Reframed
“I want us to be carpenters. I want us to be timber framers. I don’t want us to be women who frame.” —Jenna Pollard
“We need women who are the professionals, who are the experts, who are then passing on that knowledge to other women. That’s where I see this going.”—Jenna Pollard
Women make up less than five percent of US carpenters by trade. By sharing her skills with a group of women apprentices, timber framer Jenna Pollard is changing the narrative—one dovetail joint at a time.
During the summer of 2021, timber framer Jenna Pollard set out to change the narrative by leading a group of women apprentices on a dovetail-cabin build in Ely, Minnesota. Though they had different backgrounds and levels of experience, the apprentices shared a common goal: to sharpen their skills and find their callings in a male-dominated vocation.