About 18 months after starting carpentry workshops at the MenzShed Arrowtown premises in Preston Dr, Alex van Dam says her favourite part is watching the women go from nervous excitement the first time they pick up a tool to achieving a level of mastery.
"Most of the women who come through have never used tools before, or might’ve used a drill and a hammer," Van Dam says.
After honing their skills on projects like birdhouses, bedside cabinets and planter boxes, many of the women have set up their own workshops at home.
"They’re renovating their kitchens, their laundries, they’re doing all sorts of stuff."
The former Aucklander came up with the idea of the workshops soon after moving to the resort two years ago.
A post on a local social media page to gauge the level of interest "went mad", so she quit her job and came up with a curriculum.
Since the first workshop in August 2023, more than 400 women have taken part, starting with an ‘Intro to Tools’ workshop.
In weekly two-hour sessions over five weeks, Van Dam teaches them how to use hand and power tools confidently and safely.
An intermediate level workshop takes those skills to the next level, while a woodturning workshop has been a more recent addition.
With a maximum of 10 women in each, the workshops run at different times of day between four and six days a week.
Through word-of-mouth, they’ve attracted women from a broad range of ages, ethnicities and backgrounds, she says.
"Everyone just seems to get along, they’ve all got a common goal and they’re all each other’s biggest cheerleader.
"You really see people making close bonds through that five weeks."
A registered charity, Women’s Shed Queenstown gets support from grant providers and Lotteries, while sponsorship by power and hand tool brands and local hardware stores means the women have a great set of equipment to learn with, she says.
- For more information, visit womensshedqueenstown.co.nz
