RH Lee
Shop Manager
Offerman Woodshop
Los Angeles, CA USA
“Woodworking is all about trial and error...you make a lot of terrible mistakes, but that’s the process of learning.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationRH Lee
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Grew up in Berkeley, CA in a family of academics—admits she is one of the only people in her entire extended family that didn’t pursue an academic discipline.
At age 7, she took a kids’ carpentry class, which sparked her interest in art and building things.
Attended Brown University in Rhode Island where she received her degree in art and philosophy (semiotics).
While in college, she would build sets for the theater department, which she says satisfied her interests in visual arts and literature / philosophy.
After graduating, she moved back to California, where she continued working as a scenic carpenter and got a job building interactive science exhibits for the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco.
She took a three week summer course in fine woodworking at College of the Redwoods, which was instrumental in improving her skills and transitioning her craft from scenic work to fine furniture.
In 2008, she moved to Los Angeles where she took a job running the Offerman Woodshop, a woodworking collective owned by actor and comedian Nick Offerman.
She is also the program director of the non-profit Would Works and teaches woodworking in the School of Art at California State University, Long Beach.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Shop Manager
I design and build things out of wood and teach people woodworking skills.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Art
Design
Building Things
Day to Day
Whether I'm working on my own projects or teaching people, a great day is when a project starts to come together in assembly. What started out as a rough pile of sticks at the beginning of the day begins to take form and transform into a functional and beautiful object.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Step away from the screen and get your hands dirty. Make things out of whatever materials you have lying around, there is no need to be precious. Make things that are bad or ugly! You'll learn from your mistakes.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"You don't have the skills."
Challenges I Overcame
Gender Discrimination
Financial
Interviewed By
Skill Powered
Finding rewarding work without a four-year degree
