If it weren’t for Mickey Mouse, Tonda Thompson might never have become a carpenter. During the early weeks of the pandemic, the videographer and infant mortality activist’s then two-year-old son was performing Mickey’s hotdog dance on the living room coffee table, which broke under the weight of his enthusiastic rendition. Thompson was about to head to Target when she realized that another flimsy table would be doomed to fall apart. Inspired by a friend’s newfound woodworking skills, she secured some two-by-fours from Home Depot and got to work with her lumber. After sourcing plans from the internet and watching an instructional videos on YouTube, she set out to build a coffee table from scratch in her basement.
Thompson was pleased enough with the results to post a photo of her creation on Facebook. Within a few weeks, 10 friends and family members placed orders for similar ones. “It took me most of the summer to make those 10 tables,” said Thompson, 36. “Now each one would take me no more than two hours to build.”
Thompson challenged herself to master a friend’s castoff bandsaw and a circular saw. As her skills continued to improve, her designs became more complicated. She moved on from making simple tables and charcuterie boards to modular picnic tables that can fold into a bench. “When people challenge me, I think: ‘I could make that.’ It’s a flex to see how creative you can be,” she said.
When the racial justice movement broke out in the summer of 2020 after the killing of George Floyd, Thompson opted to spend time making tables in her garage instead of protesting in the streets. “I was at a point in my life where I just wanted to heal,” she said.
By the end of 2020, Thompson realized she had a business on her hands, and incorporated her burgeoning timber trade into She Slangs Wood. An appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021 led to more orders for charcuterie boards than she could handle. Thompson made enough money to put a down payment on a vacant three-story building in Milwaukee, and spent the next two years and more than $500,000 that she cobbled together through various grants and loans on renovating the building. “This corner was known for a lot of drug activity, and we pretty much changed the vibe of the neighborhood into a more positive one,” she said. This August, a She Slangs Wood retail store opened on the main floor, with a wood shop in the back. Thompson rents out the second floor to various tenants who work in community health advocacy, including Thompson’s own non-profit, the National Coalition for Healthy Black Families. Her ultimate goal is to create a community hub where people can go to learn everything from carpentry to home economics. “It’s a safe space where people can come to thrive,” she said.
In addition to running She Slangs Wood, you head up the National Coalition for Healthy Black Families and run a media company called Vogue Dreams. How does it all fit together?
I do struggle with balancing everything. Yesterday I had a full schedule and didn’t do anything on the schedule. Right now I’m loaded with projects, so I’m taking it one day at a time and making sure that I can knock them all out without overloading myself. I’m learning how to take breaks. I find woodworking therapeutic, but it’s also addictive. You find yourself doing it all the time. I try to cut off at 4pm.
What do you find therapeutic about working with wood?
First, there’s the smell. I don’t know what’s in the smell of wood but when you walk into a wood shop and you smell that aroma, it takes you to a space of safety and love. Plus, being creative with your hands is very satisfying. After you build a table, the part that’s most fun is sanding the table. The repetitive movement, filing the wood brings a calming sense to your body and peace to your mental state.
As the sole employee, how do you deal with the intensifying demand for your products?
I build, build and build but I can never keep up with the orders. I have to check myself and remember that I’m not a machine. I need to start to delegate, scale up and hire people, but it’s hard to find people who have the same passion.
How long is the waitlist for a table?
For the Africa table, which is one of my bestsellers, that’s at least six months. Most of my clients are understanding when I tell them initially it’s going to take time.
What does the future look like for She Slangs Wood?
It’s taken me three years to get this space open, and now I already feel like I need a bigger space to push out and manufacture these things. I really want She Slangs Wood to be nationally known – kind of like Ashley’s furniture. I want to be the first place when you think of when you need to purchase something if you need something made of wood, like a cutting board, a table, a fence, a deck, a porch.
What’s a piece of advice you wish you would have received before starting a business?
When you start a business, treat it like your baby. Don’t let just anybody pick up your baby. You have to love it and protect it. Also, know every aspect of your business and be patient. Things don’t happen overnight. You have to build it out brick by brick.
