In 2018, Megan Shannon left her job as a special-education paraprofessional at Okemos Public Schools to pursue woodworking full time.
“I left the public school system, but then I really started to miss it,” she said. “I decided I was going to put the two together and teach woodworking.”
Two years ago, the lifelong Michigander began hosting classes at her home workshop in Holt. She named her one-woman business Tiny Bit of Wood.
“Within the first year, I had 300 people take my classes,” she said. “It became kind of apparent that it was going to work and be something people were interested in, so I decided I needed to move to a brick-and-mortar, which was a very intense process.”
In February, she began teaching limited weekend courses from her new, 3,056-square-foot retail shop and woodworking studio at 507 E. Shiawassee St., formerly Riverfront Cycle bike shop. The business celebrated its official grand opening last Thursday (April 4).
“When I started woodworking in 2012, it was just me by myself building stuff in a barn. It was lonely. I decided that if I didn’t really feel comfortable in the woodworking community, a lot of other people probably didn’t as well, so I opened this space for them and for me,” she said.
Her diverse course catalog includes skill-based lessons on topics like the basics of power tools and simple wood-cutting techniques, as well as project-based classes like spoon carving, birdhouse making and furniture repair. Courses are available for three age ranges: 5 to 10, 10 to 16 and “everyone else.”
“The part I’m most passionate about is offering hand-tool classes for marginalized communities. People who may not normally feel comfortable entering the field of woodworking have a place here,” Shannon said.