026 Advanced Finishing: High Gloss Buffing

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words! In Advanced Finishing we look to get a very high quality product, you can see here that we mean High Gloss!

Wood 1032 Furniture Conservation: A Visit with Paul Storch, Senior Objects Conservator at the MN Historical Society

Senior Objects Conservator for the Minnesota Historical Society, Paul Storch, had a great conversation with students today about conservation. You can see Paul showing off one of the fine historical pieces that has come to him. This is a drum from the Civil War that had just come in for testing to establish what might need attention to preserve this historical piece. Here is another fine example of what it meas to involved in conservation.

Wood 1021 Wood Refinishing: Putting it all together

We are now in wood refinishing! We've gotten through all the other sections and we are at the point where we put it all together. We must establish the need and use of the object, then make informed decisions as to what the appropriate course of action would be, then we execute that plan. You can see that we are stripping and staining some chairs. This is real world, hands on experience, and the students can point to some of these projects as a culmination of their year here at DCTC.

There is a great pride that can be taken in the knowledge that you began a project, planned it out, can justify your decisions and have a beautiful piece of furniture at the end of the process!

Wood 1019 Spot Repair II: Working field trip to St. Paul's Cathedral

Getting out into the real world and doing some service with our new found skills is a big part of the NIWF program. Today we took a trip to the Cathedral in St. Paul where the students had the chance to attend to some real wear and tear on actual furniture in a public place.


In the past we have done work at the Governors Mansion, the State Capitol, any number of different churches, The Glensheen Mansion and The Landmark Center to name a few places.

Wood 1032 Furniture Conservation: French Polishing

In furniture conservation, we teach the conservation techniques I learned at my internship at The Smithsonian Museum. With these techniques we can restore and preserve valuable wooden objects. Among such techniques is French Polishing.

In the Victorian era, French polishing was commonly used on mahogany and other expensive woods, and was considered to be the best possible finish for exclusive furniture. The process was very labor intensive, and many major manufacturers abandoned the technique around the 1920's & 1930's, instead preferring the cheaper and quicker techniques of spray finishing nitrocellulose lacquer and abrasive buffing. Sadly, today, French Polishing is somewhat of a lost art.

Wood 1026 Advanced Finishing : Lori Shade demonstrates distressing

Lori Shade, from Plato Woodworking, came in today to discuss and demonstrate distressing techniques that they use in the manufacturing and finishing of some of their kitchen cabinets.

Plato Woodwork is a family owned cabinet manufacturer located in Plato, MN. They have been in business since 1893 and have developed quite a reputation, including winning the "Most Imaginative Kitchen Cabinet" award from Women's Day Magazine in 2008. Thanks to Lori for showing off some of their great techniques.

Wood 1021 Wood Refinishing: Caining a Chair

Cane chairs are not only beautiful but they evoke a sense of history and craftsmanship. There are two kinds of cane seats--those woven by hand with long strands of thin cane and those made of a machine-woven cane sheet. Even if all the original cane is gone from a chair, one tell which type of seat it had. If there is a narrow groove around the seat frame, the chair had machine-woven cane. For years cane chairs were made in the factories but sent out to weavers who would weave the cane seats and backs by hand. Eventually, machines began to do the weaving mechanically. Pre-woven cane makes re-caning a chair a much simpler process, but it still takes patience and a steady hand to bring old cane chairs back to life.

In Wood Refinishing, we learnhow to install both types of cane. We learn a basic 6-step weave for hand caining of chairs, we also learn installation of a factory weave.

Wood 1026 Advanced Finishing: 3M visits to show off their newest spray guns

3M visited us to demonstrate their latest spray guns. Just one of the benefits of attending the NIWF is that industry leaders come to us to alert us of their latest innovations. With 1 on 1 face time, we can ask questions, observe and try their products.

Wood 1032 Furniture Conservation: Past Grad Seth Stevenson talks antiques

Past NIWF graduate, and professional antique dealer, Seth Stevenson, came in today to talk about his business in dealing, refinishing, refurbishing and conservation of antiques. Seth was dealing in antiques before he came to DCTC, but decided to take his knowledge, skills, and abilities to the next level by attending the National Institute of Wood Finishing.
Seth is a walking encyclopedia of American Furniture, and it shows when he talks to the class. It has been a lifelong study for him and his expertise pays off.
Seth came in as part of our Furniture Conservation section, because that is such an integral part of the antique business, who better than Seth to talk about it.