Wood Review Editor Linda Nathan reports...
On March 7, woodworking specialist retailer Carbatec held special events for women woodworkers at their Melbourne and Brisbane stores. Timed to coincide with International Women's Day, these events featured well known women woodworkers who were on hand to demonstrate some of their skills and answer questions about tools, work methods and a host of other topics.
I went along to the Brisbane store to check out the action. I arrived 30 minutes after the designated start time to find a showroom that was already packed. Each of the three demonstrators were surrounded by women of all ages. Smiles abounded as Carol Russell (furniture maker and spooncarver), Patt Gregory (Women For Woodwork teacher and author) and Sandra Skodnik (woodcarver) demonstrated a few techniques and answered a steady stream of questions. Topics covered included not just tools and work practices but also how they got started, what their experience was, and what they got out of woodwork.
After an hour the action moved to Carbatec’s adjacent machinery showroom. Tracey Pearce, Carbatec’s Marketing Manager and organiser of the IWD event spoke a few words of welcome. Each of the presenters then introduced themselves and answered a few more questions from the visiting women. Tea, coffee, biscuits, goodie bags, door prizes and informative friendly demos and chat – what more could you ask for as introduction to getting involved in woodworking?
On the same day, the Melbourne Carbatec store featured furniture designer/maker Phoebe Everill and woodcarver Lorraine Le Plastrier. Carbatec now host regular demonstration days at their stores. For more info contact them via www.carbatec.com.au
The video below is a short compilation of clips taken at the Brisbane store and combined with a short interview with Tracey Pearce in which I asked her a few questions about the event. If you click on the photos below that you can scroll through them all at once.