Shelter Institute

Amazing team. Incredible courses. The perfect blend of family run and enterprising organization. Everyone has a great sense of humor, long tenure, and all the expertise you'd want. I look for any excuse to visit or to take another in person course. I'm always inspired and enthusiastic after experiencing what the team offers. Watch their Youtube channel and Instagram reels to get a taste!

Great vibe and pretty store. They have plenty of tools and the staff seem very knowledgeable. Overheard 2 of them, definitely putting their customers first. Would have loved to talk to them about their courses but they were quite busy. If you work with wood or care about building sustainably, check them out. PS. If they don't have it, they'll advise you on where you could find it.

Recently completed the in-person Purely Post and Beam Course. The perfect blend of classroom and hands on instruction gave me the knowledge and confidence to tackle timber framing and other wood working pursuits. The staff and faculty were knowledgeable and friendly. The Hennin family were so welcoming over the course of the week. A really positive and inspiring experience—highly recommended!

Highly Recommend Shelter Institute for their expertise in building Timber Frames plus they make the class relaxed so you can “hone” your skills. I’ve already signed up for the Build and Design class in 11/2026. Thanks so much, Shelter!!! I appreciate the family owned aspect of your company. Thanks for inviting us to your homes to see what Timber Frames look like. All the best.

The course, the people, the experience.. everything was amazing! I’m very happy to have taken this class. I’m a three year Carpenter and these two courses deeply enhanced my knowledge on the trade. The biggest takeaway, for me, was the message of the course. Working with joy is the easiest method of learning. Thank you to everyone at Shelter Institute! The only point of improvement I would suggest: the two week design build has lots of students for one teacher. I find that to create a small havoc when there are lots of questions and not all get answered in order to progress through the lesson. An enormous thank you!