Meet D’ondra Howard | Woodworker; custom furniture maker and things home decor

We had the good fortune of connecting with D’ondra Howard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi D’ondra, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wouldn’t say I thought this out. It happened to me. I just wanted to learn how to replace the Ikea pieces in my house and I shared my journey on social media. As I was sharing I was asked how much something cost and if I could make them something.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I make a lot of custom pieces. I also offer personalization on items that I make because I have a CNC and a laser engraver. I got to where I am today by trying out new things and reaching out to brands to see about doing collaborations. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be either. Getting over myself was the first step and realizing that if they say no, it’s not the end of the world. I also know I can’t please everybody and that it was a hard pill to swallow when I first started because I kept thinking it was a reflection of me, and not because of someone else’s expectation of what they thought they were receiving.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting the area, I would take them to a few different places in Sacramento. The Roseville galleria for their shopping, it has a lot of shops high end and budget-friendly. Old Sacramento has some cool places to see, it’s historic and has some vintage like shops to look at as well as some good soft serve ice cream. caramel apples and chocolate. To eat there would be a few places. I like tacos and there’s this taco truck called Delicias Taco Truck so good. DOCO also has some fun sight seeing downtown and of course the midtown farmers market to shop all the small businesses.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My first plan I followed was by Shanty-2-Chic, they were the ones that made it possible for me to try out building by sharing free plans along with the tools needed to start. I followed a lot of their plans when I first started learning how to build.

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