Local Crafter Turns Pandemic Woodcarving Hobby Into Business

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Good things can come out of a global pandemic. For new Bolingbrook resident Belinda Garcia, quarantine gave her the time to pick up a new hobby-turned-business making handcrafted home decor.

During the pandemic, like many others, she bought a Cricut — a computer-controlled cutting machine — which Garcia said is a "huge thing in the mom community."

"I've always been really crafty," she told Patch. "As a single mom, my place never was really decorated because that's the last place I was spending money was on home decor."

Drawing on knowledge from her woodshop class in middle school, and with a little help from YouTube videos, the 36-year-old found herself making wood signs, first for herself and later for her business, The Blue Bee.

"I went way back into the back of my head where I had all of that stored since middle school," Garcia said, adding she didn't expect to ever use those skills.

It all starts with the wood. Garcia goes out and buys raw wood, which she then sands and seals. From there, she spray-paints a design onto the wood using stencils she makes or finds online. Eventually, she said she wants to invest in an engraving machine currently on her wishlist.

When Garcia isn't taking care of her two daughters — ages 13 and 10 — or working part-time as a dental assistant, she's running her small, family-owned business with occasional help from her kids.

"They do most of my critiquing," she said, laughing. "Mostly it's the critiquing and designing part that they'll help me with or give me their opinions about."

Now about three months old, the business wasn't always Garcia's plan. But after her brother encouraged her to sell her pieces, and her boyfriend supported her desire to switch from full- to part-time to focus on the business, she said she decided to go for it.

"He was very supportive," Garcia said of her boyfriend. "He was like, 'Just do it, you like doing it.' He's the reason I am where I am."

Since moving to Bolingbrook from east Aurora a few months ago, Garcia has dabbled in the village's events and markets. At the recent Jubilee, where she attended as a vendor, she had the opportunity to network and sell her work to local customers, including Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta.

"I'm just really happy that the community was interested, and I'm glad the mayor is active the way she is with the community," she said.

Once the mayor's porch sign was complete and on display, Garcia took to Facebook to share the sign and thank Alexander-Basta for her support. In return, the crafter received an outpouring of support from locals who wanted similar signs of their own.

"I really didn't expect it to get that kind of attention," she said. "It was more like I posted it just so people could see that the mayor was supporting small businesses. I didn't expect people to try and reach out ... but it worked well."

Going forward, Garcia said she doesn't know what to expect, but she wants to continue growing the business — which is also on Etsy — and see where things take her.

"I really enjoy creating and making things myself," she said.

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to the Bolingbrook Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!)