((PKG)) WOODWORKER
((Banner: The Entrepreneur))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Ashburn and Herndon, Virginia))
((Locator: Ashburn, Viginia))
((Virginia Wallen, Former IT Worker, Now Carpenter))
When I got laid off, I was devastated. I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I was applying for jobs everywhere. I cannot just sit around and do nothing. And I was driving my husband crazy and I was just looking, you know, for things to do.
It started out with anything and everything that was related to wood, and I quickly learned that was a mistake, only because there was only one of me. I only have so much time. So, what I’ve done is I’ve pared down that product line to pets for now. So, my pet line includes every size crate known to man and if you have a pet that fits in the crate, I can build it.
((Kevin Wallen, Virginia’s Husband))
She came up with the idea, saying “maybe I'll start building these”. I thought she was crazy at first. But after the first one was well-received, it was great. You know I was like, “Ok, well this is going to take off, this is going to take off.”
((Virginia Wallen, Former IT Worker, Now Carpenter))
That week, I had five people reach out to me asking if I would build them one. It wasn't so much as a passion, growing up doing woodworking, as much as a requirement, you know, help me mend fences or, you know, work on the farm or do things like that.
((Kevin Wallen, Husband))
So I, kind of, took over Mr. Mom. I, kind of, stepped in and had to be more hands on with the kids and more hands on with the school stuff and dinners and stuff like that.
((Locator: Herndon, Virginia))
((Heather Abbott, Psychologist & Montessori Academy Owner))
I saw Ginny Bins - Virginia’s work, business - and I saw her dog crates and how they actually fit into the home and they look like they are a part of the furniture that belongs in a home. And I contacted her, and I said, you know, I’m looking for a local artist that could perhaps, a woodworker, that could perhaps make, the first piece was a table. And I sent her kind of the specs that I wanted, and she said, “You know what? I will do this, and we’ll work on it together.”
((Banner: Ginny Bins expanded the business to other furniture))
One of the things that I really was looking for to is there is a book shelf that looks like a tree and the table for the staff kitchen, because I wanted them to have a nice place, and the angle of the room was weird, so she had to make it small enough to fit in. That teaches our teachers, our students, our families that pass by through. They know that Virginia made those pieces and they can say this is a stereotype that we are breaking down.
((Virginia Wallen, Former IT Worker, Now Carpenter))
When you own your own business, it’s not a 9 to 5, it’s a 24/7. So, there is no end. There is no end. I’m always working all the time or I’m always thinking about work or how to improve it. I love it. Every day I wake up and it’s not a job. It’s fun.
