‘Baddies build furniture too’

With work hard to find and financial constraints mounting during the coronavirus pandemic, one Jamaican woman discovered a hidden talent that opened an unexpected livelihood for her in a labour-intensive trade not often pursued by local females – carpentry. Twenty-nine-year-old Sydonie Miller had been finding it difficult to secure a job in 2020, during the heights of COVID-19, despite having a bachelor's degree in business management and secretarial skills. Miller, who was a new mother at the time, said her husband, a taxi operator, was the only one working and she was determined to find a way to contribute to her family.

Her journey to carpentry began with a desire to own a padded bedhead and being quoted what she considered an exorbitant price to have one made. Sydonie Miller (Photo: Garfield Robinson) “At the time, it was padded bed did run the place. When I go to ask the price, them a give me an arm and a leg for it.

Me say me nah pay that,” Miller told Observer Online. So, she decided to build it herself. Seeking the guidance of a carpenter friend on Charles Street and gathering the necessary materials, Miller went on to make her first bedhead.

After completing the project, Miller's curiosity and determination pushed her to learn more. She eventually made her way to Oxford Street, where veteran carpenters such as Chucky, Paul, Max, Abi Doll and Warren took her under their wings and taught her how to build a wider range of furniture, including dressers, chests of drawers and beds. But for Miller, learning the trade was not difficult because she has always been a practical learner.

She quickly grasped the skills being taught to her. “If you're going to do something, I see what you're doing. If you show me one time, you don't have to show me again.

Just the one time, I know what to do,” she explained. Sydonie Miller (Photo: Garfield Robinson) But the mother of three said her entry into carpentry was about more than simply learning how to build furniture. She believes the skill was placed in her path for a reason.