If it's wood I'm going to make something with it
I always felt a little deprived because I never had the chance to take wood shop in high school, we moved in the middle of a school year and I didn't get to choose it as an elective class. BUT now I have my very own wood shop!
My husband and I bought the homestead portion of a retired NC tobacco farm 15 years ago. In one end, of what used to be a turkey house, we discovered a huge pile of what I assumed were tomato stakes but turned out to be tobacco sticks. Although I grew up here in what used to be "tobacco country" I had no idea the purpose of tobacco sticks. As a teenager many of my friends worked cash paying jobs harvesting tobacco crops but I didn't, as my dad thought it was a job unfitting a young girl. Once I started learning more about their purpose and the useful function they had for so many years and the countless number of hands to put them to use, it seemed wrong to burn them as fire starting wood. In case your unfamiliar the tobacco sticks were used to hang between tier poles in the smokehouses and lay leaves of tobacco over as they dried and cured,
It took a few years before I figured out what I was going to build with them but one year when money was tight at Christmas, I figured it out. I built a small collapsible newspaper rack for an uncle, a small planter for my grandma, a wall bookshelf for another uncle and my first hope chest for an aunt. I was proud of myself and best of all my husband was proud of me too. I especially loved the small hope chest so next I made a very large one for my father in law. He loved it and although I built it for outdoor storage he still has it in his living room as a coffee table. I thought it was beautiful and shared the picture on Facebook. Almost immediately I had a friend from school ask if I would build one for him.
Then came my wood American flag. I had a large empty wall that haunted me for some time, knowing I wanted something large to hang there but no idea what. Then one day it finally hit me what I wanted and I built the flag. Not very long after hanging it we had a gathering at our house and as my husband showed it off to everyone who came in the house, they began asking me to make them one as well. Three different friends requested orders that night.
I never really considered selling my pieces when I started or eventually creating a business but Etsy has allowed me the chance to get a good start at it. My husband and I are currently preparing a larger wood shop for me to work in so that I can begin to build using the old, barn wood, windows, doors and furniture I have managed to collect in the old turkey house.
Thank you for your interest in my work and taking the time to read more about me and how I came to do this
