Story by Art Department / March 8, 2021
On International Women’s Day we introduce you to Hannah Robinson, the creative behind Charleston Live Edge. Hannah is a self-taught female carpenter specializing in live edge carpentry. “I never expected to be a carpenter dominating a male-led industry,” she notes. “I didn’t learn how to handle tools until my late 30s.” Hannah laughs about not even being allowed to hang things on the walls at home because she created so many holes. But she found this passion and went with it. Without even watching YouTube videos, Hannah began teaching herself the carpentry skills she needed to craft her signature style.
Hannah explains that women visualize design through a different lens. “My style is counter-intuitive to traditional carpentry,” she explains. “I like to let the wood speak for itself.” The slabs take years to dry after they are milled and flattened. Each slab of wood that Hannah works with requires a big time investment and a lot of tools for sculpting. “Each species of wood reacts differently,” she says. Oak is a bit more difficult to work with than cedar. “I let creation teach me the skills lost long ago before every board looked the same.”
Hannah also has a passion for empowering not only her fellow female carpenter, but also other tradesmen. She is starting a trade school where she and other tradespeople will teach specialized trades that are rapidly declining. Hannah wants to bring back trades such as blacksmithing, metal and glass working, pottery, and other traditional carpentry. With the help of her team, this female carpenter is ready to help people find and lose themselves in a passion they never knew they had just like she did.
To see more of Hannah’s work you can purchase for your home, visit charlestonliveedgewood.com or check her out on Instagram @Mountain_Belle_Creations.
