Paint Night at The Curious Goose: Winter Holidays

Date: Friday, November 20th

Time: 6:30 - 9:30PM

Tickets: $50 Standard | $65 with Custom Text Add-on

Kick off the winter and holidays season with an evening of crafting, community, and festive spirit by joining us at The Curious Goose for one of our Paint Nights!

Whether you are a seasoned crafter or someone who has never touched a paintbrush, you will leave with a stunning, professional-quality piece of seasonal home decor. We’ve removed all the stress of freehand drawing—you’ll be working with premium, pre-cut 3D wooden shapes to design a custom layered sign you can hang and cherish for many years.

How it works:

• Settle in and choose your sign: Check in, dawn your protective apron, pick a sign board and find your spot to paint among friends

• Curate Your Design: Dive into a generous selection of unique, laser-cut 3D pieces to choose from. With everything from seasonal silhouettes and classic motifs to clever and cheeky phrases and fun clichés for the holidays, the combinations are virtually endless. You get to choose the exact pieces that fit your style.

• Foolproof Assembly: No brush experience? No problem. Our painting techniques ensure crisp, clean edges on your wooden pieces without the frustration of traditional freehand brushwork. Once your pieces are painted and dry, we’ll show you how to securely glue them to your board for a flawless, raised 3D effect.

Add your own custom text! (+$15) Want to add a family name or a particular phrase? Your custom text (up to 16 characters, roughly 2.5” tall each) will be laser-cut right here in the shop and waiting for you when you arrive. Choose from three distinct fonts when checking out:

• Pacifico (A fun, flowing script)

• Bebas Neue (A clean, modern block letter)

• Alfa Slab One (A chunky, rustic farmhouse font)

What’s Included in the Workshop:

• A sign board and your choice of as many cutouts as you can fit from a generous selection

• All paints, adhesives, aprons, and crafting supplies

• A few hours of a good time in a relaxed, social atmosphere

Space is limited to ensure everyone gets plenty of workspace. Grab your friends, bring your creativity, and let’s make something beautiful.

Make your very own custom charcuterie board in this hands-on, single-session workshop at the Curious Goose Community Workshop.

Perfect for beginners, date nights, and hobby woodworkers, we'll go over how to safely use the tools and techniques required to craft a beautiful, functional serving board that is completely unique to you — and have some fun while doing it.

The highlights

• 2-3 hour workshop — you'll start by selecting a single, unique piece of gorgeous cherry wood and go through the entire shaping and finishing process from beginning to end.

• Suitable for all skill levels — all you need to bring is your creativity and some closed-toe shoes. Shop aprons and all safety gear will be provided.

• Personalization — For those who are interested in further personalizing their completed boards, we have laser engraving services available. We can review those options during the class.

What you'll do

• Design & Layout: Select your unique cherry slab, choose a design, and sketch out your custom board shape and handle in pencil directly on the wood.

• Cut & Shape: Learn how to safely operate the bandsaw to cut out your profile, then refine the curves and smooth out the edges on the belt sander.

• Profile & Finish: Use the router table to add a clean, rounded edge around the perimeter of your board. We'll then progress through hand-sanding to achieve a silky smooth surface.

• Protect: Learn how to apply a food-safe finish to preserve your beautiful bespoke serving board for years of reliable entertaining.

What you'll leave with

• A finished, one-of-a-kind cherry charcuterie board ready to host your favorite cheeses and snacks.

• Some practical woodworking skills you can use on your own to make as many boards as your heart desires.

• Guidance on care and maintenance so your board lasts

Join us for a fun-filled evening of spoon carving! Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned pro, this workshop is for anyone and everyone wanting to hang out with friends or neighbors while practicing a hobby that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.

The highlights

• Suitable for all skill levels — all you need to bring is your attention and some closed-toe shoes. Shop aprons, safety gloves and protective tape will be provided.

• Everyone will have their own tools, choice of blank and two(ish) hours to work on their spoon. If it’s not done by the end and you need more time, bring it back to one of our regular Carving Club sessions until it’s finished.

• Bring your friends and/or come ready to make new ones. These workshops are at least as social as they are educational.

• Students (with ID) please use discount code STUDYHALL for $10 off admission!

Process, tools and options

• Everyone will get to choose a spoon blank from a variety of different shapes, woods and sizes. We encourage beginners to start with a smaller and softer blank, but it’s your call.

• We’ll provide a brief safety and technique tutorial, as well as some helpful tips like how to determine which way is carving “with the grain” and how to more reliably get the shapes and outcomes you’re wanting

• Our primary tool for the evening will be the classic Sloyd whittling knife, as well as spoon gouges and hook knives to hollow out the spoony part. We’ll use clamps and vices where appropriate.

What you’ll leave with

• A real, hardwood, possibly useful spoon-shaped treasure.

• If you need more time to work on it until it’s as finished as you want it to be, we have Carving Club on Wednesdays and Fridays where you can bring it in for no charge until it’s done.

Choose from the available dates below. All workshops will go from 6-8pm.

Curious Goose Community Workshop is located at 85B Portland St. (2.5 blocks up from Alderney Landing, next to Scotia Bank.)

