I am located in Marlborough, CT. As far as relocation is concerned, if my fiancee takes the job, we would be as near to Great Barrrington as possible, preferably in the southernmost portion of the state. Northern CT is a possibility. The bummer is that the company I currently work for is super high quality, wiht a real emphasis on detail and joinery. I would hate to move down the ladder to a pre-fab or machined company, thus cutting out a lot of new experiences. You mentioned a few timber framing companies... I know of berkshire timber frames, and cedar homes, but that is about it. There is also a gentleman that does restoration of antique barns based out of Barrington, though his name escapes me at the moment.

As far as the heartwood school goes, I found out about it yesterday! It looks pretty incredible, and also looks like it would be a great place to begin learning about japanese carpentry (daiku?), a goal of mine.

thanks for the help.

nat