D'ondra Howard (@workbootsandglasses) is a Carpenter featured in Matriarchy Build's roster of female trades professionals. Based in Sacramento, California, D'ondra specialises in DIY and woodworking. Having started out with small furniture upcycles, she now tackles her own custom wooden pieces, including tables, desks and charcuterie boards.
About Matriarchy Build
Starting out 🥽
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to learn how to build furniture but was afraid of the power tools. It wasn’t until I saw someone on Instagram (@ournestonpowell) that shared she was self taught, that I thought ‘I have to try this’. After watching all her highlighted videos, I woke up the next morning, went to Home Depot and bought a miter saw and some wood. I followed a plan to build a sofa table by @shanty2chic and had so much fun that I kept building from there. Eventually people started asking me to make something for them, or they asked how much I’d sell my builds for.”Sticking to Sacramento 📍
“I was born and raised in Sacramento, so this is all I know. I enjoy being here, but I’m also not opposed to moving somewhere else. The weather is pretty great and I can find pretty much anything I need here woodworking wise. I have traveled to other places looking for cool pieces of wood, until I discovered what I had in my own backyard was pretty dope.”
A real rollercoaster 🎢
“I really enjoy the whole process of my job, yes some more than others, like getting started with sanding – we have a love / hate relationship but once I get started, it gets better. I also enjoy picking out the wood, but not so much unloading it into my shop. That’s a whole job in itself. Other than that, seeing it all come together is exciting.”