Make your very own heirloom-quality cutting board in this hands-on, two-session workshop at the Curious Goose Community Workshop.

Perfect for beginners and hobby woodworkers, we’ll go over how to use all the different tools and techniques required to make a beautiful hardwood cutting board that can last generations — and even have some fun while doing it.

The highlights

• Two sessions, 2-3 hours each — we'll start with strips of gorgeous cherry, walnut and maple and go through the whole process beginning to end.

• Suitable for all skill levels — all you need to bring is your attention and some closed-toe shoes. Shop aprons and all safety gear will be provided.

• For those who are interested in further personalizing their completed boards, we have laser engraving services available. We’ll have time to review those options at the end of the first session.

What you’ll do Session One ( 6-8pm )

• Select, cut, and prepare the maple, walnut and cherry strips for stability and appearance

• Experiment with your desired layout

• Glue-up and use different clamps to set everything together

• Review all the tools we’ll be operating the following session so we can hit the ground running the second night

Session Two ( 6-8pm )

• Flatten the glued-up boards using scrapers and shop planer

• Cut the boards to their final size and shape

• Progress through sanding to a silky smooth, food-safe surface

• Learn how to finish and preserve a pieces of wood for many years of reliable use

What you’ll leave with

• A finished heirloom-quality cutting board made of cherry, maple and/or walnut that will measure approx. 12” x 10” and 1” - 1.5” thick (or smaller, if you wish)

• Some practical woodworking skills you can use on your own to make as many cutting boards as your heart desires

• Guidance on care and maintenance so your board lasts

Want to learn more about woodworking? This is a completely hands-on introduction to the woodshop where you will build a classic pine toolbox while learning the basics of drafting, design, safe tool operation and wood finishing.

• What is this class about: This class serves as safety training and orientation to the workshop for beginners and hobbyists wanting to work on their own projects as a member of the Curious Goose Guild. This intro class consists of four 2-hour workshops, occurring at the same time each week over four weeks.

• When is it: Monday nights from 6-8pm over 4 weeks (beginning to end of each month)

• Where is it held: Curious Goose Community Workshop, 85B Portland St. Dartmouth, NS

• Requirements: No experience is required to start, just a desire to learn something new and willingness to stay present. While we encourage everyone to have some basic equipment and space at home to continue working on projects, we will supply all the tools, wood, and gear you’ll need to finish this project at the shop. For those needing more time to finish, there will be opportunities to join regular Guild Times until it’s done.

• Price: $200 + HST includes all sessions and class materials

Space is limited to 10 participants per class. Completing this class will not only provide you with a timeless toolbox to store your growing collection of tools, but have you ready to start using the workshop on your own projects as a member of the Guild!

Course Overview

• Session 1: Milling & Dimensioning — We start with a raw 8-foot pine board and learn the core concepts of making lumber flat, smooth, and square. You’ll get hands-on experience safely operating the thickness planer and miter saw to break down your material into workable, uniform planks.

• Session 2: Layout & Shaping — With our materials prepped, we move into the finer details of measuring and design. We’ll cover safe table saw operation to cut your pieces to their final dimensions, then get creative tracing, drilling, and cutting out your custom handle using the drill press and jigsaw.

• Session 3: Joinery & Assembly — It’s time to see the toolbox actually take shape. We’ll focus on the fundamentals of accurate assembly—using clamps, squares, and the drill press to properly pre-drill and align your components. After driving the screws, we’ll plug the holes with wooden dowels and wood glue for a seamless, classic look.

• Session 4: Hand-Tooling & Finishing — The magic is in the final details. We’ll flush-cut the dowels and soften the hard edges using traditional hand tools like rasps and chisels. After working through the hand-sanding process for a buttery-smooth surface, we’ll apply a durable finish to protect your work.

Once complete, graduates are fully certified to join the Curious Goose Guild via monthly membership or punch pass, unlocking access to the shop and resources to start building your own projects.

Leather Belt Workshop (6-8PM)

Join us for a fun-filled evening of leatherworking! Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned pro, this workshop is for anyone and everyone wanting to hang out with friends while learning a fun craft that yields a beautiful, everyday accessory. In this workshop, you'll be introduced to the tools of the trade, coached through the fundamental techniques of leatherworking, and shown how to do it all as safely as possible.

What you'll do:

• Choose Your Material: Start by picking a pre-cut, 1-1/4" strip of gorgeous tanned leather (up to ~55" long).

• Customize the Details: Choose from a selection of buckles and rivet colours to get the exact look you want.

• Learn the Process: We’ll guide you step-by-step through the entire process, ensuring your belt is the perfect size and looks great.

• Protect Your Work: We’ll finish the belts with beeswax and resolene for countless years of daily use.

What you’ll go home with:

• A beautiful, perfectly fitting leather belt that will last countless years of daily use and look great doing it.

We’ll provide all the tools, hardware, materials, and a protective shop apron—all you need to bring is your hands, your attention, and maybe a pal or two!

Where: Curious Goose Community Workshop

85B Portland Street, Dartmouth NS (2.5 blocks up from Alderney Landing next to Scotia Bank)