For nearly a century, the woodshop at the Lower Campus of Ojai Valley School has taught students the art of woodworking, keeping intact a tradition that has shaped generations.
But for all of its beloved tradition, the woodshop is blazing a new trail these days.
Woodshop teacher Ryan Lang has gone into the branding business, rolling out a line of trucker caps emblazoned with sewable OVS Woodshop patches. The patches feature a logo that mixes the old with the new: a vintage wood planer serves as a platform for a high-flying skateboarder, a nod to the skateboard decks that are popular woodshop projects.
The woodshop caps were funded by the Lower Campus Student Council and began selling last winter. The merchandise sold out in less than three months, Mr Lang said.
“The most important thing about selling the woodshop merchandise is that the kids are proud of where they go to school and the programs that they are offered,” Mr. Lang said.
The shop where Mr. Lang teaches woodworking looks nearly the same as it did when the school was founded. The first building on the Lower Campus of OVS, the woodshop once housed workers while the school’s dormitory was under construction. Once the bunkhouse was not in use, it turned into the woodworking workshop for the school.
Today, woodshop students create skateboards, tables, chairs and countless other projects, while learning fundamental skills through a form of education that many schools no longer offer.
Tracy Wilson, the school’s director of advancement and admission, said merchandising is a great way to shine a spotlight on a program that is as unique as it is vital to an OVS education.
“This program is so special and it ties to our history and tradition of being a more than 100-year-old school that has always had hands-on learning and woodshop at its core,” Ms. Wilson said.
At OVS, many programs have their own OVS branded clothing items, including sports teams, the equestrian program and the robotics team. Inspired by the other OVS merchandise, Mr. Lang — who more often than not can be found wearing a hat — said he wanted to create the same opportunity for promotion and advertisement for the woodshop itself.
“All of the little kids love it, which makes it so fun for them to support and represent our school,” said Mr. Lang, who created the distinctive woodshop logo that appears on the hats.
The merchandising effort has been helped out tremendously by Michele Floyd, director of student services and curriculum at the Lower Campus. Mrs. Floyd owns an industrial sewing machine and has stitched all the patches onto the hats.
In addition, the Lower Campus Student Council has been instrumental in funding the merchandising project. In fact, with Student Council help, the woodshop will be ordering 40 new hats in different colors, which will include camouflage-themed cap that will likely prove very popular with the students.
Looking ahead, Mr. Lang said he also sees the potential for doing screen printing and creating more merchandise such as woodshop t-shirts and other clothing. Since shirts could get expensive, he is also considering doing free screen prints on existing sweatshirts.
But for now, he said he is happy with the way the woodshop caps have been received.
“We’ve sold a lot of this merchandise, creating good funds for the school, and I’m hoping it stays this way,” Mr. Lang said.
