Furloughed bartender starts woodworking to pay the bills

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Harley Reynolds, a Nashville bartender, was furloughed due to the pandemic. But she took up a new skill in order to make ends meet: woodworking.

The key to making a perfect Christmas wreath is patience according to Harley Reynolds.

"I’ve always loved woodworking, it’s what I wanted my retirement to be, just have a big shop and make furniture and wall art," Reynolds said.

Since there are capacity restrictions and a curfew at Nashville bars, her workplace has only been able to let her pick up a couple of shifts; so her retirement plans got moved up.

"So I started making small pieces of wall art, and wall hangings and then just started getting bigger and bigger and started doing commissions for Airbnb’s and stuff like that," Reynolds said.

She made an Instagram page, and now she has a website where people can place orders. With her boyfriend’s help, she named her passion project ‘Rugged Unusual.’ "Nobody’s hiring, so this is getting my bills paid for now," Reynolds said.

She has posted on the East Nashville Facebook page to spread the word that her wreaths are for sale. She also makes coffee tables and gets the reclaimed wood from a veteran in Clarksville. Reynolds said, "So I drive out there once every couple months."

For each $45 wreath, she donates $5 to a charity of the customer’s choice. "I’m either doing save our stages or tucker’s house," Reynolds said.

Here’s a link to her website, you can also email her at ruggedunusual@gmail.com.