HUNTERS
AND SURFERS
Excellence is practice,
patience
and feedback
My
introduction to freelance handiwork inundated me with business advice,
some which was very helpful and insightful.
My first client hired me to help renovate a remote cabin, and one day
during our lunch break, I sat in front of a glowing, wood-burning stove
to sketch different logo ideas. As several neighbors came inside to warm
up from their snowmachine travels, they gave me feedback on my sketches.
Most of the neighbors were contractors and tradesmen
who went to their cabins to relax and go hunting. To this day, I have
yet to meet a contractor or tradesman that didn’t hunt or surf when
not working. Like our trade work, hunting and surfing are a detailed form
of art and skill.
I can’t say I actively participate in these
activities, but whether we use a compound bow or a long board, there is
practice needed and patience required to become excellent with our skills
and tools. This is the most important thing I have learned since I began
Alaska HandyWoman.
A
photo of myself and Lynn, while we were all-terraining with an airboat
around the Tanana Flats near Fairbanks. We just finished hanging sheetrock
for the day. Lynn is the fastest sheetrocker and the most intuitive hunting
guide I know, and it was always a pleasure to work with him.
