Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalah Bernardo.
Kalah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always been incredibly taken with wood. From trees to furniture, to aging barn wood, or artwork, I get so caught up in the organic beauty of it all and love that it helps me feel more connected to the world around me. About four years ago my father in law taught me and my husband how to use his woodworking machinery in his tiny little shop in his backyard. Together we built a headboard out of reclaimed wood, and I tend to look back on that project as the beginning of this dream that I’ve molded my whole life around. I spent much of my time painting and drawing and began to dream about creating artwork with wood. My husband and I were living in Denver at the time and both missed California, so on a whim, we sold everything we owned that wouldn’t fit in our cars and we headed down south with the dream of starting a new life in San Diego. We knew that San Diego was well known for its maker’s community and could not imagine a better place to pursue this lifestyle than a city that rallied around its artists and makers and celebrated creative lifestyles.
As we all know, making a big transition like this is rarely ever smooth sailing. Our journey was no exception, and it took three months of living in limbo, endlessly searching for an apartment only to be told, time after time, that we did not make enough money to even be considered as viable renters. We were living with my mom about six hours north, making weekend trips down to North County, watching our money dwindle week after week until finally, we found a property manager who was willing to rent us an apartment. This was an incredible spark of hope for us and although we knew I wouldn’t have a studio space to start creating, we were so excited to have found a place to call home.
We quickly found jobs that we knew would likely be a temporary solution to pay rent and student loans, and used whatever leftover money we had to buy small woodworking tools and machinery with the hope of finding a studio space when we were ready. Two years later we still did not have space or the means to begin a business, so we sold our cars, bought much cheaper vehicles, and used the money left over to buy a cargo trailer that we could use to store our machinery, our wood, and to use as a makeshift studio.
This tiny little trailer was a bit of a nightmare to work out of, as it was incredibly cramped, and had no power. Every day I would have to pull my work tables, my compact table saw and miter saw out of the trailer to use them, but no matter how difficult and frustrating, it was incredibly empowering and so exciting to finally have a tiny space to call my own and I was overjoyed that I could finally take steps to build this dream I had saved up and waited two and a half years for. We quickly found that working with wood requires a great deal of equipment, and thus decided, once again, to sell our cars to get even less expensive ones and use the leftover money, again, to buy more saws and machinery.
About a month into this new chapter, I found out that my dad had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. We were told that his treatment would be very aggressive and that, more than likely, he did not have very long to live. This news struck my family and me incredibly hard. Though my dad was very hopeful that he’d make it through, my siblings and I could not fathom what it would mean to lose him. For the next several months, my husband and I took trips up to Monterey almost every weekend, sometimes for a couple of weeks at a time to see him and to help take care of him. When it became clear that his treatment was not working, I took a lot of time off of work and spent as much time as I could with him. My dad passed away six months after he was diagnosed, and left behind so much love and so much grief in his wake.
This was by far the darkest and most difficult time in my life. Being so far from my family worked only to compound my grief and I quickly became very depressed, though I did not share this with many of my friends. Needless to say, I was angry and hopeless, I was not drawing, painting, creating, or working with wood, and I was having a hard time simply leaving the house. My husband was the most incredible support system for me and eventually convinced me to take a woodworking class at the local college to help motivate me back into creating. We took the class together and this was the mark of a new beginning for me. Our professor was insanely talented, so patient and not only full of knowledge, but such a gifted teacher. I learned so much from her and took everything that she taught us and put it into practice with a new sense of purpose. I felt empowered and loved seeing the work my hands and my mind were able to create. I loved that it was challenging and requited precision and dedication and committed craftsmanship. I read woodworking books and online forums, watched YouTube tutorials and bombarded my uncle, who is a carpenter, with question after question about projects I was working on.
This craft became the only thing I could see in my future and I channeled so much of myself, my grief, my anger and hope into learning more about creating art and beauty with this organic matter. I’ve thought a lot about my lifestyle, the choices I’ve made, the risks I’ve taken, the ways I’ve changed year after year, and the life my dad lived, and how young he was when he passed away. As cliché as it is, it became very real to me that we have only this moment to make something of our lives, to remind ourselves that we are alive and human and full of passion and creativity and pain and hope and complexity.
