Ben Jonkman is Crafting Confidence
Long-time hobbyist Ben Jonkman built serious confidence and a very funky footstool at a weekend class.
Ben and Kate with their pup, Frankie.
Ben Jonkman is a data analyst by day, National Guardsman on the weekends, and self-taught woodworker in the spaces in between.
He and his wife Kate live in Grand Rapids, where the couple has developed a creative system for tackling projects around their home.
"We have a good arrangement," Ben says. "She draws things, and I build them.”
They’ve redone nearly every room in their house based off her sketches.
“She'll show me something and then I'll head to my happy place in the garage and build it while she reads her book. That's her happy place."
Like most woodworkers, Ben is reluctant to brag about what he's made. But a quick tour of his projects reveals a serious commitment to craft. Over the years, he's outfitted a camper van with custom cabinetry, refinished an antique dresser made in Grand Rapids, built a plant shelf using dowel joinery, and recently completed a pair of bedside tables with custom drawers.
It's a passion that has always been there, and a skill that has grown steadily over time.
"Even when I was a kid, I would help refinish a basement or do projects around the house with my parents," Ben says.
As an adult, woodworking became something more. What started as an interest in restoring an old dresser eventually turned into a hobby that balanced out his analytical day job.
"I'm an engineer by degree, so I'm very analytical," he says. "Woodworking lets me use the other side. There's creativity to it. I just like getting into the garage, having an idea of what I want to build, and kind of zoning out while I work on it."
Like many self-taught woodworkers, Ben spent years building skills one project at a time. He also spent years building something else: a shop.
"I feel like woodworking has a high bar to entry because you need so many tools to actually build something," he says. "Over the last ten years I've slowly accumulated more tools. It wasn't until a year or two ago that I felt like I actually had enough equipment to start doing bigger projects."
From Youtube to In-Person
Along the way, he took a class at Woodcraft in Grand Rapids and started looking for additional opportunities to learn in-person. While he hopes to eventually take one of SBWI's week-long chairmaking classes, fitting an intensive course into his schedule wasn't in the cards.
Luckily, Kate stepped in and got Ben the weekend funky footstool class for his birthday. It’s a favorite at SBWI and mixes woodworking and upholstery in an iconic and compact Mid Century Modern design.
But the timing wasn't guaranteed. Earlier in the year, Ben had been activated with the National Guard and wasn't sure whether he would still be in Michigan when the class rolled around. Fortunately, he was able to attend the class, taught by VP of Continuing Education Carolyn Racine.
When asked how the footstool turned out, Ben said, simply, “I love that thing.”
Despite years of woodworking experience and a long list of completed projects, Ben says the class reinforced something he simply wasn’t getting from videos and online tutorials.
"I can watch things on Instagram or YouTube. I can know how something is done. But having somebody experienced stand in front of you and do it, and then you do it yourself, that's huge."
Of his instructor, Ben said, "You can tell she's incredibly knowledgeable, but she doesn't talk down to you. She can work with people with no experience, and people with a lot of experience."
The Proof is in the Next Project
The weekend after the class, the Jonkmans suddenly found themselves with an unexpected opening in their calendar when social plans fell through.
"My wife said, 'Do you want to build a coffee table?'"
The answer, of course, was yes.
"So we found ourselves in the lumber yard on Saturday morning."
They picked up three boards of cherry and headed home.
Before taking the class, Ben says he might have spent the weekend second-guessing himself. Instead, he found himself applying techniques he had learned just days earlier.
"It was a massive confidence boost," he says. "The next weekend, when I built that coffee table, I didn't have any doubts about what I was going to do."
By Sunday evening, the table was finished.
That confidence extended beyond joinery and furniture construction. Ben also found himself enjoying parts of the class he never would have explored on his own.
"I had zero interest in upholstery," he says with a laugh. "But doing it there opened up this whole other realm. It really tore down those unknowns and barriers."
What’s Next?
Not long after completing the coffee table, Ben deployed once again with the National Guard. It marked another chapter in a military career that now spans twenty-five years. Before leaving, he finished those bedside tables for his home and continues to mentally prepare for the next big project on the horizon.
A few years ago, Ben and Kate purchased thirty-five acres of property. Their long-term goal is to build a home there, and Ben hopes to contribute as much of the woodworking as possible himself.
"Right now it's about acquiring tools and building skills so that when we're ready to build our house, I can do as much of it as possible."
Looking back, one of the things he remembers most about SBWI isn't a particular tool or technique. It's the experience of learning in a place built for craft.
"You feel like you're in a real working shop. There's wood everywhere, projects taking shape around you, and it has this atmosphere that I absolutely love."
Godspeed, Ben. We hope your deployment goes smoothly. We look forward to seeing what you build next, and hopefully welcoming you back to SBWI for another class very soon.