January 11, 2025 • 39 mins
In this episode of the RepcoLite Home Improvement Show, sponsored by Benjamin Moore, Dan kicks off the new year with an inspiring interview featuring Ginger Martin, a skilled carpenter and founder of the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy.Ginger shares her journey as a woman in the trades, reflecting on her family's deep roots in carpentry and the challenges and triumphs she’s faced along the way. Through her engaging discussion, Ginger emphasizes the value of learning DIY skills, tackling home projects, and fostering confidence in the process.Listeners will also hear about the many benefits of pursuing a career in the trades, from acquiring practical, lifelong skills to the empowerment that comes with mastering hands-on work.For the full interview, visit RepcoLite's YouTube channel and don’t forget to subscribe for more content.HELFPUL LINKS
CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings00:23 Exciting Interview Announcement01:08 Meet Ginger Martin: A Carpenter's Journey01:54 Family Legacy in Carpentry03:27 Breaking the Mold: Ginger's Determination04:43 Challenges and Triumphs in the Trades08:38 The Importance of Trades Education13:45 Learning from Mistakes16:33 Empowering DIY Skills19:01 Welcome Back to the Show19:25 Ginger Martin's DIY Adventures19:55 Building Confidence Through Fixing Things24:30 Starting the Crafty Carpenter Academy25:28 Empowering Women in Carpentry25:57 The Importance of Learning Basic Skills26:23 Future Vision for the Crafty Carpenter Academy34:33 Encouraging the Next Generation in Trades38:42 Final Thoughts and Farewell
- Ginger's Interview on YouTube
- The Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy
- The Crafty Carpetner YouTube Channel
CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings00:23 Exciting Interview Announcement01:08 Meet Ginger Martin: A Carpenter's Journey01:54 Family Legacy in Carpentry03:27 Breaking the Mold: Ginger's Determination04:43 Challenges and Triumphs in the Trades08:38 The Importance of Trades Education13:45 Learning from Mistakes16:33 Empowering DIY Skills19:01 Welcome Back to the Show19:25 Ginger Martin's DIY Adventures19:55 Building Confidence Through Fixing Things24:30 Starting the Crafty Carpenter Academy25:28 Empowering Women in Carpentry25:57 The Importance of Learning Basic Skills26:23 Future Vision for the Crafty Carpenter Academy34:33 Encouraging the Next Generation in Trades38:42 Final Thoughts and Farewell
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Well, good morning everybody. Happy New Year. Here listening to
the Repcolite Home improvement show sponsored by Benjamin Moore. And
I know, I know, I know, we're a couple of
weeks into the new year, but this is my first
time back really for the new year, and I want
to make sure I cover all of the pleasantries appropriately
and adequately. So happy New Year. I hope everybody had
a great Christmas. All of that all right on the
(00:24):
show today, I'm really excited, super pumped. I've got an
interview that I'm going to play about a month or
so ago, something like that. I was contacted by Ginger Martin.
She's a carpenter by trade, and she's now running an
online school called the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy. We sit down,
we have a great, big, long conversation about what it's
(00:44):
like to be a woman in the trades, how there's
so much value, you know, not just to the trades,
but in learning DIY skills and getting comfortable tackling projects
around your home. A lot of things are covered in
this interview, and what I'm going to air today on
the show is only a portion of the full thing.
Like to catch the full interview in Glorious Video. Had
to repcollite YouTube page and check it out. But right now,
(01:05):
let's get to the interview with Ginger Martin. So your
dad was a carpenter and an architect.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, see, my family is craftsman. I would say, way
back in the day. I think my dad was born
like nineteen twenty seven. My uncles were tilesmen, floor people, plasters.
So my grandfather and uncle on his side were a carpenter,
so he kind of grew up in it too. Then
he went to the military and decided he wanted to
(01:33):
study architecture. It's almost like the cherry on top of
the cake if you asked me, because you already know
how to do carpentry, but now you learn how to
draw the drawings. So I guess he wants to take
it to the next level. He wanted to be a contractor.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I mean as far it just it was everywhere in
the family, I mean, everything covered, whatever you need it done,
you had somebody who could do it. Now, my kid's
an electrician and that alone has been incredibly helpful. Yeah,
so many little projects and you know I can point
him out, Hey, could you take care of this for me?
