Located in the heart of Seattle’s Central District, Pratt Fine Arts Center has been providing access to the transformative power of artistic expression for 50 years. This summer, the Frye Store is showcasing talented members of the Pratt community in a specially curated collection. Here, we highlight craftsperson Kim McIntyre.
by Caitlyn Edson, photos by Rachael Lang
“My smile gets really big,” laughs Kim McIntyre as she poses in front of a wall of meticulously organized screw clamps. Frye Store Manager Rachael Lang is snapping photos of Kim inside the Pratt Fine Arts Center’s Woodworking Studio, where artists of all ages and skill levels gather to learn and create. The studio is large and tidy, dotted with communal work benches and lined with heavy machinery. Sparkly silver tinsel hangs over the doorway, remnants from a past pop-up event. We’re here to capture Kim in her element and learn more about her relationship to this beloved community space.
Kim, a trailblazing woodworker, craftsperson, and educator, has been a positive force at Pratt since 2014 when she relocated to the Pacific Northwest with her wife. In her former life, Kim spent years leading dogsled and wilderness expeditions, following work and love from New England to Minnesota, Montana, and Colorado. Upon her arrival in Seattle, Kim wasted no time networking and seeking the kind of cross-pollinating maker space she had flourished in during her time in Denver. Pratt was just that sort of place, and the rest is history.
Originally from Virginia, Kim’s earliest woodworking memories were in her father’s shop, making “cookies” out of sawdust, water and wood shavings. Kim describes her dad as a hobbyist woodworker, constantly tinkering on the family home, and eager to share his knowledge with Kim when she expressed a desire to learn.
At college in Vermont, Kim was required to take a course called Reverence for Wood, and that was when her love for the craft really began to grow. Kim recalls making a picture frame, a canoe paddle, a queen-sized bed frame, all designed to be lessons in time management and creative problem solving. She was hooked, so much so that she would sometimes leave a window to the college woodshop unlocked so she could sneak in after hours to chisel away at projects and get more practice with the hand tools.
Alongside her many post-college travels and wilderness adventures, Kim attended furniture-making school and apprenticed as a woodworker. She recalls this period in her budding craft career as being really isolating at times. “Being a woman in a production space was challenging,” she says, of days where she was relegated to basic, tedious projects instead of getting the hands-on experience she craved. She remembers eating lunch alone, kept at a distance from her male peers and journeymen. That environment couldn’t be more different from the empowering, collaborative culture she’s now a part of at Pratt.
Kim, who emanates warmth and friendliness, strives to build strong relationships with other woodworkers across the skill and gender spectrum, often going out of her way to welcome up-and-comers into her Seattle network. “I’m a person who really enjoys being in community,” she says, and explains that Pratt has consistently provided an environment where craftspeople from diverse backgrounds and experience levels can flourish, together.
Despite woodworking being a traditionally male-dominated industry rife with gatekeeping, this isn’t the case in the Pratt Woodworking Studio. “There have been times in my Pratt community where there are more women, often queer women, hanging out in this space and seeing each other regularly,” Kim says. “We’ve created this unique environment together.”
Pratt also attracts artists and craftspeople who are naturally motivated by education and skill sharing. Kim shouts out woodworker and instructor Tom Henshaw for his steadfast mentorship, and credits former Pratt Woodworking Studio Manager Anne Briggs, a powerhouse in the woodworking world, with paving the way for future managers like Kim to grow its programming.
Kim first arrived at Pratt in 2014, excited to expand her network and grow her woodworking skills. She didn’t anticipate receiving a job offer on her first day in the Woodworking Studio, but after seeing firsthand the dedicated, compassionate approach she applies to her craft during our interview, it comes as little surprise. Kim took on various leadership and teaching roles over the years at Pratt, and in 2018 she accepted the position of Woodworking Studio Manager. During her almost four-year tenure, she focused on expanding course offerings and booking more skilled artisans to teach Pratt’s coveted master artist classes, all while championing the inclusive, welcoming environment that the center is known for.
These days, Kim is focused on her furniture-making business and catching up on client commissions, enjoying the serenity of her home woodshop, honing her Kumiko woodworking skills, teaching classes at Pratt and elsewhere, and making plans to get outside a lot this summer. “I'm a person who does really well when I get to be in my body,” she explains, of her ever-active life. Kim’s appreciation for Scandinavian and mid-century design allows her to continually refine her technique-driven process, and her expansive love of community keeps her grounded and constantly learning.
Shortly before we wrapped up our time with Kim at the Woodworking Studio, I asked her what advice she has for women interested in pursuing artisan woodworking. Her answer is inspired by years of experience in this field; it’s simple, yet deeply resonant. “Be yourself,” Kim says, without hesitation. “There’s joy in who you are, so bring that to the world.”
Kim McIntyre’s work is featured in the Frye Museum Store as part of its special collection, “In Community: Pratt Fine Arts Center,” on display through September 2026. Visit the Store to see her driftwood brushes, stunning three-legged stools, and bent lamination paper lamps, and follow Kim on social media to keep up with her latest work and teaching schedule.