Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Harrison.
Hi Jeremy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The love for woodworking was embedded in me at a young age. As a child, I spent countless hours with my father in his small shop unknowingly learning a craft I would come to love. I continued to hone and work on my skills through the years. As I grew into an adult and obtained a place of my own, creating my own workspace became a key goal of mine. Starting in a tiny bare bone’s lawn mower shed growing to where I am now has been a long journey full of learning experiences.
This has always been a hobby and not a profession for me (although a man can dream right). I am first and foremost a father and a husband. The woodworking is what I do to keep my sanity and hide when household chores need done.
Behind the scenes I have a beautiful and amazing family supporting me. My wife Brittani has been my best friend since high school and I couldn’t imagine living life without her. She has blessed me with two of the most amazing children to ever walk this earth. Camden is the oldest and is my sidekick. Aubrey is my princess, yet down for an adventure with her old man.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Time. As a father and husband with a full-time career, I have so many things pulling me in multiple directions. Finding the time to get everything done and still finding time to get to the shop has been the hardest obstacle.
Confidence. As a craftsman, you have to put yourself out there for people to see and judge your work. As an introvert that has been really hard for me. When you see someone slap some paint on a pallet and sell it for hundreds of dollars and then people walk past your booth without even stopping that can be really hard. That’s the moment you start to doubt yourself and the items you make. There have been so many times that I have just about given up, but then I sell an item that puts the biggest smile on someone’s face and I remember why I started doing this.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
So, I am known as the wooden toy guy. I started out saying I make wooden toys and games but will build anything that my wife wants made. When I decided to start my woodworking journey, I wanted to make something that was different than what everyone around me was making. Where I am located there are several Amish shops. A lot of them make furniture so I knew I couldn’t compete in that market. I kept bouncing from idea to idea and could never come up with something different. About that time my kids were fairly young and had a ton of toys. I noticed how quickly things would break as compared to even the things I had growing up. That was my lightbulb moment. I made a few items and posted them to Facebook to see what the response was. They went over better than imagined and it took off from there.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
How truly fragile our commerce truly is. As the virus started to spread all of the shows and events were starting to quickly become cancelled. As crafters, shows and events is how we get our names out there. Let’s be honest handydaddywoodworking.com isn’t as well-known as amazon.com so sales plummeted. As things become more open, we then ran into increased cost, out-of-stock issues, and increased delivery times. All the time and effort you put into building an inventory and prepping for events can be turned upside down very quickly. I learned I have to be agile and welcome to change as a crafter. I went from only making toys and games to custom marketing materials for companies such as keychains.
I also learned there are a ton of people around you supporting you and you may not even realize it. Without shows, I would post sales and specials on Facebook to bring in some money. The number of people supporting me was astonishing. From making purchases to sharing my posts, it was truly humbling.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.handydaddywoodworking.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handydaddywoodworking/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handydaddywoodworkingllc
