Today we’d like to introduce you to Justine Turner.
Hi Justine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always been drawn and encouraged towards creativity and fabrication. Growing up with a very artsy mom made for a sort of magical little world with clouds painted on the ceilings of the bedrooms, cabinet pulls made of branches she’d cut and sanded herself, and one year a Christmas tree that hung upside down from the ceiling. We used to go to Kobey’s swap meet most weekends where I’d blow my allowance on Dremel drillbits and we had a closet full of hot glue guns and driftwood and rubber stamps and paper making kits– every craft supply you can imagine. My mom is definitely my biggest influence in experimenting, expression and my historically relaxed attitude towards security deposits. But even though I’ve always enjoyed arts and crafts, I never really dreamed of making a career out of it.
I got into woodworking about 15 years ago through a very inexpensive class offered by the San Diego College of Continuing Education, which I can’t recommend enough to anyone interested! I started out very small with a drill set and then a dinky little chopsaw that I would operate over my kitchen sink, blowing the sawdust out the window of my second story studio apartment. Eventually I moved a few tools into a friend’s garage in North Park, where I’d upcycle vintage furniture, make trinket shelves and other small projects. None of these endeavors were paying the bills by any means. I bounced around a few jobs, working under a builder, picking up some experience with project management and fabrication, then in bars/restaurants and then a tattoo shop, where I worked at the front desk then managed for a few years.
I met a lot of incredible artists working at the tattoo shop and learned a lot in my time there but ultimately, I got burnt out working the administrative side of a creative industry. I was still doing small woodworking projects in my free time but when Dark Horse Coffee Roasters offered me the job of building new seating and retail for their Chula Vista and then South Park location, I saw an opportunity to change things up and actually give it a go, designing and building full-time. So I took a gamble, quit my job at the tattoo shop to focus on my largest project up to that point, and never looked back.
The coffee shop led to another big referral and a few friends commissioned projects large enough to keep me rolling through the year– some display cabinets for Radical History Club, an 8 foot moon photo prop for a gorgeous rooftop wedding at the San Diego Natural History Museum, a giant LED-lit UFO made of foam, complete with vinyl tractor beam for Mothership Bar in South Park. This last Spring, my landlord reached out asking if I knew anyone who painted murals and I was like, “ME!” He said, “Oh, I didn’t know you do that” and I replied, “I haven’t but I want to!” and either I’m the luckiest or the schmooziest because he gave me a shot and granted me creative freedom over a combined 650 square feet of mural spread across three walls of an apartment complex in Golden Hill.
Now I’m obsessed and all I want to do is paint walls. I still love making things and am not packing up the power tools anytime soon but painting, especially on this scale, satisfies my soul in a very genuine way. It’s both incredibly sincere and deeply unserious, painting the giant animals and made-up flowers of my dreams on the side of someone’s home.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Certainly not. There’s always a learning curve when you’re working on custom projects. Sometimes my dreams are bigger than my existing skillset so I’ve spent plenty of time and tears planning and researching and making the necessary mistakes to grow. When you’re working for yourself, all of that invisible work is unpaid but so necessary… and that’s just down in the workshop, let alone figuring out estimates, project proposals, finances. It’s really hard to put a price on your work, especially when you’re just starting out. I wanted to take every job for the experience and the exposure and just out of plain excitement to do it, but I was consistently getting underpaid because I was struggling to justify my value and was afraid that if I asked for what I needed, let alone wanted, to be paid that I wouldn’t get the job.
The imposter syndrome still shows up, especially as I expand into other types of work, but one of the best antidotes to that kind of chronically feeling brand-new is just leaning into the uncertainty. It builds character and confidence to bite off more than you think you can chew and then consistently clear your plate, time after time, even when it’s tough. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help! I used to feel embarrassed about asking too many questions of the pros, the elders, the vendors at the lumberyard and paint store, etc. I didn’t want to let on how little I knew… and as a result, I kept knowing very little. I had to let go of my ego in that respect and once I did, I gained a ton of insight and support from other, more experienced people in the trades.
A lot of other creative types can probably relate to this as well, but navigating self-employment with ADHD can be a struggle. We might resist overly-rigid structure because it feels suffocating but a small business can’t run on vibes alone. I make a lot of to-do lists and try to maximize on it when I’m feeling really up and powerful so that I have the room to scale back and cruise a little when I’m feeling low and burnt out.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I design and build custom furniture, perform upholstery work, craft props and photo backdrops and lately, I’ve been focusing on large-format painting like freehand murals. I’ve just finished illustrating a final draft of my next mural, a two-story installation for an apartment complex in Normal Heights and most recently, I’ve become a little obsessed with painting window splash and will be popping up around the neighborhood painting some of the local businesses’ windows for the holidays.
I’m most proud of my mural on 30th and C Street where I mixed golden moons and hills with nighttime-critters like a sly coyote and family of opossums with giant vivid fruits and flowers. It feels very much like an extension of my inner world, everything I love about where I live and the color palette of my dreams: earthy copper and mustard, acid and olive greens and splashes of pink. The other day, my neighbor showed me that the mural is actually a PokeStop in the game PokemonGo? I’m not totally sure what it means still, but he explained that players can nominate real world points of interest to be featured within the game, and I think that’s pretty cute!
I think what sets me apart from others is my sensitivity. I’m a tender-hearted crybaby in an often tough world. I feel that our struggles and triumphs are all deeply connected and that we all want to feel seen– safe, loved, and appreciated. I want to make people feel that way. In my work, I want the finished result to feel personal and embodied by both my client and myself. I want us both to feel lucky to work together. I want the people who sit on the furniture I build to feel comfy and connected to the person they’re sharing coffee with and I want the neighbors who walk past a wall I paint to see something they love about the neighborhood and smile.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
The sensitivity! I’m only half as tough as I look. I’m an idealist and as Pisces as they come… if you try to bring me back to reality to quickly, it’ll hurt my feelings. I really appreciate when a customer/client and I are vibing well enough that they feel comfortable letting me do my thing without too much micromanagement. I always want to feel proud of the work I’m putting out into the world and do right by the people who put their trust and belief in me. If I didn’t care deeply, I wouldn’t agree to the project. I’m just not wired that way… so best believe I’m always putting my heart and soul into it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.crazytigereverything.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.crazy.tiger
