We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Char Miller-King . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Char below.

Hi Char, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

I jokingly tell people I identify as a white male. Why you ask? Unfortunately, we live in a world where each one of us is burdened with one or more stereotypes based on societies “norms”. Some of us have developed ways to cope or hide them.

When I say the word ghetto, did you think Black?

If I ask who is stronger men or women, did you say men?

What about a woodworker? Older, white, male?

I am known of those, I am a youngish black feminine woman who is also a die hard woodworker. I either get judged as not being such or tokenized for being one.

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

I am Char, an Atlanta based woodshop instructor. My journey began twenty years ago after graduating from undergrad and moved to my first apartment. I needed a bed frame, after visiting the furniture store several times, I concluded that I could not afford the bed, perhaps, I could Build It! And so I did. I borrowed a drill from my manager and purchased a ten dollar battery powered screwdriver. It would take nearly three months to make this bed that I would sleep on for the next seven years.

This ignited the spark for my love of creating things with my hands.

The next 15 years were filled with marrying my college sweetheart, starting a family and climbing the corporate ladder in facility management and higher education. I spent my weekends making basic furniture and acquiring inexpensive tools. Meanwhile, my hope was that I could one day throw on a pair of sweats and make sawdust all day.

One day I got my hearts desire. After being told I could not have more children (I had two already) I became pregnant, with twins! Two beautiful healthy girls were born in the winter of 2015, shortly thereafter I returned to work for five months. Every sign in my life was pointing to the exit. My workplace has become toxic, however I enjoyed being a manager, helping others and contributing to my family. Yet my heart told me to leave. There was no Plan B, no back up plan. I just left.

I was a stay at home mom for a year, until the overwhelming itch to get outside a build something took over. It was then I realized the twins were my ticket out of Corporate America. I soon found a community of makers, a makerspace, and began teaching woodshop. I had discovered my true passion, teaching others how to safety use power tools.

The Wooden Maven was born. She became a brand. An young-ish African-American women, married, with four children, who quit her day job to become a woodworker. This led to many many opportunities. Want to hear about them? Here we go…

Let’s start with television, I appeared on This Old House, twice, Ask This Old, Play It Forward with the Harlem Globetrotters (NBC Emmy nominated show), The Woodsmith Shop (the first black woman on the show), Restoration Road with Clint Harp. Then there was the GMC commercial, the Carhartt commercial and next year you’ll see me in the first ever Studio 6 commercial (they are part of Motel 6).

Wait there is more, there’s the magazines, Woodworkers Journal, Popular Woodworking and Fine Woodworking.

And a few brand campaigns, The Home Depot, Rockler Woodworking, Carhartt, should I stop. I think you get the picture now. If you want more, hit Google: Char Miller-King. I am hoping that you agree that this is a safe place to share without boasting.

This does not outshine my work in the community, Vice President of the Board at Decatur Makers (a makerspace in Atlanta), National Advisory Board rep for Hatchspace (a wood studio in Vermont), and the Tool Bank Training Council (we loan tools to other non profits and teach classes).

In a nutshell, I am a trailblazer in a career field dominated by white men and I am using what I have, my personality, smile, and passion to share what I love and that is wood and tools.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Several years ago, I was set to teach a kid’s class on making birdhouses. Early Saturday morning class, I ran to my shop to put together a prototype.

As I entered the building to start the class, a group of volunteers had gathered and one spoke up “What do you have there Char?” I replied, “a prototype for today”. His response, “Let me see, oh this isn’t square” Square is a woodworking term used to describe the straightness of a piece of wood. He proceeds to take my birdhouse into the woodshop and dismantle it and rebuild it!

I felt the smallest I had ever felt in life, like the weakest link, unsuccessful, belittled. I felt that way for all of two seconds. I decided on that day that I am here in a sea of people who don’t look like me, talk like me, think like me. However, I am where I am supposed to be and I will NEVER allow someone to make me feel this way again.

And I never have.

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

Social media, similar to a Mao Card game, a game we all play for validation where the new players are not taught the rules.

A view social media as a parking space. I park my content there for the right people to find and let it grow legs from there. I built my following my getting into the community. I went to woodworking related events and interacting with others. I made sure the person I am online in the person I am in real life.

I don’t post all day every day, I post when I can. Keeping up with the algorithim is draining and can deplete you on so many levels.

Here’s my advice to you:

What is your goal? Followers? Why? Having a lot of followers does not always mean more income.

Who is your audience? Teaching kids is one of my passions, so I put my kids in the videos. Be relatable to your audience.

Decide what to post, create content pillars. For example, if you are a cake decorator. Your content pillars might consist of: mistakes you’ve made on cakes or in business, how-to, a day in the life, your technique that makes you unique. Or perhaps you sell insurance, people are hungry for knowledge and your pillars may consist of, facts about term and whole policies, how much insurance can save someone, and making money from your policy.

Viewers want entertainment or education. Choose one or both and go for it. Chat GPT is a great resource for helping you create a content calendar and writing captions. Be sure to format them in your voice, people can see through inauthenticity.

Do not be afraid to put your face on camera. Public speaking is the number one fear for most people. I assure you once you do it a few times it becomes easier. Please do not compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20. Even the top instagrammers and you tubers, are not one take wonders. As someone who creates content for a living. The 30-second video you are watching likely took me an hour or more to make and almost that amount of time to edit.

Give yourself grace and take as many courses as you can on social media marketing. Some of my go to sites are Later, Planoly and Hootsuite. SCORE, a non-profit organization that helps small businesses offers many virtual classes on running a business from all angles, most of the classes are free and some require a small registration fee.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thewoodenmaven.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/woodenmaven
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYZ0RWjxPMff427xIrWy1rQ