What It’s Like to Be a Woman In a Man’s World

What It’s Like to Be a Woman in a Field That’s Still 99 Percent Male Nina MacLaughlin. (Photo: Beowulf Sheehan)

In 2008, journalist Nina MacLaughlin quits her desk job of seven years with no plan for what to do next. Though she had no experience to speak of she jumped at the chance to apply to a Craigslist job posting for a carpenter’s assistant. She was especially heartened by the tagline “Women strongly encouraged to apply,” and sent off her application right away.

She got the job, and has been a carpenter in Cambridge, Massachusetts, ever since.

In her new memoir, ‘Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter’, MacLaughlin tells us her experience of abandoning her desk job and the satisfaction and joy of learning to work with her hands. She spoke with the Cut about what her career switch taught her about ambition, how working as a carpenter changed her own femininity, and what it’s like to be a woman in a field that’s still 99 percent male.

To read the full interview click the photo or click here.

IKEA Small Spaces – Fitting a Laundry Room Into a Small Bathroom

When renovating in Paris you get to see your share of small spaces. This bathroom is only 2.7 square meters. It looks like it is 1 meter wide by 2.7 long or in inches that would be something like 3 foot 4 inches by just over 8 and half feet.

Wow! Now that’s small.

The designer does a great job maximizing the space using cabinets from IKEA. If you have a small bathroom these design ideas are definitely worth noting.

The laundry cabinet with the holes in the doors for presorting laundry is a great idea.

Also, the moveable dry rack is outstanding. The only thing with the video is the captioning is a little much. Just press the little ‘cc’ a the bottom right of the video and they go away.

Great job IKEA.

Keep up the good work.

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WOOD AWARDS 2013 SHORTLIST SHOWCASE

As an American Carpenter learning your skills back in the good ol’ USA, it’s easy to fall in love with wood. The feel, the smell, beauty; it’s a sheer pleasure to work with.

In Paris, and France in general wood is expensive. The country has been deforested after thousands of years of building homes and villages which make home grown lumber a valuable commodity.

Our beloved American has only been building for the last few hundred years. So building with wood is still a cost effective and viable option for both the client and builder back home in America.

This is a re-post is a dedication to all the woodworkers out there who know how good and why you should work with wood.

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Architecture, Design & Innovation

A shortlist of 30 projects has been selected from a record entry of 318 in the Wood Awards 2013, the UK’s premier award scheme celebrating excellence in design in wood in British architecture and furniture.

This year’s 30-strong shortlist features unique private houses, stunning small projects, outstanding restorations, impressive public buildings and extraordinary bespoke and production-made furniture, ranging from the traditional to the cutting edge.

The independent judging panel of architecture, engineering, craftsmanship and design experts and specialists led by Michael Morrison of Purcell UK and Sean Sutcliffe of Benchmark Furniture now see the shortlist in person before making their final decisions. The winners of the Wood Awards categories and which project will receive the coveted Gold Award – the winner of winners – will be announced on the 19th November at a reception hosted by the Worshipful Company of Carpenters.

The shortlisted projects range from dRMM’s…

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How To Drywall Non Flat Surfaces – Own The Dome

If you think about it Humankind does the square thing really well.

Just look around you. From buildings to rooms to your kitchen counter top, squares and rectangles are just so easy for us to do.

But if you look at Nature the opposite is true.

Drywall (Photo credit: retropc)

From the raindrop to the planets orbiting the Sun it’s the curve of the circle or the ellipse which Nature finds so easy to produce.

So did you ever look at an archway, curved wall or dome and wonder, ‘How did a Human Being plaster or drywall that?’

Well, here is a handy little video with some good tips on how to dry wall a dome ceiling.

At first it sounds difficult but really, after you see this video it might just become second nature. 😀

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Dream House or Carpenter’s Nightmare?

Dream House or Carpenters Nightmare?

In America you get spoiled with big homes and apartments and elevators that actually work.

In Paris, when it comes to rehab projects there is the one job that no carpenter especially looks forward to.

And that’s the dreaded 6 floor walk up with out an elevator!

But , it’s no big deal really.

You just know that when it comes to removing debris or loading tools and materials you’re just going to have to get out the Captian America cape, suck it up and move carefully, don’t damage the stairwell and get ‘er done.

The hard part is when you have your tool belt on; you’re working away and then you realize that the tool or fastener you need is six floors down and in the vehicle that’s parked a half mile away!

That’s whiy this pic is so much fun.

We’d love to talk to the construction team on this jobsite. 😀

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