Lee Buchanan, co-author of “Little Woodchucks” on building curious kids (and other fun things out of wood).
Maker Faire Bay Area 2026
September 25th-27th
In this presentation Lee will be presenting simple woodworking projects from the book “Little Woodchucks” that kids and families can tackle at home. She will also go through the basic starter tool kit for creative kids and parents who want to explore woodworking at home.
Lee Buchanan is the author, along with co-author Nick Offerman, of the NYT bestselling woodworking book for kids and families: Little Woodchucks; Offerman Woodshop’s Guide to Tools & Tomfoolery. Lee is a woodworker, custom furniture maker and woodworking instructor based in El Cerrito, CA. Lee ran the Offerman Woodshop and Would Works social enterprise in Los Angeles for ten years, and before that, worked in exhibit fabrication and design at the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco. Lee is a proud parent of two young makers who provide her with endless inspiration and messes.
Schedule
Lee Buchanan
Lee Kalliroi Buchanan began woodworking at the age of seven in the Kids Carpentry program in her hometown of Berkeley, CA. Lee has a BFA in Art/Semiotics from Brown University (2000) where she studied painting and built sets for the campus theater. After a brief stint in scenic carpentry after college, Lee went on to work for the Exploratorium interactive science museum in San Francisco, building kinetic exhibits and cabinetry for traveling shows as well as multiple pieces for the outdoor gallery on the San Francisco pier. Lee lived in LA from 2008-2020 during which time she ran the collective woodshop Offerman Woodshop (OWS), while also building custom furniture for her own clients. In 2018, Lee left OWS to relaunch and run a non-profit social enterprise called Would Works that provides training and jobs in the craft of woodworking to people experiencing homelessness in LA. Lee has taught woodworking and design in the School of Art at California State University at Long Beach, as well as various community woodshops, private conferences and events across the country. Lee is the New York Times bestselling author of Little Woodchucks, the 2025 how-to woodworking book for kids and families written with Nick Offerman. Lee has also written on the subject of woodworking, design, and craft education for various publications including the book Good Clean Fun, Fine Woodworking Magazine and Popular Woodworking. Lee lives in the wild hills of El Cerrito, CA with her wife, two young kids, and a shop-dog Rusty.
