Hi, my name is Erica Taurez.I was asked by Spectool to just give a brief introduction as a mom woodworker, so. Let me introduce myself.
I.Am Erica Taurez. I own Madera by Erica. I have been woodworking since I was 12 years old in middle school shop.It has been a love of mine for so long at turning it into a business has really been the dream and being able to build things for people is really what I love to do.I have a family, four children, oldest one is in just entering high school and my youngest is 8. And they are out in the shop with me.And I just love that they are able to see that women are able to just break these glossy ceilings of what was the norm before that we can become more and pursue the things that we love to do.
Q2:Why do you want to be a woodworker?
Like I said, I have been doing this since I was 12. It has been what I have pursued all of my life.When the time came to going to college, I was in desperate want of a one. Working school at the time, I didn't know of any and I didn't quite know how to research any of that. And so after getting married to my husband and after a couple of kids, I just kept coming back to me that this is what I needed to do. This is where I just shined. And I finally found a school in Portland, Oregon where I was.
My tutor was Gary Ragowski. And that was just a turning point in why I wanted to pursue this.All of a sudden, I gained all this knowledge of how much deeper this woodworking thing was besides just skimming the surface of middle school and high school shop.
Q3:Do you think being a mom has influenced your woodworking creations?
Yes, definitely. I have built things for our home, desks for our girls. I have had furniture needs when I was in school. The projects that I made were mostly for our home and to just enrich our lives and to show my family beautiful things that could be created instead of just purchasing from say, Walmart or, big box stores. Being a mom, I could bring my kids out there and they can help me. I have a few things where they have influence in my design for the desks.Exact. For example, for my girls, they're floating, they're off of the floor because they want space to play on the floor, so the desks are mounted on the walls.
Q4:As a mother, do you have any preferences when it comes to tool choice for woodworking?
Yes, I have been doing this for a long time. I have all of my fingers. Safety is very important to me. I want to be to always be able to work with my hands. I want to be able to always be able to see, always be able to hear.So I, safety and hearing Protection has always been very important to me. I have a soft stop in my home for any, just in cases.I keep my tools up to spec, and when there is anything that I need to fix, I take the time to learn about my machine so I can always make sure that it is running to full capacity. To other woodworking moms, what I would like to say for this Mother's Day is that just enjoy it.Bring your kids out into the shop when they want to. Don't force it on them. But when you bring them out, have an idea for them, something for them to do is that they are actively learning with you and they are learning to. Enjoy.
Q5:What do you love and why do you love it?
I'm currently right now with my oldest making new drawers for a desk that we purchased for her years ago. And she's making the drawers. I'm walking her step by step, how to use my machine safely, how to do wood selection, how to measure.And.How to get things down to exactly how they need to be.And she has told me many times during this experience. Wow, what is so cool?Like, I know.And she is an artist all in of herself in pencils and is able to crochet. But for her to come into my world of woodworking and to see and understand why I love what I do has really been just wonderful for me to be able to experience that with her.
Q6: Do I think woodworking is good for kids?
Yes, definitely. There have been a few years where during the summer breaks my kids are bored just like any other kids, and so we can hopefully come up with a good project.We've done coasters in the past and Kumiko stuff is what's coming up for this summer coming.And just getting them out here with creativity. I have a wood burning kit where I will just pull out scraps and they will sit and they'll just burn wood. I have carving tools and I have taught them over the years how to carve things and that has been really fun. They get a lot of creativity and joy out of that.
Q1: Are any of my kids interested in woodworking?
I would say it comes and goes. Sometimes they want to be out here doing things, but at any time that I have needed their help for anything, they are right out here, willing and ready to help. And every time they do, they love it.So I would love to say that it will peak one of their interests. Whether it is a way for them to wind down after a long day, whether it's just a hobby for them, or whether they turn it into a career, I'm not quite sure.I think just that introducing the curiosity of woodworking and what it can do to build that creativity and to know that you can build something.From wood.That won't break in a few years, but that will last for generations and something that they can be proud of.
Q8: Have you and your kids had any fun fun moments while doing woodworking together?
Yes, when we made coasters a few years back, all of my kids were able to go through the scrap bin, pick out some nice boards and make some coasters and they were able to sell it. That was really fun for them.They loved that, they loved being able to create something beautiful, put some hard work into it, and then actually get something out of it in return.And knowing that they were making other people happy because they were purchasing them not because they felt bad or anything like that, but because they were genuinely beautiful things.So yes, and like I said, building in here with my daughter right now it is spring break and so she's out here in the shop with me, our building drawers and it is so fun, it is dreamy.Anyways, that is a little bit about myself. I hope you guys have a wonderful Mother's day, and let creativity keep going. Bring your kids out, enjoy motherhood. This is a part of it, and it's wonderful.
To every woodworking mother:
Thank you! From wood to wonder, mom makes magic.
Watch the full interview video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyHw2GW2xjQ&t=314s
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