2024 Distinguished Alumni Award: Dan Faia CF ’94

We are pleased to announce that Dan Faia, a 1994 graduate of the Cabinet & Furniture Making program and former Department Head, is the recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award. 

This award is given annually based on an alumnus’ professional accomplishments, their contributions to their craft, and their work with schools and organizations to promote excellence in craft. 

The following remarks were shared by Board Chair Genie Thorndike CF ’16 as part of this year’s commencement ceremony.

Each year the Distinguished Alumni Award is given to a graduate for professional accomplishments, contributions to industry, and work with schools and organizations which promote excellence in craft. I am delighted to announce this year’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award goes to Dan Faia CF ’94!

Dan is a master craftsman whose professional journey began when he graduated from the Cabinet & Furniture Making program in 1994. For the last 3 decades, he’s honed his skills as a woodcarver, furnituremaker, chairmaker, and educator. Dan currently operates a woodworking studio where he teaches small group workshops in Rollinsford, New Hampshire. When Dan isn’t teaching or working on period reproductions or custom commissions, he is usually busy in his shop pursuing his passion for traditional woodcarving.

Dan’s work is displayed in both private and public collections. Last year, Dan was awarded the prestigious Cartouche Award by the Society of American Period Furniture Makers, which honors “a craftsman that has demonstrated a lifetime excellence in period furniture making” and who has inspired others. Dan joined NBSS’s faculty in the Cabinet & Furniture Making department in 2006 after first teaching workshops and helping to create the still-popular Three-Month Furniture Making Intensive. He served as Department Head from 2010-2023, refining the curriculum and devoting his attention to individual student progress and success.

He has taught at various schools throughout New England, including the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts and the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. He frequently writes articles and produces videos for Fine Woodworking, is an active member of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters, the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers, and the Society of American Period Furniture Makers, where he often presents and exhibits, as well as at other organizations including Colonial Williamsburg and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Dan’s exceptional woodworking skills are matched by his teaching skills. The hundreds of fortunate students he has taught and mentored over the years have gained not only knowledge, but an inspiration for excellence and passion for craftsmanship. 

Please congratulate Dan Faia, our 2024 Distinguished Alumni.