Cultivating Creators
I started Craftsletes because I wanted to show kids that there was a lot more to carpentry than just building houses.
After experiencing some burn out from being in home remodeling and renovations for fifteen years, I put down the tool bag and picked up a dry erase marker. I piloted a carpentry program at a facility for adjudicated youth, and later went on to teach carpentry at Delgado Community College. I had a passion for teaching but I noticed, the passion for the trades wasn’t there. Attendance was salary driven. Students picked their trade based off of the average annual salary shown on the website. Fast forward a few years, I found myself building again, but this time for an entertainment production company called Solomon Group. Quickly being promoted to Department Manager, I’ve managed the fabrication and installation of some of the biggest projects in the country. The experience was unbelievable, and I couldn’t keep it to myself.
Outside of the Box Training
Craftsletes is an introductory program, so trainees aren’t expected to be master craftsmen once they’ve completed their projects. The hope is that the program will spark an interest and possibly help discover a passion in one of the many skilled trades involved in the Behind the Scenes aspect of the entertainment and experiential industry. They get the fundamentals of building, ie: Basic Safety, Hand and Power tools, and some layout techniques. However, Craftsletes focuses more on the Creative and Outside of the box thinking. The projects we work on usually start off as big ideas and have no blueprint. So a large part of the process is figuring out what the client wants, and how to create it.
The Day of the Show
The projects are always centered around a specific event, whether its a sports brand activation, museum exhibit, or even a parade float. There’s always grand “unveiling” in which the Craftsletes get to see hundreds and even thousands of people experience all of their hard work. That “Show” day offers an experience that keeps them striving to perfect their craft. They also get to meet some of the many professionals that make that show come to life. These are those rewarding careers that aren’t featured in college pamphlets.
