Woodshop News

What Woodshop News does

Woodshop News is a privately held U.S. trade publication founded in 1986 and headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, owned by Active Interest Media. It targets professional woodworkers, cabinet makers, and shop owners with a monthly print and digital magazine, a free email newsletter, and a web portal covering tool and machinery innovations, finishing technologies, wood species market intelligence, CNC software developments, and shop management. The editorial product is organized into recurring sections — News, Features, Tools/Machines, Columns/Blogs, Products & Demos, Videos, and an annual Resource Guide — supplemented by themed annual issues such as The Perfect Cut, The Finishing Touch, AWFS Show Planner, and the Annual CNC Supplement. Technology is a standard multi-channel digital publishing stack: a WordPress/CMS-based website (woodshopnews.com), a subscription management portal (my.woodshopnews.com), a dedicated Resource Guide portal, newsletter delivery via Dragon Forms, and an embedded video library, with no proprietary AI/ML components disclosed.

Revenue is generated through two streams: recurring print and digital subscriptions to professional woodworkers, and advertising and sponsored content from tooling, machinery, finishing, and materials suppliers (including Whiteside, Fisch, MicroJig, Amana, Freud, Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Grizzly, Biesse, Hardwoods Specialty Products, States Industries, Uniboard, WalzCraft, and Egger). Subscription pricing is not publicly disclosed; visitors are funneled to the subscription portal. Distribution combines paid print mail delivery, a free ad-supported website accessible globally, and an email newsletter. The publication cross-promotes within AIM's portfolio of woodworking and home improvement titles (Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, Woodsmith, ShopNotes, Fine Homebuilding, Old House Journal), providing shared audience reach across the woodworking vertical. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range, and no funding rounds, acquisitions, or leadership changes are recorded in the input data.

Name

Woodshop News

Legal name

Active Interest Media

Website

https://woodshopnews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Woodshop News is a U.S. trade publication founded in 1986, owned by Active Interest Media, that serves professional woodworkers, cabinet makers, and shop owners with a monthly print and digital magazine, newsletter, and website covering tools, machinery, finishing, and wood markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Woodworking Trade Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJAEAM

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Magazine Publishing (Consumer & B2B/Trade Magazines)

Keywords

• Woodworking trade publication
• Professional cabinet making news
• Woodworking industry magazine
• Wood products advertising media
• Shop management content

Headquarters

HQ city

Boone

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: The magazine operates a subscription-based model offering both print and digital subscriptions to professional woodworkers. Subscription management is handled through a dedicated portal at my.woodshopnews.com.
2. Advertising and Sponsored Content: The publication generates revenue through advertising from woodworking tool manufacturers, machinery suppliers, finishing product companies, and wood species suppliers. Featured companies include major brands such as Whiteside Machine Tools, Fisch Tools, MicroJig, Amana Tool, Freud America, Makita, Milwaukee Tool, DeWalt, Grizzly Industrial, and wood materials suppliers. Special marketing sections (e.g., The Perfect Cut, The Finishing Touch, AWFS Show Planner, Annual CNC Supplement) provide dedicated advertorial content for manufacturers and suppliers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Woodshop News publishes a monthly woodworking trade magazine and associated digital content targeted at professional woodworkers, cabinet makers, and shop owners. Its offerings include a print and digital subscription magazine covering tool/machine news, finishing technologies, wood species market intelligence, and shop management; an annual Resource Guide; themed special marketing supplement sections; an email newsletter; and a website with articles, product demos, and videos. Revenue is generated primarily through subscriptions and advertising from woodworking tool, machinery, finishing, and materials suppliers.

