Hey friends, my name is Jesse. You might know me on Instagram as @buildingjesse.
I am a content creator.I am a woodworker and a diyer. I'm also a mom of two amazing kids that are surprisingly 11 and 9 now. And I want to talk a little bit about the journey of being a content creator and a woodworker and also being a mom.
Q2: How did you become a woodwoker?
So I got started making in 2012 when I got my first house and it was a complete fixed wrapper, uh, from barebones. Tearing stuff apart, re flooring, moving walls, doing all that stuff.And for me, something that was really special was that my dad helped along the way and taught me the things that he knows about renovating a home.So that's where I really got started.
And aside from renovating a house, I required some animals.So when I first started on Instagram, my handle was actually called the Rigs Ranch and I was building things like chicken coops and doing fencing and building shelters for my animals at that point.And we had baby goats, we had llama, we had a llama at one point, and we also had chickens.So they needed a place to stay. And I Learned how to build structures and build stuff for my farm.
Q3: How has motherhood influenced your craft?
All these things and having animals and having a farm, redoing my house.My kids have been with me along this journey, which I think is really special because there are times where they really want to help, they want to learn stuff.And I can provide that knowledge and also safety for them to learn how to build things for themselves.
Q4: Do your kids like to join your woodwork?
I will say that all kids are very, very different. My son does not want to be recorded. He does not want his videos posted online. However, my daughter is polar opposite and she loves helping me create content. She loves being in videos. She loves making stuff. So much so that I brought her to mayor camp last year.So last October, we went to New York and she got to meet some more famous people and do all the fun things. She made new friends.
And I think the one thing I told her before we went was people can't like you more than me because I'm the actual content creator, which she thought was funny.
Q5:As a mother, do you have any tool preferences?
So along the way in my journey, I've also acquired some bigger, better tools like a laser and a CNC, which has been really, really fun as a mom to incorporate my kids into making things as well, have made valentines for their friends at school, little keychains, and they get to design them and make them their own.And I think that's really special when it comes to being a mom and a woodworker and a maker, is to have these kids come to you with an idea and say, hey, mom, I want to make this. And I can assist in that and be like, okay, let's make it.
Q6: What's your favorite creation for your kids?
I think that my favorite build to date with my kids was a cat tower. So we have a couple of indoor cats and we came out to the shop one day and they were like, we want to build a cat tower.So we got to sit and design the whole thing, make the whole thing. And they got to give me their ideas and they were all awesome.And we got to make those ideas come to life, which I love that they can come to me and say, mom, I wanna make this. And I'm like, okay, let's do it.The cat tower was epic. It's like a three level cat tower. We did a little box, we got to laser engrave the cats name on their box.So Hank and Milo and they got to be a part of the process from start to finish, which I think was really cool and really special.
I love having the kids in the shop. Any time they want to learn something or do something, I'm all for it.
Q7: Any encouragement to other woodworking mothers?
So for any moms out there that like to create, whether it's art, woodworking, DIY, whatever, let those kids get involved. Give them something to be excited about.And, you know, when it comes to content creation, sometimes when we take the time to film stuff, we aren't being as efficient as you probably could be because this stuff takes time.
But you can also take the time to, you know, encourage a new skill or a new passion for something in your kids. I think a lot of moms do that, but just don't ever forget that you can take a moment to teach your child a new skill and maybe spark an interest that they would really love.So for whatever reason, my kids think that I'm famous because I know people that have been on a Netflix series. But what I think is more important for moms is to be famous for kids. Fostering creativity and letting them create things or helping them create things I think is really, really special.
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=TM61wUu5DVM
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