‘Baddies build furniture too’

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when job opportunities were scarce and financial pressures mounted, Jamaican Sydonie Miller unearthed a hidden talent for carpentry. Despite holding a bachelor's degree in business management and possessing secretarial skills, she struggled to find employment. As a new mother, with her taxi operator husband as the sole earner, Miller was determined to contribute financially to her family.

“

At the time, it was padded bed did run the place. When I go to ask the price, them a give me an arm and a leg for it. Me say me nah pay that.

Her journey into carpentry began with a desire for a padded bedhead. Faced with what she considered an excessively high price from a maker, Miller decided to take on the project herself. After seeking guidance from a carpenter friend and acquiring the necessary materials, she successfully built her first bedhead.

This initial success sparked further curiosity and determination. Miller sought out veteran carpenters on Oxford Street, including Chucky, Paul, Max, Abi Doll, and Warren. Under their mentorship, she expanded her skills to build a wider range of furniture, such as dressers and chests of drawers. Miller found the learning process intuitive, describing herself as a practical learner who could grasp new skills after a single demonstration.

“

If you’re going to do something, I see what you’re doing. If you show me one time, you don’t have to show me again. Just the one time, I know what to do.

Beyond acquiring a trade, Miller believes her entry into carpentry was guided by a higher purpose. She felt a divine calling to utilize this skill, distinct from her business and secretarial background. "The almighty say I give you a skill, go and use it," she recalled. This conviction led her to embrace carpentry, building furniture and eventually establishing her own business, Luxurious Furnitures by Syd. Her clientele now ranges from individual customers to stores in downtown Kingston, with her shop located in the McIntyre Villa community of East Kingston.

“

At the time, I was at work and I can’t forget the day. The almighty say I give you a skill, go and use it. I have business management, secretarial skills. I thought it was that skill but I never knew it was this skill. So when him say I give you a skill, go and use it, me just say alright me ago just go deal with the bed head. Me see say me can build dresser and me just a build. Me go under the wings of the veterans.