We were lucky to catch up with Bonnie Hawk recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bonnie, appreciate you joining us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

As a mentor once said “the more you touch the wood, the less money you make.” Handcrafting fine-furniture is exceptionally time-consuming. That is one of the joys of this work; I can get so consumed working with wood, that hours pass like seconds, and I forget to stop for lunch. But it is also one of the challenges of making fine-furniture as a business–it is hard to achieve remuneration for all your efforts. Like with anything, there is a balance. I’m learning where to invest the time in a certain detail, and where to embrace processes of efficiency to maintain a profit margin. Woodworking is also an excellent antidote for perfectionism. While we require tiny tolerances (can you measure 1/64th of an inch?) we also have to learn to say “this is good enough.” No one survives in this industry without having a bit of hustle in their step, which is ironic, because I make slow, slow, extremely slow furniture.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My first career is that of an ordained United Methodist Pastor, (of the justice-oriented, life-affirming, gracious persuasion). I spent years crafting with words, and now I craft with wood. Both require humility, respect for the material you’re working with, and a great deal of curiosity-driven-creativity. I’ve loved my life as a pastor, but after ten years of preaching every week, I went through a phase where all I wanted to do was build furniture in my kitchen. I realized that before I knew God (age 12) I knew how to hold a chisel (age 7), and that woodworking had always been my first love. To furniture school I went! Now I’ve embraced the bivocational life of doing both. You can find me in a pulpit every Sunday morning, and sweeping my woodshop on Sunday afternoons. These two careers are the perfect pairing of working with people and working with my hands.

I say that I make “furniture with soul,” because I want my clients to know how much heart and grit and spirit goes into building something beautiful. I try to use sustainable materials whenever possible, I respect the grain of the wood and the life of a tree, and I build things to last.

My dream for handcrafting fine furniture is to reimagine the porch swing for the modern day. I want to make colorful swings out of beautiful wood and punchy upholstery. I want to design porch swings for inside your front window, and outside your yard, and for downtown public spaces. I believe that one’s life is richer when there’s a porch swing in it, and sometimes we really do forget treasures of the past. I hope that I can bring them back for a modern day!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

As a creative, the ideas come to me when my hands are really in it. I design by building models, playing with materials, dropping things on the floor and being surprised by the shapes they form. I may look like a kindergartener with scissors and glue and cardboard, but I promise I’m working. I can’t sit at a desk or in front of a computer screen to design. I generally also make a mess when I’m in the flow. Creativity out of chaos.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Excellent photography has been key to building a reputation within my market. People see the photos of my work that were taken by a professional furniture photographer, and they are floored. I don’t think you can look at these photos and doubt my abilities as a craftsperson or a designer. As much as I would love to take pictures of my own work, I know that investing in professional photography is often the best investment I can make to show the world that I excel in my craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: bonniehawk.com
• Instagram: bonniehawkfurniture
• Facebook: Bonnie Elisabeth Hawk Furniture

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Mark Juliana