We recently connected with Hannah West and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I am unbelievably happy creating art through woodworking. For years I never considered myself a creative person. The word “creative”, for me, was a relatively small box that encased painting, drawing, writing, etc. but none of that ever appealed to me in any meaningful way.

Of course through my woodworking journey and gaining exposure to an endless amount of creative people in the areas I listed above and far beyond. The word gained a new meaning for me.

The majority of my working life I’ve had “regular” jobs primarily in software engineering, which I believed was my path because I somewhat enjoyed the work and was pretty good at it. Until I found woodworking and then it was a massive shift in my mind and I knew that woodworking is where I needed to be. I didn’t want to be anything else, so I set out to make that happen.

Hannah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always enjoyed working with my hands and creating something tangible as a product of that. I think when I found woodworking I was desperately searching for some creative outlet and something to be passionate about. I researched “cheap beginner woodworking projects” and the rest is history. I completely fell in love with it.

I primarily do commission work that varies greatly from project to project. People will come to me with ideas and inspiration and generally give me free reign to express my creativity, that aspect of trust means a lot to me. When I am not working on a commission I pretty much build whatever I want and always try to refine my craft, both because I love learning and growing, as well as gathering as much experience as I can to offer clients a wider variety of services.

I really think what sets me apart is my willingness to try anything and go into it with full ambition to create something beautiful.

I am extremely proud of how far I have come in my woodworking journey. It almost feels like it wasn’t me making all of that progress and growing so much, because I never thought I had the drive to. It is truly a case of finding your passion and your meaning.

I want potential clients to know that I will put in the effort and time necessary to fulfill their requests to both of our standards. I care a lot about my finish products and making sure any client I have is happy with their decision to choose me.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Honestly, Facebook groups. When I was first getting started I would follow tutorials on YouTube, but as I progressed I had questions that those videos didn’t answer. Nine times out of ten you will find the answer you’re looking for in Facebook groups with very experienced people that just want to help. Obviously there are some outliers that are not helpful, but they are not abundant.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I do not have a huge audience on social media, so I cannot give any tips. I wanted to used this question as a shoutout to my friends and family. They are my biggest support system and many of them are small business owners/creatives as well. It is absolutely a bonus to have a circle that supports you and cheers you on. That reassurance alone encourages me to keep doing what I love and getting better at it..

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemonwoodworkingco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LemonWoodworkingCo/