After years at home raising four children I wanted to enter the workforce. Despite having a B.Sc. in biochemistry, and a college diploma in respiratory therapy, I found few options that were of interest. Add the fact that I needed time off in the event that any of my kids were sick or had a snow day made my services of little interest to prospective employers. Given this I decided to look at turni
ng one of my hobbies into a business. I always been interested in woodworking so I threw myself at it with everything I had. I found an online site that taught almost every facet of woodworking (The Woodwhisperer on Youtube) – I went through every video multiple times! I then began taking woodworking classes at Algonquin College, and bought tools every chance I had. Eventually I started selling cedar furniture out of my garage, and now, a few years later I have 2 bays at a commercial complex here in Stittsville, Ontario. I make handcrafted outdoor furniture, mostly out of cedar, but I also use white pine and oak. My oak furniture can be used both indoors and outdoors. I focus on only a few different pieces and am constantly looking at ways to achieve efficiency – this allows me to sell high-quality pieces at very competitive pieces.
