The Cut on My Neck
Year two of Lakaynan was the hardest year so far. I've shared the project that made it that way here. What I haven't shared yet is the declaration I made to myself after it was over, and what I did next.
I started compiling resources and outlining a study plan for the California B1 General Contractor's license exam. The plans had existed loosely before. That project made loosely feel very irresponsible. I refused to stay in a position where my clients and I could be vulnerable to people who prey on the uninformed. So I got serious.
In October 2024, my mom left a copy of the LA Sentinel at my place. Inside was an article about the Carpenters Union — a Costco project with rent-controlled apartments above it. The concept lit something up in me, and I went down a rabbit hole researching training programs amongst the different trades.
More than passing an exam, I wanted fluency. I wanted to understand the work at a level where it's harder for anyone to mislead me or the people I serve. There are men in this industry who count on designers, architects, and clients, especially women, to not know enough to push back. I was done being that accessible.
That's when I found B.O.O.T.S., the Western States Carpenters Union's all-female pre-apprenticeship program. It was starting that same month. I signed up.
The selection bootcamp was the hardest thing I've probably ever done.
They had us at the Local 323 training facility lifting plywood, planks, ladders, and beams, carrying them from one end of the floor to the other. No easing in. Just work. I left with a cut on my neck and an invitation to join the program.
I said yes.
The four-week course ran October 28 through November 21, 2024, Monday through Thursday, 6am to 3:30pm, with a $100 weekly stipend for food and gas. We framed with wood and steel. We did concrete formwork, which was the hardest thing we tackled physically. We installed drywall. We erected scaffolding, which I genuinely liked.
When I graduated I held an OSHA-10 card, real industry connections, and a skillset that belongs to me permanently. No one can question it or take it away. That's what I went there for.
Something shifted during those projects that I didn't fully anticipate. I understood for the first time, with my hands and my body, what the work actually costs the people doing it. More than once, standing with my tool belt and PPE among the crew, I felt like an undercover boss. Not performatively, but in the way that happens when you voluntarily place yourself in someone else's experience and it changes how you lead. Lakaynan grew with me during those four weeks.
The cut on my neck healed into a scar. I've decided to think of it the way I think of most things that mark me, as evidence. And I’d be lying if it doesn’t make me feel like Harry Potter!
That experience didn't slow Lakaynan down. It accelerated us. Today we are a design and build studio, and the path from that declaration in year two to where we stand now has been deliberate every step of the way. I'm currently pursuing my B1 license, and I'm participating in a Contractor Accelerator alongside builders working on the Altadena and Pacific Palisades rebuild, hosted by The Center by Lendistry.
My mom's newspaper. A bootcamp that left a mark. A license in progress. A studio becoming everything it was always meant to be.
If you're planning a remodel or new build and want a team that understands both the vision and the work, I'd love to connect. Book a discovery call and let's talk about what we can build together.
With gratitude,Michelle