News:
May 17th: Join us for some boat fun on lake Phalen!
We have been working on our 13-foot wooden rowboat for the last 6 months and it's almost time to see it in the water!
Meet us at our shop on Sunday May 17th at 1:00pm. We will head over to nearby lake Phalen after we make sure the weather cooperates. We will have some drinks, snacks, and a couple or more boats you can row or paddle. If you have a boat - bring it to the fun!
Our address is 1017 Front Ave in Saint Paul, MN.
Back by popular demand: Paddle Carving in June
One class that people can’t get enough of here in Minnesota? Carving your own sleek canoe paddle. So we scheduled an extra class on three Tuesday evenings in June (2nd, 9th and 16th). Sign up soon, because these slots fill up. See you at the shop!
New! Sheer Craft’s “Skill Share” social:
To continue the tradition of our “Boatbuilding Socials”, we will host a monthly gathering at our shop where, in the course of hanging out together with our community, at least one person will share a craft-oriented skill. These free events will happen Wednesdays on the following dates:
- July 1st, 6-9pm
- August 5th, 6-9pm
- September 2nd, 6-9pm
Anyone is welcome to join!
Featured Projects and Classes
Benches and Planters for the Neighborhood
Benches and Planters for the Neighborhood
Benches and Planters for the Neighborhood
We partnered up with local organizations to make custom outdoor furniture for small businesses near Como/Front/Dale intersection.
These pieces are made from domestic Black Locust and are designed to stand the test of time.
Paddle Making on Saint Croix River
Benches and Planters for the Neighborhood
Benches and Planters for the Neighborhood
Our first destination craft class! A small group camped out on the shore of the St. Croix for two nights, and each participant left on Sunday with a hand-carved cherry paddle for their next adventure.
Building a Lapstrake Skiff
Benches and Planters for the Neighborhood
Building a Lapstrake Skiff
Our customer, a skilled woodworker in his own right, partnered with us to build a 13-foot lapstrake skiff from cedar, oak, and mahogany.
About Us
Our Instructors
Phil Winger
The first boat Phil ever built was a scale model of Athenian Trireme. Under its decks, he pasted his favorite passages of Homer's Odyssey, cut out of a weathered copy from a used bookstore. Wooden boatbuilding, adventure, and good storytelling have been central themes in his life for over 25 years.
He had the good fortune to learn from some masters of lapstrake construction, including Geoff Burke and Ray Speck. He has taught wooden boatbuilding in various forms since 2000, and enjoys the transformative impact that it has on students.
Maria Petrova
Maria’s path has been anything but straightforward. Born in Russia, she left her Building’s Restoration program in Moscow for an Architecture degree in Los Angeles. Many roads were traveled since then, across the country and outside of it, but she finally settled in Minneapolis. While in school she spent many sleepless nights at her desk working on projects and strengthening her language skills. But her favorite place to spend time was in the fabrication lab, a special venue for realizing the visions she had for her design work. She enjoys building scale models, concrete casts, shaker boxes, and experimenting with various media to create unique items to high aesthetic standards.