Local carpentry business finds temporary workshop after 'shady' renovation job

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A local carpentry business has found a temporary workshop after what they call a shady renovation job.

The company She Slangs Wood, which is female-owned, was born during the pandemic and has faced several hardships. That was until an area art company stepped in to help build a new future.

"At that time, I talked to my CEO, and it wasn’t really an ask, it was, 'I know somebody who needs to be in this space,' and he was like, 'okay, I trust you, so let's do it,'" said Symphony Swan, senior director of programs at Arts @ Large.

The help for finding a space came after Tonda Thompson, founder of She Slangs Wood, put a call for help out on social media.

"I made a Facebook post saying, 'hey, I need $60,000, I need a space for my girls, and I need five girls to work for me,'" said Thompson.

Arts @ Large opened their workshop doors to Thompson that October.

Now, She Slangs Wood temporarily operates out of the basement of Arts @ Large.

Thompson got the idea to create her company while watching her then 3-year-old son playing on a table during the early stages of the pandemic.

"I didn’t know if we were all going to be alive in the next couple of weeks or not in the beginning of pandemic, so I had to decide - we are in quarantine, I had to make some money, so I started selling tables," said Thompson.

The entrepreneur would soon grow her hobby into a business.

"With the money that I pretty much made selling tables, I was able to buy a commercial building from the city of Milwaukee, and we are now in the process of renovating that building right now," said Thompson.

The company was on the path for bigger and better, introducing women to the trade and offering employment to high school girls; that was until a renovation deal with a local contractor went south, leading to an ongoing legal battle.

"We were working out of the space that was pretty much just bones on the inside, it was cold, there was water everywhere, and it got to a point I was like hey, this is not safe for my young girls to work in," said Thompson.

With the help of community partners, Thompson has been able to continue her operation.

The businesswoman has been able to recoup all of her losses through community grants and investments, and not from the original contractor.

Thompson said she hopes her new workshop, which will be located in the city's Harambee neighborhood, will be up and operational by June 2023.

For more information on She Slangs Wood and their programs, click here.

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