The Art of Woodworking and the Power of Hands-On Crafting at Kids Making It

In a recent column for Garden & Gun, contributing editor Latria Graham explores how a Wilmington, North Carolina, nonprofit is using traditional woodworking to reshape the futures of local youth.

The program, known as Kids Making It, provides a space where teenagers gain practical skills, confidence, and a sense of agency by crafting items ranging from mahogany cutting boards to custom pens.

The initiative traces its roots to 1994, when founder Jimmy Pierce, a former lawyer, began utilizing woodworking as a tool to teach at-risk children the value of perseverance and self-worth.

According to Graham, the program has grown significantly since its inception, now serving almost a thousand students a year through a dedicated facility in Wilmington’s arts and antiques district, as well as a mobile version that travels to local schools and community spaces.

The impact of the program is perhaps most visible on social media, where participants like a teenager named Bebe have shared videos showcasing their work. These clips, which feature students displaying handmade items like cookbook holders and plant holders, have garnered significant public interest and encouragement.

For many students, the shop offers more than just technical training; it provides a necessary reprieve from external challenges such as food insecurity, poverty, and the pressures of under-resourced neighborhoods.

“It’s a safe and happy environment,” Justice, a member of the apprenticeship program, told Garden & Gun. “It’s definitely given me skills I can use in the future.”

These skills include more than just sanding and staining. The nonprofit incorporates financial literacy into its curriculum, teaching students how to manage their banking once they start selling items in the program’s gift shop.

Participants keep 100 percent of the profit from their sales, providing them with a tangible economic return for their labor. The facility also hosts tutors to assist with school subjects and guest speakers who offer guidance on business management.

Graham notes that the need for such programs in Wilmington is deeply connected to the city’s history. The lingering repercussions of the 1898 Wilmington massacre—a tragedy where a white supremacist mob intimidated the majority-Black citizenry and removed elected leaders, sparking a period of disenfranchisement, segregation, and inequality—are still something the area struggles to fully overcome. These consequences remain visible in the socioeconomic disparities present in the city today.

By providing teens with the tools to build their own futures, the program seeks to offer a counter-narrative to these historical and ongoing challenges. To ensure students graduate with professional trade abilities, program director Billy Phillips instructs older teenagers on tasks such as shed framing, alongside technical training in plumbing and the operation of electrical machinery.

While the digital age continues to transform the labor landscape, the tactile nature of woodworking remains a unique vehicle for personal development. The program emphasizes that the satisfaction of manual labor and the ability to create something non-replicable offers a sense of control that is often missing in the lives of the youth it serves.

“I saw older kids turning pens, and it was intriguing,” Matt, a member of the apprenticeship program, told Garden & Gun. “Now it’s one of my favorite things.”

As the program continues to expand its reach, the focus remains on the individual student. Whether through crafting a mobile library for a community space or turning a piece of salvaged purpleheart wood into an ink pen, the youth at Kids Making It are learning that their hands can build more than just furniture—they can build a path forward.