Or look at it and what I'm what I really
(02:08):
find with him is he's a young, you know, apprentice,
he's closing in on journeyman. But what he'll do is
he's looking for things to fix now, so he'll bring
things to my attention and oh, I could do this
for you and get this switched around. And he'll always
do it, you know, he'll do it on his weekends
and stuff. So that's good. But I still have to
buy the parts.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, but he loves what he's doing, and that's that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
He loves loves demonstrating. I think one of my favorite
things of watching this whole thing, you know, evolve for
him is he loves demonstrating the knowledge that he's got.
You know, he's the expert when it comes to this,
and it's it's a weird shift for us because previously,
you know, I would lead the way on whatever, and now,
oh yeah, I got to take a back seat because
(02:50):
he knows what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It's really fun that you must be really proud. Yeah,
I remember that stage.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, so did you have you have brothers?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You have other Yeah, actually I'm the youngest of seven,
so four boys and three girls, and yeah, and That's
kind of how I got into it because my dad
trained all of the boys and he became My dad
was a union contractor, so we moved to Michigan from
New Orleans when I was like five. The boys were
(03:20):
all being trained to be carpenters and the girls all
worked in the office.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Really, yeah, you broke them all.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And yes, when I came up, I was like, well,
let's see they're getting paid fifteen dollars and they're getting
paid seven, and yeah, I can do this. I can
do this. So when I think back of it, I
always tell people I actually was pretty cheeky because he
had retired by the time I came along. You know,
(03:49):
all of my brothers were off on their own, different states,
doing their own thing. And here I come out of
high school and say I want to be a carpenter
and he's like, I'm retired, and she said anymore. Yeah. Yeah.
I told him. I said, well, you're just gonna have
to come out of retirement like you taught everybody else,
(04:09):
like you have to teach me. I can't take no
for an answer, so he put a proposition. He said,
all right, well, what I taught your brothers in four
years you're going to have to learn in two years.
So I sometimes look back and I think I should
have just went to college, but that because that was
a hard two years. He would we would come home
from work and he would throw project management books at
(04:31):
me and you need to read this, and oh my god,
I had to know like the weight of all the nails,
all the nail He took me through it. When I started,
people didn't want me on the job because what is
she doing out here? That type of you know atmosphere.
And then like two years later, I was being requested,
(04:54):
is she working? Can she come out? Ask her if
she wants to work on the weekend, And so.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I've it was great, that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And that was really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
You're in a field where there's not a lot of
women at that point, right, there's not a lot of women.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
That was now in nineteen Actually, I think in the
States it's like four percent women in construction. That's pretty low.
But when I came out there on the job, I
think my first union job that I was on without
any family member was in California and the job was
over a thousand men and there was four women on
(05:29):
the job and I was there was a carpenter apprentice
and me. So it was like two carpenters and an
electrician and a labor that were out there.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But yeah, so I know that, you know, you grew
up with it. I know that. In the intro video
that I watched, you talked about being on the job
sites three years old and stuff. Oh yeah, yeah, so
a little kid and we're starting to work at seven.
I think you said, well, your dad at seven, But no,
I'm sorry. I was swinging the hammer using tools.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Oh yeah. So I just remember always being either in
the office or on the job. When I was in
third grade, he was remodeling the church of the school
that I was going to, so after school I didn't
go home. I would go to the back of the
church and just help him hand him stuff, and the
nuns would bring me cookies or something. And so I
(06:21):
don't remember not knowing the names of tools. And sometimes
I would be on a job and I'd have a
problem and I would be thinking, now, how can I
do this, and it would just pop into my head.
And a lot of times I would think, I don't
even know how I know that, Like, I don't remember
learning that. It just came. Yeah, So when I was seven,
(06:41):
my dad joked about me trying to bend a nail
and staying outside for hours hitting the nail, trying to
not bend it, straightened it. And I was trying to
straighten the nail. Yeah. So I always never was shy
about using tools or trying to fix something or make
something or you know. My apprenticeship it was hard because,
(07:03):
like I said, he maybe do it in two years.
But there was so many memories from that, like I
just want to like women that are getting to it
or anybody that's getting into it, You're gonna have your mistakes.
