My Ladies

Lest I've misled you with all my talk about how being a female carpenter is such an anomaly (I assure you, it truly is), I'd like to relate to you a couple of wonderful "small world" stories about some ladies in my life. 

I’ll start by stating that I have worked with hundreds of carpenters from other companies on various projects.  I can count on both hands the number of women I have seen at the jobsite (not counting designers, homeowners, cleaners, or girlfriends of workers).  Most of the females I have seen – more than half – were painters.  One was a metal worker, one was a plasterer, and one was a carpenter – a framer, to be specific.  While it's possible I may have forgotten one or two people (my memory seems to work in fits and starts), that's the reality of the jobsite situation.  I go months without running into another female at work.  That’s probably why I’m almost always falling into conversations with men at the jobsite about what it's like being a female carpenter and how I got into this career, etc. etc.  They’re curious!  Which in turn led me to realize that perhaps other people may also be curious, hence the blog. But I digress.

Here's what I'm getting at.  I had no female coworkers at the cabinet shop (although a female woodworker did rent shop space in the co-op above our cabinet shop).  When I moved on to finish carpentry, of all the companies I could have applied for, I was naturally drawn to the one I had any familiarity with whatsoever – the one that also rented shop space above our cabinet shop.  I had seen the owner come down to deliver a rent check a couple of times.  I figured, hey at least he’s familiar with the company I work for...perhaps he'll consider giving me a chance?  Indeed, he gave me a chance.  And what's more – he is one owner and his wife is the other.  Not only is she co-owner, but she's a carpenter!  Upon learning this, instead of flipping out with joy (a more appropriate reaction for a confident lady like myself), I was incredibly intimidated and nervous that she was a rock star carpenter with a rock star attitude.  After all, she'd been doing it for several years more than me and for all I knew, she may have had some weird female defense mechanisms at play (some sort of "there's only room for one female carpenter in this company!" kind of bullshit).  As it turned out, nothing could have been further from the truth. 

Monica functioned as a stay-at-home mom for the first several months of my employment, so I only saw her swing by a jobsite occasionally with her two young boys, usually to drop off tools or food.  I had brief chats with her, but mostly I got to know her through her husband.  He assured me she was excited to have another female carpenter on board and she was exactly not the kind of woman who was catty or competitive.  He explained that she was a super laid back Norwegian and her primary passion (aside from being a mom) was for art.  My ears perked.  I have always had wonderful artist friends.  I'm creative in some ways, but have pity on my poor friends who have to pretend to appreciate my paintings or drawings!  So I admire the artists around me, amused (alright annoyed) sometimes by their disorganization but always in awe of their ability to create something that has the potential to move people to tears.  Amazing.

Monica, prepping her floors for finish.  Which is perhaps one of the least impressive things she knows how to do.

Lo and behold, she and I finally got to work together as a team.  And lo and behold, we had great fun.  It is difficult to convey to you how weird it can be for a woman to work around men non-stop for 5 years.  Bear in mind that my coworkers are all guys who I would hang out with voluntarily outside of work.  But having a supportive, empathetic, female coworker around is not to be underestimated.  Our conversations range from storytelling to deeper philosophical discussions, the kind of talks that lead to personal growth and life enrichment.  Not that I didn’t have great conversations with male coworkers, but working with her was different.  I guess it’s the same type of difference between talking with a sister versus a brother (I suppose only the lucky ones can understand that one).  The same difference exists in friendships, though – girl friend vs. boy friend.  And after being surrounded by boy friends for 5 years, I finally got to hang out with my girl friend.  Because I work for (I say this with 98% confidence) the only finish carpentry company in Seattle with a female carpenter, let alone two.

The crazy coincidence doesn't end there, either.  Over the summer, I had the honor of getting to know an amazing female apprentice.  She randomly contacted our company to see if she could shadow one of our carpenters to learn the trade and my boss immediately thought of me, not even knowing at the time that she was a female (she has an unusual name).  I was delighted to discover a like-minded woman interested in carpentry.  Although her motivation was not to switch to a career as a carpenter, she had a "do-it-yourself" attitude about life and was highly motivated to pursue a sustainable lifestyle (okay, what’s all this past tense stuff? – she still is!).  Thus, learning carpentry for her has been a way to learn how to make and fix things.  We get along like old friends (truth be told, she is one of my most favorite people) and I’ve also discovered that I very much like teaching. 

The classic bffs, Laverne and Shirley, worked together (okay, they did everything together...)

So, there’s the real truth.  There are quite wonderful women who I get to work with from time to time.  And I’m extremely grateful for that.  Frankly, I think most people onsite are usually also really happy to see us there.  Women just have the ability to bring a different vibe to the jobsite, and that can be a good thing for everyone.