If it weren’t for Mickey Mouse, Tonda Thompson might never have become a carpenter. During the early weeks of the pandemic, the videographer and infant mortality activist’s then two-year-old son was performing Mickey’s hotdog dance on the living room coffee table, which broke under the weight of his enthusiastic rendition. Thompson was about to head to Target when she realized that another flimsy table would be doomed to fall apart. Inspired by a friend’s newfound woodworking skills, she secured some two-by-fours from Home Depot and got to work with her lumber. After sourcing plans from the internet and watching an instructional videos on YouTube, she set out to build a coffee table from scratch in her basement.
Thompson was pleased enough with the results to post a photo of her creation on Facebook. Within a few weeks, 10 friends and family members placed orders for similar ones. “It took me most of the summer to make those 10 tables,” said Thompson, 36. “Now each one would take me no more than two hours to build.”
