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Julia's Wood Works

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Her Roots

Julia Armstrong was raised on a homestead in the Kootenays of Central British Columbia. She has always lived close to nature, working and playing with wood most of her life. As a child, her dad would encourage her to "play hooky" and then he would play with his two daughters by climbing trees and having miniature log drives in the creek. She also enjoyed working along with her parents on many homestead projects, then as a teen was employed by her father on construction jobs. This early intimate connection with the forest and wood has had a profound influence on her work.

After marriage, she and her now late husband built their own home in the Shuswap area of B.C. and during this process she learned the use of power tools. Along with raising two daughters, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in teaching from Simon Fraser University and later became a certified draftsperson through University College of the Fraser Valley.

Music and Harps

Playing music has been an important part of Julia’s life from an early age. She started piano lessons at 4 years old and sang with her family while her mother played the piano. She went on to learn a wide variety of instruments including violin and clarinet. As Julia’s woodworking skills became more refined, she started building harps in 1999.

Harp Gigs

Julia now plays the harp for many functions including weddings, birthdays and dinner parties. Use the Contact page to arranging a time for her to play her harp at your event.

Teaching Woodworking

Julia has had two experiences of teaching woodworking overseas. In 2000, she taught woodworking skills for 2 months to women in earthquake torn Turkey. Six years later, she taught carpentry skills to survivors of the tsunami in Sri Lanka. (Visit www.builderswithoutborders.ca. Go to PROJECTS then Previous Projects, then TURKEY and SRI LANKA 2006) Teaching women these skills has always been a dream of Julia’s and she finds it very satisfying to realize that dream.

She carries on by teaching woodworking classes to women and teens in her shop. Check out her Woodworking Classes page or use her Contact page to ask about upcoming classes.