~ Design, build, and install commissioned custom woodwork for the kitchen and home~ Produce wooden vessels and kitchen utensils for sale at craft fairs and markets

Transition Twin Cities is a communications hub working to support and connect the Transition Towns across the Twin Cities while developing content and resources for Metro residents to begin transitioning their communities to a low energy, resilient future. During my time at Transition Twin Cities during the fall of 2019, my primary projects were revising and editing web content, and compiling local resources relevant to communities in transition for an online database. In my revisions of web content, I worked on making the message of transition more accessible to a diverse, younger audience, and helped integrate outside resources and organizations into TTC’s website. Besides these revisions, I contributed to their website by composing a page addressing how the Transition Town model is applicable to college campuses. With the online database, I researched local organizations and connected with local professionals in the environmental field to find relevant resources for those interested in transition. Beyond these projects, I familiarized myself with the Twin Cities Transition community by attending events hosted by several local Transition Towns.

I spent the summer of 2019 working on a project with my friend Daniel Westhoven funded by Macalester College's MacStartUps program. This program gives grants and guidance to students to spend the summer working on developing an idea. Our idea, titled Cornucopia Indoor Gardens, was to design and build low-energy, affordable, household hydroponic systems crafted from salvaged materials. Over the summer, Daniel and I prototyped several designs, conducted market research, and talked to investors, but decided to disband the project at the end of the summer due to a mutual understanding that hydroponics is not a sustainable solution for Minnsesota.

The Neighborhood Woodshop is a small custom woodworking company located in the Summit-University neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. Their mission is to relocalize carpentry and wood design while using sustainable and earth-respecting methods. I worked for The Neighborhood Woodshop during the summer of 2018 as a woodworking assistant. Most of the summer was spent working on a bulk commission for tables, cubbies, and desks from Great River, a local montessori school. I worked on all elements of production, from cutting, shaping, sanding and assembling furniture, to installation at Great River School. Producing furniture commercially at The Neighborhood Woodshop helped me improve my speed and consistency when working with wood, skills I hadn’t prioritized in my prior experience working on more intensive, elaborate custom furniture.

The Somali Museum of Minnesota is focused on displaying artifacts and information related to traditional Somali nomadic cultures, as well as preserving aspects of this lifestyle and culture through a traditional dance troupe and weaving classes. I interned at the Somali Museum in the spring of 2018 as a material artifacts intern. This position was focused on updating the museum’s collections database, to which I introduced an organization system that coded artifacts by location within the museum by artifact type, origin, and age. Most of my time at the museum was spent working on this project, but I also worked on conservation projects within the museum, such as treating artifacts for pests and collecting data from insect traps. Working at a small museum gave me the opportunity to explore museum work in a flexible environment where I was able to collaborate with museum staff on a new cataloging system.