Woodworking: How I got started! By Olie Zelaya
Hello Woodpreneurs! Today we’re going to take a look at how Olie Zelaya started her woodworking business, as well as her life leading to that point.
Originally, Olie was working in industries adjacent to woodworking while Art, her husband, had been doing woodworking with his dad for some time. During that time, Olie never found herself interested, she never went to their shop, never helped him out and didn’t really ask very many questions about his projects. She did her thing, and he did his.
Eventually, Olie found herself looking for a new job, and Art’s business was really taking off at the same time. She started out by helping her husband with packaging, paperwork, and the general bookkeeping and organization of the company.
Woodworking Discovery
As she spent time at the shop, Olie fell in love with woodworking and she realized, “ I want to start my own thing. I want to design some stuff and put it there. I had been watching epoxy videos on YouTube like crazy and I got really addicted to them.”
She wanted to go buy epoxy and oil that all these guys making rivers table are using. She looked for a distributor nearby and asked if they had any epoxy starter kits that she could buy. Then Olie went into the shop and got busy!
One time, Art had a walnut table that he was doing for a client and Olie suggested that they need to put a particular oil on it and sand it all the way up to 800 grit to give it an amazing shine. Olie’s experience watching YouTube videos had given her a tremendous theoretical knowledge of how to do the epoxy, then it just came down to practicing. Trial and error and YouTube.
Trial and Error
According to her, Olie just watched videos and worked on these walnut tables and Art and his dad were amazed. In Olie’s words, “They were like, she knows nothing about woodworking, how does she make this table look amazing?” They used to sand all of their pieces only to 180 grit, whereas Olie started sanding all of her pieces to 800 grit and they shone incredibly well.
At one point while Olie was helping husband out she said, “ I really want to design something retro, because I was so inspired with the retro desk that my husband did and I always loved mid-century. The orange one with the orange panels was a hit!” Her willingness to try new ideas and run with inspiration when it struck led Olie to creating successful products using the skills she learned and the many practice attempts prior.
How did Olie learn to woodwork?
“I learned from my amazing father-in-law. He has been a carpenter for 40 plus years so it must be in his blood. Art, my husband runs the CNC machine, powder coating, and all the tools around the shop and he just shows me the ropes. I also learn from the good old YouTube University and even Instagram.
Follow other makers and designers. They will show you tips and tricks and that’s just kind of how I learned. I took baby steps and just learned and grew and practiced along the way because I knew nothing at all to start.
I just learned from people by watching them, I’m just learning and I will get better in due time. That’s my story and how I started woodworking, and I know that I still have a lot to learn!
Check out the link and video below to learn more about woodworking tips and visit Olie’s social media accounts!
IG: @olieswoodshop