A Step in a New Direction: Ghermayn Baker Changes Course through Craft Experience

As a student, he excelled acad­e­m­i­cally and felt the expec­ta­tion to pursue educa­tion. His story is famil­iar to many who have sought the tradi­tional path of school, then work, then success, but it is also one that took an unex­pected turn toward craft when he felt the effects of corpo­rate hustle on his physical health. 

“I knew I needed to take a break and get creative,” Baker said. ​“Three weeks after leaving my job, I broke my foot. I honestly consider it divine inter­ven­tion. I thought, ​‘I can’t walk. Now I have to spend time with my hands.’” 

During that time, his wife, Christina, was consult­ing for a vintage furni­ture store that wanted to expand its online pres­ence. While brows­ing the store’s inven­tory, Baker saw poten­tial. ​“Their storage units had a lot of rattan and wicker furni­ture. So much of it was damaged, and they were strug­gling to work through it. There was a clear need, and that piqued my interest.” 

One book and two prac­tice chairs later, he taught himself how to cane. ​“I can sit down and get into a zone. I enter a medi­ta­tive state, which is vital for this work. It helps me feel present and connected in a way I haven’t felt before.” 

In Novem­ber 2022, the couple launched Point by Point Studio, special­iz­ing in repair and restora­tion of woven furniture. 

Through his new venture, Baker joined The Furni­ture Society and received one of their Educa­tional Grants. The grant led him to the Folk School in May 2024 where, along­side nine other students, he explored rib struc­tured baskets under the guid­ance of Mary Doorn­bos and Gina Myers. His expe­ri­ence with chairs helped him see basketry as an adjacent craft. 

“When I’m working on chairs, I’m often repro­duc­ing some­thing specific,” he said. ​“With baskets, I’m start­ing with nothing and creat­ing a form.” 

Trav­el­ing from south­ern Cali­for­nia to western North Carolina was a welcome oppor­tu­nity to spend a week with people who share his inter­est. And though Baker was famil­iar with the basics of basketry, he wasn’t famil­iar with the process of forag­ing his own supplies. 

“A lot of mate­r­ial I work with is purchased and already processed. There’s some­thing power­ful about resourc­ing it your­self. You’re connected to the people who were there before.” 

Connec­tion is one place where Baker sees diver­sity in craft. 

“Being in a space with people who want to make things tran­scends any other kind of natural iden­tity barrier. I enjoy meeting people who are inter­gen­er­a­tional, from differ­ent parts of the county, with different backgrounds.” 

He also recog­nizes the differ­ence between pursu­ing craft as an inter­est and pursu­ing it as a voca­tion. ​“It (craft) can be seen as a hobby versus some­thing that can be an economic provider for a family. That wasn’t the case histor­i­cally. There are many people who have sustained their lives from craft.” 

Because his career moved from corpo­rate to craft as a young profes­sional, Baker under­stands the need to expand to larger audi­ences. ​“Focus­ing on instruc­tion and instruc­tors who can provide differ­ent perspec­tives is a key element to increas­ing the diver­sity of people who want to invest. I see it in the work study students at the Folk School. There’s a cultural shift and it isn’t about running away from some­thing but running toward some­thing. When I did it, I was just leaving the corpo­rate world. Now I’m build­ing a new world.” 

When it was time to return to Cali­for­nia, Baker did so with his new hen basket in hand. For the flight home, it was also his carry-on. 

“People were asking me about it, and I got to talk about the class and the school.” 

That’s just one way life looks different now. 

“I wove a chair because I thought it would be fun,” he said, ​“and it unlocked all this possi­bil­ity. Commit­ting to craft and being able to use my hands and build my own busi­ness has absolutely changed me.” 

Gher­mayn Baker will return to the Folk School the week of Nov. 16 – 21, 2025, to teach his first class, Weave Your Own Chair Seat.

Click here to learn more about or apply for a Folk School schol­ar­ship. If you are inter­ested in provid­ing finan­cial assis­tance for students like Gher­mayn Baker visit Scholarship Support.

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