🌿 Our History
Homegrown Roots. Handmade Futures.
Mill Hollow Works began as an idea rooted deeply in New Hampshire soil — a place where creativity and self-reliance have always gone hand in hand. Founders Heather Holloway and Wade Smith grew up surrounded by artists, craftspeople, and homesteaders who knew how to make what they needed, repair what they had, and stretch limited resources with skill and imagination. Those early lessons in resilience, beauty, and community became the foundation of their shared vision: to return home and build a place where others could rediscover the same.
From Homegrown Kids to Coming Home
Heather and Wade’s story starts at Fall Mountain High School, where they met as teenagers before life took them in opposite directions — Wade to the trades and Heather to the arts — and across the country for nearly two decades.
When they found their way back to one another, they also found their way back to New Hampshire. Together, they founded Mill Hollow Works, a heritage craft school and working community dedicated to preserving and reimagining the skills that shaped New England life.
A Name That Works
Heather’s earlier venture, Mill Hollow Productions, took its name from her hometown of East Alstead, NH, once home to a village lined with water-powered mills. That name reflected the blend of artistry and industry that defined 19th-century New England — where craftsmanship served a purpose, and beauty was born of hard work.
When Mill Hollow Works was founded, “Works” captured that same spirit — a place where people create, learn, and support one another.
Our campus embodies a working community: woodworking, boatbuilding, metalwork, fiber arts, gardening, and food preservation all share space here, alongside the belief that skill and creativity grow best when shared.
The Founders
Heather Holloway
Heather is a digital storyteller whose career began locally in theater and media before taking her across the country as a Story Producer for national television networks. Over 15 years, she worked in 48 states and 4 countries, creating award-winning docu-series and visual stories rooted in real life. Now back in New England, she focuses on short-form documentaries celebrating local history, folklore, and innovation.
Teaching has always been central to her work — from helping teens mount their own plays through the Young Writers Project, to teaching media literacy and counter-advertising with Writer’s Block, to running creative workshops in Los Angeles and beyond.
Wade Smith
Wade is a wood boatbuilder — a trade that merges artistry with engineering. His work spans woodworking, metalworking, casting, machining, and rigging, as well as design and historical research. He has taught at the WoodenBoat School, Mystic Seaport Museum, The Apprenticeshop, GreenWood, and Kroka Expeditions.
At Mill Hollow Works, Wade brings his deep technical mastery and lifelong commitment to teaching — helping others discover the fulfillment that comes from working with their hands.
Building Community, One Skill at a Time
What began as two people returning home has grown into a vibrant community of makers, learners, and teachers. Mill Hollow Works hosts courses that extend far beyond boatbuilding and media — from traditional crafts and homesteading to modern creative trades, taught by some of the most skilled artisans in New England and beyond.
Our campus in Keene, NH, offers a farm-based setting where adults, teens, and children can come together to build skill, confidence, and connection.
We invite you to learn, teach, or share your ideas — because what we build here isn’t just skill, it’s community.