People often look down on me but carpentry gives me fulfillment - Another graduate female furniture maker

OLABISI OLA

OLABISI OLA who is a furniture maker in an interview with spice talked about her foray into carpentry, she is a graduate from Olabisi Onabanjo University Ogun State  where she had a bachelors degree in Industrial and labour Relation ,and a diploma in local gorverment studies from Obafemi Awolowo university, ile-ife. she also has a certificate in
interior design from Maven School of Interior Design.

WORK HISTORY

She worked with Citygate Global now Empire Trust Microfinance, as a customer relationship manager and she resigned in May 2014,then she interned with the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria for three months and she was a part of the term that organised the Industry’s First interior design exhibition in Nigeria

she said she became less interested with her 8 to 6pm job sometime in march 2014,looking into the future and what she saw scared her, she saw herself getting married , having kids , growing old and dying without any fulfillment, I became restless and dissatisfied and always know there is a void that her current job at the time can't fill, I resigned even though I had not set any money aside and had no clear definition of what I wanted to do next.she went for her interior deign business and decided to focus on that. she did that for a year but the peace she wanted still eluded her.during one of her quiet times, the thought to narrow her business down to furniture came to her and she did just that.That was how her furniture making journey started in July 2015.
 she sourced for carpenters, created a product collection, and opened a store on Konga called “Timberworks.”
Do you feel intimidated by your male counterparts?
I don’t feel intimidated. I do what I do and I do it well. I hone my skills daily and keep looking for ways to be better at it, so all I feel is pride, joy and happiness. No intimidation.

Have you ever been looked down upon as a female carpenter?
I get questioned a lot by male carpenters at the plank market and they mostly suggest I look for a man to work for me as this is not a profession for women. But I won’t call that being looked down upon, I see it as their way of dealing with the ceiling that has been crashed.

If you weren’t a carpenter, what other profession would you have considered and why?
Maybe a chef. I love creating stuff and I like food.

How do you unwind?
Watching movies, listening to music and dancing.

What advice do you have for females who intend to go into carpentry?
For females who genuinely seek to follow this path, I’d say the time to make that move is now. If you do this, become the absolute best you can.
It’s a field where there is positive correlation between effort and reward – the more you take on, the more you make. Know that nothing is impossible and nothing is out of reach.
Whatever idea your mind can conceive, you have the ability to make it happen so far you’re willing to put in the work. It is my sincere wish that you fulfill the highest expression of yourself.

olabisi ola

Always follow your dream regardless of what people say or do to discourage  you  ........