Meet Donald Woodard | Craftsman/Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Donald Woodard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Donald, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I read somewhere that if you do what you love, you don’t have to work another day. I have started other businesses that I was passionate about at the time. When I moved back to San Diego for the second time the beer industry was booming. I have been a long-time brewer myself and I loved it. I was about to start another business by opening a brewery and tasting room in Ocean Beach. After I found myself in my garage too often building furniture instead of brewing I realized that my passion had changed once again. I also liked working with reclaimed wood and focusing on being more sustainable in what I do. So I changed the business plan from brewing beer to upcycling trees and reclaimed wood into beautiful custom-made furniture.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Our work is unique in every way, from the material we use to the designs we build. Most of our material is upcycled from local trees that come down or reclaimed wood from historic buildings and houses here in San Diego. We also get to work with local companies like the Hotel Del Coronado where we acquired a huge load of reclaimed wood and built pieces to go back into the remodel.
When you open a business as an artist who hopes to do what they love all day you get a very real slap in the face. Being a business owner and being an artist are two very different things. When you start a business as an artist and not a business person you realize very quickly that you are in over your head and this is going to take every ounce of your ability to make it. Sink or swim is the name of the game and the ocean you are swimming in just keeps getting deeper and deeper with harder currents to battle. We are going on almost 9 years now in business and it has taken everything I have had to make it this far. There are constant setbacks and hurdles that you have to deal with on a weekly basis. From broken tools and vehicles, employees, rental increases, and the state of California will never make it easy for you. Even though I studied and went to meetings and classes about business to become a better businessman. If I had it to do over again I would have hired a business professional or mentor to direct the movement of the company.
One thing that I feel has helped along the way is the connections we have made with our clients and local craftsmen who are in the same field. Our clients get to come to the shop and talk with us one-on-one about how we will make their custom pieces and make sure they are getting exactly what they need at the highest quality that they deserve.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have been running the business here in Barrio Logan for eight years now and I find this part of the city so amazing and full of culture. It is like nowhere else in San Diego. Amazing tacos on every corner. Great coffee shops. Beautiful art everywhere. Killer skate park right under the Coronado bridge. Some of the most talented craftsmen and makers in all of California. It is a true gem.
I will always be partial to Ocean Beach because I have lived there for many years and it has everything you could want and more.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A big shoutout to my friend Zakhar Smirnov who has been with me on this journey from the beginning. He is a master craftsman, builder, and designer that I am grateful to have on my team. I wouldn’t have made it this far without him.

Website: www.oldfashionedlumber.com . https://oldfashionedlumber.com/pages/about-us

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