{"id":93406,"date":"2025-09-09T20:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T20:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=93406"},"modified":"2025-09-09T20:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T20:29:12","slug":"they-said-i-was-too-beautiful-for-carpentry-the-female-carpenters-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=93406","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They said I was too beautiful for carpentry\u2019 \u2013 The Female Carpenter\u2019s story"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 53 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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In many parts of the world, certain professions are still seen as the preserve of men. Carpentry, with its heavy lifting, noisy machines, and sawdust-filled workshops, is one of them.<\/p>\n

Yet for Heidi Attigah, popularly known as The Female Carpenter,<\/em> those stereotypes became stepping stones. Today, she runs Heidiwoods, a growing carpentry business in Accra.<\/p>\n

Sharing her journey on The Career Trail program on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, Heidi revealed that her story has been anything but linear.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018They<\/figure>\n

After completing senior high school, she entered the world of work in 2011, taking up various jobs while trying to figure out her path.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first work was with a construction company. They were into surveying, and I was doing the secretarial side of things. Later, I moved into fashion, tried my hand at modeling, and even worked with a soccer betting company,\u201d she recounted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t discover your purpose early, you end up everywhere trying this, trying that, just to see what fits. I wasn\u2019t that kid who knew what I wanted to be growing up,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Heidi enrolled at the African University College of Communications (AUCC), where she majored in accounting. She admits her choice was based more on practicality than passion.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018They<\/figure>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to be a banker, but I preferred numbers to reading courses, so I decided to do accounting,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n

Even after graduating, \u2018The Female Carpenter\u2019 still hadn\u2019t figured out what she wanted to do. She continued working in small businesses, combining accounting with marketing and deliveries.<\/p>\n

Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing her, like many others, to stay home. That moment of pause became the turning point in her life.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018They<\/figure>\n

\u201cDuring COVID, I saw someone on TikTok making a picture frame. I thought, I can do this. It wasn\u2019t even carpentry at first, just something creative. But that was how it started,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Heidi turned to a carpenter she knew and asked to learn. At first, it was just to keep busy and make some money. But soon, she noticed something different.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him, let me come and assist you so you can give me something at the end of the day. That was it. I went there, started helping, and before I knew it, I fell in love with the work,\u201d she narrated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\u2018They<\/figure>\n

Unlike her previous jobs, carpentry gave her a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I start a job, I want to finish it. I wake up eager to go to work. That\u2019s how I knew this was my calling,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Within a year, she had learned the craft. When businesses reopened post-COVID, she chose not to return to her accounting job. Instead, she started carpentry full-time.<\/p>\n

Her beginnings were humble, crafting shoe racks and small cabinets from home before moving into wardrobes and kitchen installations.<\/p>\n

But Heidi\u2019s journey into carpentry was far from smooth. Along the way, she faced a series of challenges, including a spinal injury from a past accident that made lifting heavy wood painful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spine issues due to an accident, so I\u2019m unable to lift heavy objects. I therefore asked my cousin and a few others to join me so the work wouldn\u2019t be too difficult,\u201d she underscored.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t the only hurdle.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018They<\/figure>\n

\u201cSometimes when you\u2019re using the hammer, you hit your own hand. Or when lifting heavy wood, it can fall on your foot. I have plenty of scratches to show for it,\u201d she disclosed.<\/p>\n

Her friends, too, were not as supportive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me, \u2018you\u2019re too beautiful for this kind of job, saying carpenter is not for fine girl like you,\u2019\u201d she revealed.<\/p>\n

Instead of dwelling on the discouragement, Heidi chose to focus on proving herself. Sharing her work on TikTok quickly changed the narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople were shocked. They said, this is the first time I\u2019m seeing a young lady doing carpentry. Some didn\u2019t even believe it was me in the videos. But the feedback was very positive, and that\u2019s how I started getting customers and referrals,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018They<\/figure>\n

Today, Heidi is building Heidiwoods into a brand. She employs workers, trains others, and inspires young women to break barriers.<\/p>\n

Her message is simple: \u201cMy dear ladies, don\u2019t hold yourself back. Stand out. If carpentry is your dream, do it. Push forward and prove it can be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Heidi Attigah, what began as a lockdown experiment has become her life\u2019s purpose. And with every finished piece of furniture, she proves that beauty and grit can thrive side by side in a workshop.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\u2018TheyIn many parts of the world, certain professions are still seen as the preserve of men. Carpentry, with its heavy lifting, noisy machines, and sawdust-filled workshops, is one of them.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8240,8241,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-carpenter","category-heidi-attigah","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}