I first met Lorraine when we worked on an art exhibition install together. Our mutual friend Kate was excited to introduce us “Lorraine has just finished a carpentry apprenticeship,” she gushed proudly. From this moment forth I have been following the development of Lorraine’s business, Rainey Wood Works, with keen interest.
Rainey Wood Works specialises in commissions – everything from custom chopping boards to large scale event signage. “Basically if you have something you want made and can’t find it anywhere, then come to me,” Lorraine suggests. “That’s usually how it happens.” After spending three years working in an office, and more to the point, hating it, Lorraine thought a career change was in order so commenced her apprenticeship. Quite simply, she loves things made from wood, and remembered how she’d enjoyed woodwork at high school. Launching her business came later, and although taking the plunge and stepping away from a steady income can be daunting, she figured if it didn’t work out she could always go back to carpentry on construction sites.
But the response to Rainey Wood Works has been amazing. At first the struggle was balancing all the commissions, having one thing after another to complete, then trying to plan workshops, do the accounts and all the other administrative parts of the business. “I spent the first 6 months of my business working long days, rarely with a day off.” She had to force herself to step away from the tools and focus on creating a well rounded business, which now includes a range of workshops.
Working with wood is something that I had previously dabbled in at home out of necessity, but really wanted to learn how to do it properly, so I enrolled in a Rainey Wood Works women only Introduction to Power Tools class. Over three hours a small group of us enjoyed a one-on-one tutorial from Lorraine, who took us through the basics of using a range of tools, and also taught us how to put those skills to use to create a box! It was awesome to walk away with something useful that we’d made. Lorraine has had a great response to these classes: “Every time I tell either a male or female about them, people are always intrigued and usually pretty keen to come along, or send a woman they know,” she says.
Being a woman in a male dominated industry hasn’t been challenging for Lorraine within the industry itself or on site. “Any problems I have faced have been by general public or people who just still don’t realise that women are taking up traditionally male dominated occupations.” I asked Lorraine how we change that, and encourage women to consider trades. “I strongly believe it starts in schools,” she answered. “It’s important to educate our kids on the range of career or life options available to them.” For Lorraine, it’s about teaching young people to do what they love and attacking the stereotypes of what it means to be a “tradie”.
“It really comes down to community awareness and women being seen doing these roles and enjoying them. There’s a group I volunteer with called TradeUP Australia, founded here in Perth, whose core motivation is showing the public that a trade is a viable career option for women.”
“I encourage women to go into trades, if that’s what they would like to do, just as I would encourage men being the stay at home dad if that’s their choosing. I don’t think it should matter these days what it is you would like to do within your life as long as it creates happiness and works for you in your circumstances. You only have one life, make it worth living.”
When it comes to building a table, hanging a door and putting up a fence at home, it isn’t just women who often haven’t the foggiest idea where to start. In a contemporary urban environment, it is easier to call a tradesperson to get the job done. Men too are growing up without learning basic carpentry skills from their parents, so does Lorraine hope to extend her beginner classes to men?
“I actually believe men have it really difficult these days, we just aren’t passing on the skills to our children anymore so those basic home maintenance and tool handling skills are being lost. The idea of having women only workshops was to empower women with knowledge but I also found that a lot of women were more comfortable in a class with no men. I would like to offer the exact same to men.” Keep an eye on the Rainey Wood Works Facebook page to hear about upcoming workshops as they are announced.
Class time!
When Lorraine is enjoying some well earned downtime, you can often find her going to gigs and supporting the local music scene. Being Jebediah’s 20th anniversary year they are back on high rotation for her, although she admits they may have never left. If you’re heading out, she recommends keeping an eye out for line ups including Pat Chow, Ursula, Joni in the Moon, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving and a new band called Cubs.
Keeping it local is part of Lorraine’s ethos. She has just finished up a collaboration with local video arcade game creators SK Games, and is hoping to team up for the second time with local artist Nadia Cullinane on some large scale event work. We can’t wait to see what she does next! Claire
The entrance to the Sommerset Arts Festival in Scarborough last year was created by Lorraine and artist Nadia Cullinane.