Sushi set: Introduction to knife carving - Koitoya Woodworking Class 2026

Sushi Tray Making 

This is a 1-day course

$465

14 March 2026, Saturday.

This class is for anyone with an interest in learning hand-carving and whittling.

Carving with knives

Carving and whittling with knives is a mindful activity that requires very few tools and readily available materials. The processes are quiet, portable and immune to modern innovation. Two hands, one tool and one small piece of wood are all that is needed to get started. Knife carving can be social or solitary and can be done outdoors on a stump or inside at the kitchen counter.

This class will introduce students to relief carving, whittling and hand-planing.

• We will begin the class by using Japanese hand-planes to shape a pair of chopsticks.

• Students will then select a design to carve into a wooden tray and learn about grain direction and the processes of chip-carving and relief-carving. To carve the tray we will use a method that uses both of these processes.

• In the afternoon we will move onto a simple whittling project where students will create a small whittled object designed to raise the tips of the chopsticks off the table.

You will gain the following from signing up

1. A sushi tray, a pair of chopsticks and a chopstick rest made by yourself by hand.

2. Hands-on experience with carving knives.

3. Hands-on experience with a Japanese plane.

Date

Saturday,14 March 2026

Time

9:00-12:00 | 13:00-17:00 (7 hours total)

* Please be flexible with your schedule after the class. Sometimes your project requires extra time to finish.

Schedule

Morning: making a pair of chopsticks and beginning chip/relief-carving.

Afternoon: Completion of relief carving and whittling a small chopstick rest.

Students may be supplied with a small amount of sandpaper and a finishing oil to carry out final shaping after the class is complete.

Lecturer

Rose Keightley

Rose studied Design Arts and Furniture at the ANU School of Art. During her study she took to carving offcuts from furniture projects as a departure from the noise, dust and fast pace of the busy workshop environment. Rose now works as a designer using Computer Assisted Design alongside traditional prototyping techniques for KOITOYA, an artisan furniture studio in Fyshwick.

Fee

$465

Class Size

Maximum 6

Location

Koitoya Design/Make/Teach (Fyshwick, ACT)

Address

4/18 Maryborough Street, Fyshwick ACT 2609

Parking

Please park your car in the public parking area along Maryborough Street (Free), opposite from J Racing.

We have two parking spots officially. Please contact me for the spot if you need to walk less for a health condition.

Way to the workshop

18 Maryborough Street is a battle-axe block, located on a 'U'-shaped driveway, so you will be walking through the driveway that leads to the block from Maryborough Street.

The driveway has 2 accesses, one next to Aqua Safe Water Filters, and one next to J Racing.

Unit 4 is a blue painted building on the right-hand side of the block (SE end).

Things to bring

Please wear sturdy, covered shoes.

Bring your own water bottle and lunch.

Things to be supplied

Tea and coffee, snacks, drinking water

Refund Policy

Personal cancelation

Refunds up to 14 days before the event

Humanitix fee is nonrefundable and 10% will be taken off from your refund.

for more information, please contact Hiroshi

koitoya@gmail.com / 0412340619