We caught up with the brilliant and insightful ToNora Warden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, ToNora thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

It was not until late in life that I realized what it was I enjoyed doing. When I look back at things that I took interest in growing up, it makes sense where I am now.

I cannot attribute any formal training to learning carpentry or woodworking, but I’ve always had an inquisitive take on how things were made or built. I immediately noticed that I could envision how something was made or put together, replicate it. And since I’m a visual learner, I can repeatedly watch how to do something and tackle it. It may not be perfect, but the level of success for a beginner like myself is mind blowing. If I’d known building and working with my hands would be a passion for me, I may have worked in more environments that allowed me explore this concept. Then again, coming later in life, I’m able to enjoy it as a hobby rather than a source of income. This I feel instills the passion, as it’s on my own time.

I’m an over-thinker. A gift and a curse in my case. With it though, I’m able to really analyze a project- visualize it, see the outcome and the obstacles. I’m very detailed oriented, so although not perfect, that attention to detail has allowed me to accomplish things a normal beginner may not. I’m very conscious of my safety and abilities and always keep that at my forefront of working. Over-thinking and lack of confidence even though I have everything well planned out and perfectly capable, has caused delays beyond measure. But when I finally attempt it, it’s literally executed as planned. Of course with hiccups but that’s where I give myself grace.

Right now, since I’m learning all this as a hobby, there are no obstacles. When I have a vision in mind, all I do is research, probably too much. However, because it I’m able to execute and overcome obstacles due to already understanding what a solution could be.

ToNora, 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?

To start, when I was younger, I thought I wanted to be a chef. Today, I absolutely hate cooking and feel it should not be essential for survival. Ha! I say that so people will know it’s okay to not be able to pinpoint what your passion is early in life. The main focus should just be living it.

While growing up I was not into anything specific. I wish I could have had formal training in dancing or gymnastics, but that required knowing it was an option at that age. Some of the things I didn’t think twice about then is that I was very in-tune to details. I used to love assembling my Dad’s antique racetrack, putting together puzzles (I was heavy into the 3D ones when they surfaced) and building things out of whatever I could find. I once made a welding face-guard out of a Freeze-Pop box at like age 8.

Fast-forward to college, I still didn’t know who/what I wanted to be in life. I went to school for computer science, thinking I would be building them and quickly realized programming was not for me. That was the first time looking back that I remember wanting to do something with my hands.

Sophomore year I rented my first apartment and became obsessed with decorating it. Everything was matchy-matchy and hideously decorated in red and black with a Coca-Cola theme. Unknowingly, this was my first attempt at interior design. It was also right around the time the show Design Star came out on HGTV and I was HOOKED! I loved how these people were taking regular spaces and transforming them with simple decor. I knew from that moment on I would be stepping my game up with my next place. Not too long after, a friend who was interested in graphic design told me about a school he wanted to attend that also offered interior design. I was all the way on board. We visited, found housing, and moved to Florida by the end of the year.

Up until that point, I had never really found something I was truly passionate about. The level of detail, thinking and planning that this skillset encompassed was fuel for me. It turned me into someone who thought about every angle or outcome of a problem I had. I just started to look at everything differently, not just design and I took pride in that.

My first real DIY project (before it was a thing) was making my own portfolio for my work. I saw how the purchased ones were made and thought, like much of everything today, “I can make that.” Which I did and it turned out absolutely amazing. I honestly think from that experience, I learned that if I really put my mind to it, I could probably make anything.

Learning architecture and interior design was something I had no idea would be a foundation to my purpose, solely for me. And learning that my Dad went to school for architecture, made me feel even closer to him.

We were in a recession by the time I graduated and I was working to survive at that point. It was difficult trying to find a job in the architecture/interior design field. So, I figured if I was going to be working this hard, I’d rather be closer to home with support and opted to move back to Virginia.

A relative told me about design positions her company was hiring for and the week I officially moved back, I had the job. It was a blessing. I would go on to learn how to design the electrical power lines and be involved with getting people power to their new home or business. It was surreal actually being apart of that process and something I again took pride in. With my previous knowledge and already being detail-oriented, I excelled at this and eventually moved on to other places within the company. I went from designing the power lines to actually operating the power grid. Talk about power in your hands.

I’ve still managed to do small things that kept my interior design spirit alive. I never wanted a standard apartment. It needed to be a loft or studio; industrial, exposed ductwork or brick, just something unique. I painted all the time and did a way better job decorating with each new place.

In 2020, something ignited in me to really try and make something out of this small pass-time of a passion I now had. I found a YouTube channel of a woman building and doing things that I knew I could do, just never even thought to try. When I did, it just made sense that this is what I’m supposed to be doing, in some form or fashion. I started a YouTube channel with no real expectation of anything except documenting my journey but along the way, I’ve created a path for a business if I ever wanted to make it intentional.

I’m building and creating things with my bare hands I never thought I would be doing. Designing is one thing, but learning carpentry and woodworking is another. Since I still work full-time and actually like my job, I don’t have a need to leave or pursue this full time. I love working at my own pace and on my own time.

Eventually as I build my skill level, I would like to start doing small projects for other people. Just to see if it’s something I want to take on or just keep as a hobby. I’m so proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish by just trying and not giving up. Whatever it is that you find yourself always gravitating back towards, try making a conscious effort to be aware of when it happens and make it work.

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

During high-school, I knew we had what’s considered to be electives for “trades” like cosmetology, but I was not aware that there were programs that offered architecture and drafting classes at different high schools. Although I didn’t know in high school I would have been interested in this, I may have found out if I had the exposure.

I also found out later that a local prestigious university offered a 5 year masters program that may have been more beneficial to pursue once I realized I was into design. This could have lead me to remain in the field after graduating. I cannot say however, whether or not my experience or skillset would be the same. Two different paths, one with more adventure, the other with more structure.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

In my field of creativity, seeing something 5x larger than my entire being that I built on my own, is the highest reward for me. Being I’ve never done any of this and attempting things that people who have worked in this industry for decades are doing is mind-boggling. Not to mention it’s actually appealing to look at.

I’m learning to just keep moving. I tend to get distracted when I can’t get something right or figure out the next step and eventually just stop trying. One project took a year to come back to and after pushing through a few times, before I knew it the project was done. Knowing I have hurdles to overcome has been rewarding to see myself excel from them. Acknowledging the setback is there and fighting instead of fleeing.

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