As a maker for most of my life I have been fortunate to have survived off creating for myself or others. My first success was with sandblasted red wood signs. I was only about 16 and worked for my buddies fathers sign shop. I vividly remember the smell of dry red wood from the wood shed as we would prep the boards for laming. From picking out the wood to hand painting the lettering, it was the first time I felt like a maker. There was something so satisfying about seeing the end costomer so happy and actually apreciating craftsmanship, and then thinking ”I did that”. I love to hear about how other makers I meet became successful. Please share your story!