We recently connected with Molly Bean and have shared our conversation below.
Molly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
I can’t claim that everyone in the woodworking industry doesn’t try to work sustainably, but I can say that it is something I go out of my way to do. With this goal in mind, I have ended up (almost by accident) creating very unique pieces of art in the process.
When starting a project, I will always look to incorporate scrap material from other projects, even if it means extra work for me to make the “scrap” what it needs to be for said project.
I actively collect wood from others in the industry that they cannot or do not want to spend the time trying to use and work to create projects around these found pieces Recently, I was given a lone box of oak flooring and have been able to transform that into multiple wall art pieces and ottoman trays.
I collect old furniture from curbs and thrift stores and try to bring new life to them. I’ve even turned muddy yard stakes into wood frames to be macramed.
And finally, while I do end up at Menards buying pine when necessary, I source all of my specialty wood from another local business that specializes in sustainably: Urban Timber. On a larger scale, they try to do what I do, only sustainably sourcing local kinds of specialty trees and turning them into beautiful slabs for us local woodworkers.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
If you asked me how I became an artist, I would say that I have always been one. But specifically getting into the field of woodworking was half accident and half nervous energy.
After having my second child a week after COVID lockdown started, I was finding myself needing to do something that wasn’t mothering. I wanted to create something, but I didn’t know what. After stumbling around on Pinterest for a while, I found DIY ottoman tray instructions and the rest was history.
Since then I have expanded to all things wood and a dash of macrame. I do everything from refinishing furniture to building from scratch. I have made entertainment centers, wall art pieces, wood burned jewelry, woven wall hangings, and so much more.
I will never take on a project that I don’t feel confident that I can complete well, but generally speaking, If you ask me to build it, I will! I have been incredibly fortunate to have a client base that has trusted me when I tell them that I have never done something,like cedar planters, before and they’d like me to do it anyways.
I believe that there are many things that set me apart in this field. My sustainable mindset allows me to try and figure out uses for things that may otherwise be thrown away. I think this bleeds into another thing that sets me apart which is my creativity. Give me a general idea and I can come back to you with her design. Give me scrap wood or a box of flooring and I will turn it into something beautiful. Finally, I think being a woman in a predominantly male field sets me apart. I believe it makes me more approachable to women wanting wood-based products and I also believe that I said an example for my daughter and other young women who may also want to venture into a male-dominated field in the future.
Building this company has not been an easy feat and I have had to take a couple steps back in order to take steps forward. I started this company a couple of weeks after the world shut down and I had my second child. Shortly after that I found out I was pregnant again (it was a surprise!) and continued to woodwork and build my business as I grew and birthed my third child.
My youngest boys are 364 days apart and are currently 1 1/2 & 2 1/2, so I’m proud of my ability to build a business from the ground up while also mothering my three small children. But it hasn’t just been building the business, I was not a woodworker when I started but I would consider myself one now. I’m proud of spending my free time learning about my field and seeking out feedback and advice from other professionals in the field. I’m proud of the late nights watching tutorials and scrap projects that have taught me how to build. I’m proud of taking on projects that I may not have initially known how to complete, learning how to build them and making sure that they were not returned to customers until they were completed well.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Quite frankly, I think my entire business story is one of resilience and I feel that I am just now starting to stand on level ground.
As I had mentioned previously, I started this business a few weeks after my second child was born and in the middle of lockdown. Prior to the birth of my son, I had been working as the director of an after school program and was unsure if I felt comfortable continuing on in my field as a mother of two. I wanted flexibility to be there for the big moments in my children’s lives and I was feeling burnt out by the load of running such a large childcare program. When lockdown happened, I felt even more unsure about continuing on in such a populated field with a baby at home, so I quit my job and was unsure of what came next.
Almost immediately after quitting, my husband’s entire office was laid off and we were unsure how we would provide for our family. At the same time, I had started dealing with a heavy bout of post partum depression and needed something for myself and this is when I found the instructions for a DIY ottoman tray.
After building my first piece I felt like “this was it”. This was how I kept flexibility for my family and made some extra income. So I started an Instagram page and taking custom orders. It took off faster than I anticipated and I had many small orders coming my way. But right when I felt like I could see this upward trajectory for both my business and my family, I found out I was pregnant again at 3 months postpartum.
This was such a pivotal moment. Everything in me wanted to quit and give up. I was tired, I was depressed, and it all felt like too much. But there was something in me that told me to keep going and I’m so glad it did.
I would say this is my big moment of resilience, but there have been so many smaller moments every single day since then. During my third pregnancy, the projects I was being commissioned for were very large, complicated, and heavy. But I continued to work through the entire pregnancy in spite of the morning sickness and migraines.
After having my third child, things only seem to get harder. I had a 3-year-old, 1-year-old, and newborn at home and here I was trying to build a business. Sometimes when I would take a step back, it felt insane. But here we are, a year and a half after another moment of wanting to quit and every day it gets a little bit easier. I get to take my kids to the park and the library. I get to volunteer at school functions for my daughter. And I get to create art every single day.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I’m excited to answer this question because I feel like my answer to this question might give hope to those out there who feel like they don’t have the financial means to start the business they’re dreaming of. The short answer to this question is there was no capital. At the start of this business our family was completely unemployed. I had one saw, given to us by a family member. I bought only the supplies I needed for the project I was working on, and the money from the last project funded the next project. As I gained knowledge and experience, I was able to charge for that knowledge and experience and have been able to buy more tools and supplies to continue funding the business.
I’m still operating on a relatively small scale. Even though I have a steady stream of markets and clients, I haven’t gotten to the point where I need to hire extra help or expand. And that’s okay for me right now. I still have very young children and am working out of a one car garage but I can see the potential to expand in the (possibly near) future. This slow start has allowed me to solidify both my brand and my knowledge base.
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Image Credits
Family photo & Headshot Judith Madrid Photography