Product overview

Woodshop News is a woodworking news publication/magazine that provides professional woodworkers with industry news, features, tool and machine reviews, columns/blogs, and product demos. The portfolio consists of the core Woodshop News Magazine publication, annual Special Marketing Sections (themed supplements like CNC, Finishing, and Cabinet making), the Resource Guide reference tool, a newsletter subscription service, and Products & Demos video content. The publication serves as a media platform covering the woodworking and cabinet-making industry rather than a software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Woodshop News Magazine Monthly print and digital trade magazine delivering woodworking industry news, tool/machine features, finishing technology coverage, wood market intelligence, and shop management content to professional woodworkers, cabinet makers, and shop owners in the United States.
• Woodshop News Email Newsletter Free email newsletter providing regular woodworking industry news, new product announcements, and feature article highlights to subscribers, designed to drive traffic to the website and support subscription and advertising conversion.
• Resource Guide Cross-referencing reference tool and online database helping woodworking shops locate sources of machinery, services, and supplies, with geographic search and supplier content to support purchasing decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Factory prefinished panels reduce in-house labor costs and improve uniformity across casework
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Active Interest Media (AIM)coreOthersWoodshop News is published by Active Interest Media, a media company specializing in enthusiast audiences across home improvement, woodworking, gardening, and crafts. AIM publishes related titles including Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, Woodsmith, ShopNotes, Old House Journal, and Fine Homebuilding, providing cross-promotional opportunities and shared audience reach within the woodworking and home improvement vertical.
• Hardwoods Specialty ProductsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHardwoods Specialty Products is featured prominently in Woodshop News editorial content as a major architectural decor material supplier in North America with nearly two dozen regional locations. The company supplies Shinnoki prefinished wood panels and other materials featured in articles on prefinished panels.
• States IndustriesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStates Industries supplies prefinished panels including NOVA UV-cured flatline finish, NOVA SI antimicrobial finish, and NOVA LAB certified finish for laboratory use. Featured in editorial coverage of prefinished panel trends.
• UniboardminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUniboard's Eclipse line featuring thermal-lacquering and anti-fingerprint technology is featured in editorial coverage of prefinished panel trends and new product developments.
• WalzCraftminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWalzCraft UV-coated maple veneer-core plywood products are featured in editorial coverage as a prefinished panel option for woodworking shops.
• EggerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEgger's decorative thermally fused laminate (TFL) panels and edge banding products are featured in editorial content and company columns/blogs, including showcase at IWF 2026.
• L. L. Johnson Lumber Mfg. Co. (The Workbench)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorL.L. Johnson Lumber Mfg. Co., doing business as The Workbench, supplies prefinished hard maple and white birch panels. Established in 1909, the company is featured in editorial coverage of wood materials.
• Miltec UVminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMiltec UV, a coating manufacturer, is featured in editorial content covering faster drying strategies and UV curing technology for woodworking finishing applications.
• Whiteside Machine ToolsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWhiteside Machine Tools is featured in editorial coverage of new tool innovations, including Brad Point Drill Bits engineered specifically for CNC drilling applications.
• Fisch ToolsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFisch Tools is featured in editorial coverage of woodworking tool innovations, including the Black Shark Forstner bits with optimized cutting edges for higher RPM operation.
• Biesse AmericaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBiesse America is featured in editorial content covering company news and products. A case study featuring a 4 Chicks Furniture shop also references Biesse CNC equipment in the shop's operations.
• Grizzly IndustrialminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGrizzly Industrial is featured across multiple editorial articles covering new product introductions including drill presses, jointers, and bandsaws, as well as compressor products.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• LBM Journal: Trade publication covering lumber, building materials, and millwork distribution. Adjacent peer that overlaps Woodshop News on lumber pricing coverage and millwork shop audiences but focuses upstream on the building-products supply chain rather than professional woodworkers.

Broad incumbents

• Taunton Press: Independent publishing company behind Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, and Threads. A broader incumbent in the woodwork/home-crafts publishing space whose flagship Fine Woodworking competes head-to-head with Woodshop News for professional woodworker readers and tooling advertisers.

Direct peers

• Woodsmith: Active Interest Media's project-and-techniques woodworking publication from the ShopNotes lineage. While slightly more hobbyist-skewing, it shares advertiser overlap, GTM motion, and the AIM publication infrastructure, making it a same-network direct peer.
• ShopNotes: Another AIM-network woodworking title historically focused on shop-built jigs and techniques. Direct peer for advertiser base, audience persona, and the magazine-plus-online hybrid publishing model Woodshop News employs.
• Fine Woodworking: Taunton Press's flagship woodworking magazine, Fine Woodworking covers tools, techniques, and projects for advanced woodworkers. It is a sister AIM-network publication per the input data and the most direct editorial comparable to Woodshop News in the U.S. woodworking trade press.
• Woodworking Network: CCI Media's multi-platform woodworking trade brand covering news, products, and events for professional woodworkers. Direct competitor for advertiser dollars across the same Biesse/Grizzly/Makita vendor set, with a heavier event (IWF, AWFS) focus.
• Wood Business Magazine: Canadian trade publication covering the secondary wood products industry, including cabinetry, millwork, and finishing. Comparable in audience (professional cabinet/closet/furniture shops) and in covering woodworking machinery, tooling, and finishing technologies.
• Cabinet Maker + FDM: UK-based trade magazine covering cabinetmaking and furniture manufacturing, including CNC, finishing, and shop management. Directly comparable in editorial coverage (especially the AWFS-style trade show planning) and in targeting professional cabinet shop owners, though serving a primarily UK/European audience.
• FDMC Magazine: Forest Products Manufacturing Council magazine covering cabinetry, closets, and finished wood products manufacturing. Strong overlap with Woodshop News in covering CNC, finishing lines, and panel processing for production woodshops; published by the same Woodworking Network parent.
• Popular Woodworking: Active Interest Media woodworking publication targeting intermediate-to-advanced hobbyists and small-shop professionals. Sister AIM title with overlapping advertisers (Fisch, Whiteside, MicroJig) and shared newsletter audiences, making it a near-direct peer in both content and monetization model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Woodshop News