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Birch Bark : How I Turned My Hobby Into Business

Hello! My name is Alex, I always love to do something with my hands, and I will tell you how I learned this woodworking craft.

In 2003, when I was ten years old, my parents sent me to art school in the direction of artistic processing of birch bark. I was very young then and wanted to spend time with friends instead of going to classes, and it made me sad. My first year at the art school was filled with many mistakes and little successes.

Lesson after lesson it became more and more interesting for me to work with tree bark. I loved the feeling when you hold a sheet of birch bark from which you will get a woodwork design of your own production. That’s truly unforgettable.

In 2004, I participated in my very first woodwork exhibition. Then I was given a diploma for participation, and that made me very happy.

For me, it became a start point, and I felt a desire to engage in this traditional art.

So I studied at an art school for six years, when too many exhibitions and finally got my degree. I was very proud because not all of my peers received it.

At that time, I was 16 years old. I graduated from an educational school and had to go to University.

In 2009, I entered the University, and I had to give up my hobby because it took a lot of time to study.

My studies took five years, I got a job and completely forgot about my passion of working with birch bark.

In 2014, I graduated from the University, got a job, but there was no desire to work in the profession! I went to the first possible job as a storekeeper, where I worked for two years.

In 2017, I began to think about what I want to achieve in life? What can I do? What do I do best? And I found the answer shortly! I said to myself: the best way I know how to work is with my hands!

And so after eight years, I began to do my favorite thing again – not as a hobby, but as a job this time! If you are interested, I can post my handmade things from 2003 to 2009!

More info: Etsy