I glued my fingers together. Once I have fallen through
a second floor floor Joyce. I climbed up the ladder
and I stepped on the plywood because we were putting
(07:25):
the sub floor and it wasn't nailed down, and I
just went straight through the first floor. You, oh my god,
I'll have well, he just we were both scared. Like
I landed on my feet, but it was like, oh
my god, how I get here? Yeah, And I like,
I went up the ladder and damn, just like that,
(07:46):
I was back on the first floorspoon. My dad used
to say, you always fall in a pile of and
come off smelling like roses.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
See, I always fall in that pile, and I smelled
just like what that pile smell like. That's how I've
been really lucky.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I have fallen off ladders and I've been lucky enough to
land on my feet every time.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
All right, we're gonna take a quick break and we'll
be back with more from Ginger Martin. That's just a
hat and stick around and we're back. You're listening to
the repcoll Light Home improvement show sponsored by Benjamin Moore,
and we're in the middle of a recent conversation I
had with carpenter Ginger Martin. And remember, if you like
(08:28):
what you're hearing, this is only a small portion of
the full interview. You can catch it all in video
format on the repcoal Light YouTube page. But now let's
get back to the conversation. When did you decide that
you wanted to go into the trades. I know that
you said after high school you talk to your dad,
when the thought process start to solidify in your head.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I wanted to be a figure skater.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Really, I was a figure.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Skater from the time I was I don't know, I
started skating maybe about ten or eleven or so. Yeah,
and I started competing, and that's what I wanted to do,
but it was I got disheartened because I had tried
out for the Ice Capades and they sent a letter
to a place where I didn't live anymore. And by
(09:16):
the time I got the letter, the recruitment part of
it where they were gonna send for me to go
out to California to train, it was already got accepted.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yeah, but you just never got the letter in exactly. Well,
that's a kick in the stomach.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, So that Andy. By then, I was seventeen or eighteen,
I think, and I was just so, now what am
I gonna do? So that was my plan, b I thought.
And that's like I said. I thought, Okay, time is
going to pass, and I thought, I can pass my
eight hours or ten hours a day sitting in the
office making seven bucks an hour, or I can do
(09:53):
this and make fifteen bucks an hour. You know, when
I was coming up watching my brothers at four teen
and fifteen, they were tearing people's houses apart and remodeling,
and I mean big jobs like porches and bay windows.
And they always had money, like they always had money
and so that was and I always had to ask
(10:15):
them for money. Hey, give me some money. And so
when I got graduated high school, I thought, yeah, I
want I want to make the most that I can.
And entering the world to me was still, I guess,
a little scary, and I knew I didn't want to
go to college.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
So I just thought, you know, why didn't you want
to go to college.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I just had a bad school experience the whole time.
So I just never really liked school, and I didn't
you know, I think people will say, you know, well,
college is going to be different. I didn't trust that
it would be, and so I just thought, I'm not
doing this anymore.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
So I know, I went, and I guess it helped me.
I mean, I'm sure it helped me. It didn't hurt me. Yeah,
it cost me some money, but other than that, I
learned some stuff. Am I using it? I don't know.
I guess I'm using parts of what I've learned. So
I don't think it was a bad thing. It's just
I'm very interested. Because I've got five kids and now
(11:09):
we've got three in college. I guess I've navigated this scenario.
But it was a big deal because it's expensive. It is,
you know, how is this going to work? My kid,
the electrician, I don't know that. I'd say he had
a bad experience in school, But what I would say
is that school wasn't his thing. Yeah, you know, he
did high school just fine, but I was wondering how
(11:32):
college was going to go. He wasn't a good organizer
in a sense for the school work and just getting
his schedule timed and doing his homework on time. And
I thought, oh, I don't want to go back to
college just to help him through college. Oh you know,
how's that going to go? And it just wasn't his thing.
And then he decided on this path, and oh my goodness,
(11:53):
it's opened the eyes up of my other kids. You know.
I've got one who's a teacher and she's thoroughly thrilled too.
In college. Now both are thinking they're going to get
their degree in whatever, but they're going to pursue a trade.
Oh that's what they're going to do. But Caleb, my kid,
just sitting on this lot of money.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah, I mean, it's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
And he doesn't have the dat he's this guy.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Exactly, you know, And you know, and Another thing is
that by the time I was eighteen, I think three
of my brothers were married and had families, and they
weren't taking care of their families. So it was like, yeah,
I could go to college, but I can also like
(12:36):
kind of get paid while I'm learning to be a carpenter.
