Today on the show, we had the incredible privilege of getting to talk with Alexandra Climent, a woodpreneur who specializes in working with some of the densest wood in the world. Alexandra is a self-taught woodworking artist who fell in love with jungle wood’s beauty while sourcing it for construction uses. This changed her entire future and career path significantly.
What Drew You To The Urban Wood Industry?
It was about ten years ago that the beginnings of her woodworking business began to take shape. The company that Alexandra was working for focused on sourcing dense wood for major construction projects due to its hearty qualities. This type of wood doesn’t rot underwater and can’t be penetrated by termites. It is essentially the wood equivalent of marble, built to last and incredibly high in quality.
During a trip to the jungle where these trees grow, Alexandra saw the materials and the environment that nurtured them. A driving passion compelled her to share this beauty with the world. The wood’s practical construction properties make it a hot commodity, but many of the people who work with it don’t showcase the beauty it also holds.
Between trips to the jungle to collect and source felled wood for her creative projects and her time back home in New York, Alexandra started creating a unique and beautiful story about her life and brand through Instagram.
The Arrival of the Wood and the Future it Held
It took a lot of work and patience for Alexandra to finally have enough wood that it could be shipped to the United States, and she had to deal with a lot of hurdles and red tape to get it there, but finally, the wood arrived.
Alexandra’s story is so inspiring because you really can pinpoint the moment everything changed, and it was the culmination of all that work, sacrifice, and patience. The wood finally on its way to her in New York, a dream in a shipping container. Ultimately upon reflection, it was really an entire life, business, and fulfilling creative outlet, slowly but surely making its way to her.
For many woodpreneurs, the wood’s story in itself is part of the entire package, and that holds especially true in this case.
Alexandra describes how she was in the jungle, seeing where all this wood came from and the animals and organisms that were living amongst the trees for so many years. Her desire to share that story, to share that feeling with someone who couldn’t physically be in the jungle, serves as a continuing motivation for these products.
Sustainability is also of enormous concern to this exotic woodworker. She focuses on exporting wood for design purposes that most people have never seen before. This focus on less popular species means that she puts less pressure on trees and their associated biomes that are in high demand, which ultimately protects the trees and nature as a whole.
The advice Alexandra has to offer other woodworkers focused on sustainability in this industry is to use species that are not in high demand.
Learning to Work with this Rare Wood
Surprisingly getting the wood from far away jungles wasn’t even the most challenging step in this journey. As an entirely self-taught artist and woodworker, Alexandra also had to find shop space and learn how to work with this incredibly difficult material that is exceedingly rare in the industry on her own.
Once the wood arrived, Alexandra would spend any spare time off from her full-time job working with her materials and honing her craft. Eventually, she got a few clients and decided to leap into her business full-time.
It’s still always a risk. As with any creative endeavor, you don’t often get a monthly paycheck. Sometimes, there are worries or doubts about pursuing entrepreneurship over having a standard 9-5 when there are bills to pay, but the way she sees it, there will always be risks for any reward. Alexandra knows she would never be as happy if she hadn’t taken this risk.
Steve sums it up perfectly:
“You had this job, and the dream was making its way on a container someplace over to you, and then when it got there, you bet on yourself.”
What Have Some Of the Challenges Been?
It has been a journey even after going full time to frame her business in a way that makes sense with the product she works with. Many woodpreneurs have multiple projects on the go or produce content in a steady stream, which can be intimidating. Still, while it is all woodworking, it’s a very different industry when you consider the medium.
The wood Alexandra works with is extraordinarily dense and requires specialized tools, care, and crafting to produce stunning results.
It took some time for Alexandra to realize that her approach and methods are just as valid, and while her projects take a bit more time, that is what makes them so incredibly unique. There is also, of course, the added stress of being a one-person show. Alexandra has to act as the marketing director, sales team, creative team, liaison, and wear about a dozen other hats in addition to being an artist and woodworker to grow her business.
As her social media presence has grown, there have been opportunities to work with brands, but Alexandra is very particular about who she works with. To her, the authenticity of who she is and what she does comes before social media and marketing, which means only working with brands she truly supports.
Steve echoes this advice for other woodpreneurs and reinforces the idea that even while working with brands can seem like a great source of validation, it isn’t always necessary or the best choice for independent business.
A Look at the Past and Future
If Alexandra were to start her business over again from scratch, she thinks she might have benefited from a business plan of sorts. Even now, her biggest focus is on how not to waste time and money with broad marketing efforts.
For 2021 the goal is expanding the business and ideally getting to do more speaking engagements about her story and passion for this industry while taking into account the restrictions that have been imposed by the global pandemic.
Steve offers some excellent advice on leveraging videos and personality to showcase products and sell through feeds in a way that isn’t too “salesy”.
He also notes the importance of a Facebook pixel and the hidden value of focusing on low ticket items as much if not more than high priced ones.
When people like a person, they want to support them, and when they like a person who also represents a brand, that still holds true. Offering limited edition runs of small items or making them special in some way gives people a support avenue even if they might not have the need or capital to invest in larger custom pieces.
For example, Alexandra’s worry eggs have a beautiful story and came from a personal connection she shares with her art and medium. A video about those would resonate with people invested in the journey and the story she has worked so hard to share around the world