Aaron,
perhaps you should first of all think about your family
commitments really being that limiting. Industrial Design
per se is an international business and jobs tend to be
located in the clusters that “globalisation” has formed.
Having left “the industry” myself 5 years ago I do not
regret it too much. But sometimes I do.
(While I still do design work in the family business that I
am in the process of taking over in the mean time.)
But leaving design for woodworking after putting about
6 years into a desing career sounds regrettable to me.
There must be alternatives to going backwards to where
you were those years ago.
Could you perhaps compete to what your bosses do in
a different company, that does better? Are you even sure
that your current employer really needs an industrial designer
full time?
mo-i
P.S. : As I was able to obtain your LinkedIn Profile and your
employment status within one step of googling you might want
to reevaluate your statement above concerning your current situation.