And honestly, I make more money than a lot of
my peers that I know that have gone to college.
And I think a trade is if anybody, women are
a man or women at wants to go to a
through a trade, I think it's a really great thing
(12:57):
because not only are you getting pay to learn, but
especially if you join the union, you get benefits, you
get everything that you would get into like a more
corporate setting.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
But the money is awesome and you've got the you
don't have the debt and you don't yeah you've a
mast from college. It's yeah, it's really cool. So I'm
wondering how many people are listening right now who are thinking, Okay,
you know you did it, Ginger, you did it, but
you grew up in it. You know, this is something
(13:28):
maybe that just automatically comes natural to you. I'm not
mechanically inclined. I'm not good with my hands. What do
you think, I mean, you've got this academy. You've got
to believe. I would think that everybody can learn to
some extent.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Oh yeah, you start. Everybody starts somewheres. And like I said,
even me growing up with it. When I actually went
into it and started, I grew my fingers together.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
I would what'd you gloom together with? What? Particularly putting
down the floor?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
You know, back in the day, the floor tiles, they
didn't come with glue, so you have to put the
glue down with a trial and spread the glue and
then you'd put your floor tiles in and then as
you rolled it are the glue would come up between
the cracks and you wipe that out. And so that's
what I was doing, and I was trying to impress.
(14:18):
I guess I wanted to do the room by myself.
I didn't want my dad's help, so he went outside
and he was doing something else, and you know, I
was cutting the corners and I was really proud. It
was coming out really good, and trying to go fast.
When I would get glue on my fingers, I would
rub them together and try and you know, get the
little but my fingers were getting dirty, and the glue
(14:40):
was building up, and like I said, I was trying
to go fast. So they started kind of getting sticky.
And then so I rubbed the dirt and to try
to get the glue to come off, and I don't know.
The next thing, it was contact cement.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Oh so they're just stuck together.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah. So the next thing I know, now the dirt,
the glue is seeping through the dirt, and then my
you know, I can't move my fingers anymore. I went
outside and my dad was actually working underneath the house.
I went outside and I told him he had to
come out, and he was upset, you know, like he
was like I said, already retired. So now that I'm
(15:17):
under the house, now you want me to come out.
So he came out the house and I'm from under
the house, and I just I held my hands up
and he started laughing at me so hard. He was crying,
and I started crying because he was laughing at me.
And oh my god, yeah, we had to get paint,
dinner and everything. Just like just keep soaking my hands
(15:38):
and the whole time he was just laughing at me.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
And oh that's so funny. I did my in laws.
I work with paint I work with coatings and stuff
like that. We sell deck products, and so they had
a deck that needed doing, and you know, it was
early on in the whole marriage. And I'll come over.
I'll help you out because I'm the expert, you know.
And I was going to be impressive too. And I
(16:01):
stained myself into a corner without realizing it. And I
got done and I turned around and my father in
law was down on the ground with his coffee looking
at me. He said, how are you going to get down?
He says, I've been watching you for an hour paint
yourself into that corner. I had to jump over the age.
They had to get a ladder. They debated if they
were going to So, yeah, you know, you don't grow
(16:24):
up knowing how to do this stuff. Even if you
grow up in it right, still make mistakes. You still
have to learn. Everybody's going to learn. But you really
believe that everybody's got a shot. I do believe that, and.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
I do believe that there's more and more people who
are interested in learning how to do it themselves, you know.
But as far as learning the basics is safety first
with your tools and getting comfortable even here in the
sound of the saul, Like I think a lot of
people get intimidated even when they just hear the sound
(16:54):
of a saw, and just you know, working past all
of that and getting people comfortable using their tools. So
that's just kind of what I what I'm trying to do.
And I also think as we go into the times
that we're in and if it gets any worse, people
should be familiar with how their homes are put together.
Your son as an electrician, he's learning more than just
(17:17):
electric electrical work. He's learning, he's learning framing. He's learning
because he's just around it and he's seeing it. But
it's important to learn how your home is put together
because if times get really hard and you can't afford
that contractor you know, things break and it's it's good
to know how to fix it and have that confidence
(17:39):
of of oh my goodness, even if it's just a
temporary fix until you call a contractor. It's good to
know how to you know, use your tools and apply
and things to your homes.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Just being comfortable with it, just picking up some things,
you know. I think that's a huge value in what
you're doing, too, is even if you know, the people
checking you out and the people listening to this show
and learning stuff, and people going anywhere to learn stuff
doesn't necessarily mean that they need to jump into the
trade both feet. If they can still handle a couple
(18:13):
of main projects at their home, a couple of little
things that they've got to work on or things that
go wrong, they understand that a little better. I mean, yeah, goodness.
