After being paralyzed, 20-year-old launches wood-craft business - SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Cristianna Cardinale, 20, was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, which left her paralyzed for the most frightening two weeks of her life in September 2019.

“There’s no known cause for this disease. But after this happened, I realized I was blessed. ... A lot of people with this disease never walk again, but I recovered within two weeks,” she said. “Even the doctors in the hospital said it was a miracle.”

This experience made Cardinale realize she needed to seize moments in life.

“It made me realize that if you want to do something, you need to do it. You can’t waste time. It was really scary for me to be stuck,” she said, noting that daily blood transfusions helped her recover.

But just a few months later, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit.

Both she -- who works one-on-one with special needs children -- and her boyfriend, Jonathan Ready, 21, a union construction worker, were laid off when COVID-19 shuttered the globe in March 2020.

“During the pandemic, we were both laid off from work and started having more free time,” she said, noting that both her illness and the pandemic taught her that “tomorrow is not guaranteed.”

So she and her boyfriend, who both live in Prince’s Bay, combined their talents to create Wood You Prefer, which offers a line of personalized wood products, from noodle boards to welcome signs.

Ready was introduced to woodwork through his father and continued to gain knowledge of the craft by taking architecture courses throughout high school. Meanwhile, Cardinale said she always had a love for art. She began with making personalized goods, such as T-shirts and other apparel. This hobby was inspired by her father’s screen-printing business, USATees.

In addition, Cardinale said her interest is starting a business grew when she attended the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA).

“This program taught me about starting a business and how to grow it,” she said of the experience with YEA.

And the pair didn’t look at launching Wood You Prefer as just a money-making venture.

“It was not only very fun and got us off our couch [during the pandemic], but it has been a way to put a smile on people’s face during rough times,” she said. “We didn’t start this for the money; we started this because we liked seeing people smile at their own ideas coming to life. We genuinely enjoy it.”

PRODUCT LINE

Wood You Prefer offers unique home décor items, such as noodle boards, welcome signs, decorative ladders, serving trays, wine boxes and more. All items are handmade from scratch and can be personalized.

“All items can have custom dimensions, colors, and wording to fit your home as perfect as can be. There’s really no limits with these,” said Ready. “We love getting put up to a challenge... Send us whatever you’re thinking and we’ll bring it to life.”

The products are sold on Etsy and Instagram, and free delivery is available for all Staten Island orders.

“Every house needs some decorations to make it a home,” said Cardinale. “We are both extremely hardworking, and will always take advantage of any bit of free time we have. Jonathan is a perfectionist and takes his time on everything he creates.”

WOOD YOU PREFER AT A GLANCE

Instagram: instagram.com/wood.you.prefer/

Etsy: etsy.com/shop/woodyouprefershop

New Businesses in Focus is a weekly column that relates the stories of new Staten Island businesses owners.

If you have a new business on Staten Island, e-mail porpora@siadvance.com.

Tracey Porpora is the business writer and Sunday manager for SiLive.com/Staten Island Advance.

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