I decided to take a risk, to launch a business and make my artwork and woodwork readily available to the world, and to learn and stumble and fail and grow as I go. Many times I have wondered whether I am a fraud, whether I know enough yet or am artistic enough, or talented enough, and then I remember my dad, how proud he was of the decisions I’ve made, and how he used to remind me all too often that life is so, so short. Failure does not seem quite as scary when you’re looking at it through the scope of all of the wild and beautiful life that could be lost if you do not try. My story and my journey are a bit disjointed, they aren’t smooth or conventional and sometimes I have a hard time with that. However, I’m learning to embrace the mantra that there is no rule book for the lives we lead, and I hope that this business and my artwork continue to be a reflection of that belief as it grows and transforms and develops alongside me.
Please tell us about your business.
I create artwork and functional woodenware using fine woodworking techniques and traditional joinery. I often feel that my mind is in chaos, and I find that I am drawn to the precision, technicality, and sleek structure of fine woodworking, as it helps to bring my mental balance. I create a good deal of geometric style pieces and focus heavily on angles and chamfers to create a sleek and seamless aesthetic.
When I am feeling more expressive, I enjoy drawing by hand and love incorporating my illustrations into my woodwork. I make frames and panels using heirloom joinery and transfer my illustrations onto the pieces using the image transfer process. This process is incredibly lengthy and time consuming, and often leaves my hands with blisters, but I love the outcome of my fine line drawings against the grain of the wooden panels and I have never before seen other work like this.
I do not use any nails or screws in the construction of my pieces. This means that my work takes a great deal of planning and precision and requires much more time and attention to detail to construct than if I were to use nails throughout the artwork. However, I believe that it is worth it to create something that is seamless and will stand the test of time rather than producing something more quickly at the expense of the quality and aesthetic.
Something I’m incredibly proud of is the effort I’ve put into ensuring that this business is as environmentally conscious as possible. There are still so many ways that I can improve in this arena, but I try to ensure that I do not use any hardwoods that I know are endangered or come from endangered forests. I donate all of the sawdust I create to a local automotive shop to use for oil spills so that the dirty oil does not end up in the water, and consequently, in our beautiful oceans. I also use 100% recyclable shipping materials, all of which come from previously recycled materials. From the boxes to the wrapping paper, to the box filler, to the twine to every piece of tape, I have made sure that I source my shipping products from companies that reflect my concern for the environment.
Furthermore, I wanted to build a company that would be outward focused and socially conscientious from the start. I did not want to wait until I turn a profit to be a company that gives back to causes that are deeply important to me, so with every single purchase made, I donate 10% to Together Rising, an organization that fights to reunify immigrant families at our borders and end immigrant detention.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My husband, Brandon, has been the most insane and incredible support I could have ever asked for. He has believed in me and this dream each and every time I have doubted myself and wondered whether I have what it takes to succeed. When I lost my dad, when I struggled with depression and anxiety, when I go through bouts of imposter syndrome and wonder whether I’m good enough to chase a dream like this, he is there alongside me, holding me up, hoping, dreaming, investing, and pushing this dream into reality with me. He helps build my displays and fixes my tools and my saws when they break and makes me coffee and breakfast and dinner when I’m overwhelmed with projects to finish. He created my website, designed my logo, goes with me to the lumber yard, makes me rest and take breaks when I need them but won’t admit it, and reminds me to laugh when I take myself and my life too seriously. I have never known a better or more supportive human being in all my life, he is my light and the best part of me, and I truly cannot imagine doing any of this without him.
My sister, Natasha, my family, and my friends have all been so immensely supportive. They have believed in me from the very start when they could have doubted the decisions I’ve made to invest in this dream the way I have with no guarantee of success, they chose to cheer me on, to buy and share my work, and come to my shows instead. I consulted a few friends that I deeply trusted before starting this business to ask them whether I was being naive and foolish in my pursuit of this venture, and each of them pushed me to believe in myself and to follow my passion. Every woman deserves other women in their lives that champion them into a greater and fuller version of themselves and I have Cara, Kristina, Celena, and Isabel to thank for that. I am so very lucky.
Contact Info:
- Website: ashandironco.com
- Email: ashandironco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashandiron/
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