I don't want to go into appliance repair, but I
have learned because you know, my dryer quit working exactly,
my bank account was empty. I didn't have any you know,
I know it's expensive. I'm starting to look online. I
(18:33):
figured out enough to figure that thing out now with
a thirteen dollars part. I don't want to go into
the field, but I can address some issues. And once
you learn one thing my experience, I'm sure that's yours,
you feel confident.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
To try something else exactly.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
All right, let's take a quick break and then we'll
be back with the conclusion of my interview with Ginger Martin.
That's next. Stick around and we're back. You're listening to
the REPC Collite home improvement show was sponsored by Benjamin
Moore and I've got the final part of my interview
with the crafty carpenter Ginger Martin. And remember you can
(19:11):
catch the full thing on Rep Collites YouTube channel, and
if you do that, you can put a face to
the voice and that's always kind of nice. So be
sure to check out that video on Repcollites YouTube page.
But right now, let's get to the conclusion of my
conversation with Ginger Martin.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Someone was throwing a washing machine away and I asked
him if I could have it, and they gave it
to me. He said, well, you know it's broken, and
would you want this, Yeah, if you want to take it.
I took that washing machine apart. And what had happened
was her son's She had a toddler. His shoe had
gone got stuck into the rints pipe so it wouldn't rinse.
(19:50):
I pulled the shoe out and I had that washing
machine for years and years.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Wow, it's just brilliant, you know, And you can do
these things and you just you learn a little bit.
I fixed air conditioner and that's a big deal. In
the summer, when you know, we came home from something
and it was eighty some degrees. It was during a
crazy hot heat wave by us, and you know, eighty
some degrees in the house, which is not pleasant. And
(20:15):
I'm a gentle soul, so I need.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
My air conditioning.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
And oh, man, look at the bank account again. Oh
we're going to have to figure out how to fix
the air conditioner. So I'm looking around what are the
most common things, And I find there's one thing, really,
really common. It's a capacitor. Most of the time, it
could be this. You know, if it's doing these things,
because you can even tell the Internet what it sounds
like what it's doing. It starts up, this happens, it's
probably this. And I look into it. They gave me
(20:41):
some troubleshooting things. It looks like that part isn't working.
It's a thirteen dollars part again or a twenty dollars party. Yeah,
and there's some safety things you got to do to
make sure you do it right. But I fixed the
air conditioner limp through another year or two before we
had to put a new one in. I mean, it's great, crazy,
and yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
You do get this confidence of HM if I fixed that,
Like I've fixed plumbing pipes. I've walked people through on
the phone where their main waterline had broken, and what
to do until you know the city got there. Uh,
you know, shut down the water at the main at
the goal outside there should be a little you know
(21:18):
cap in front of your door, so you need to
shut that water off and just yeah, the confidence you
have and you know, I have an air conditioner story too.
I was pregnant and this was in Texas and it
was so hot and the air conditioner it was a
window unit and it had broken, and I couldn't sleep
(21:39):
like that, Like I can't sleep like.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
That, So I can't.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, so i get up in the middle of the
night and I'm like this, I can't do this. I
gotta take this thing apart and see what's going on here.
So I turned the air conditioner on and it started going,
and it started shooting pieces of a steak out of
the because I had taken the front part off. So
the blower part, yeah, it's a snake had crawled up
(22:10):
in there. And so the fan no, so the fan, yeah,
it got cut up and spit out at me. And
so now I'm screaming like I'm brave, but I don't.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Yeah, You're not going to sleep the rest of that
night if I don't know if I.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Want to use the air conditioner now you know, not
that those snakes can crawl up there. But yeah, that
was horrible. But once again.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Had the guts to jump in and open the thing up, right, Yeah,
and it did.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
It worked again. It worked as long as we lived there.
So so be brave. I'm fixed uh VCRs the back
in the day. But once you get that confidence, you're
you're willing to at least try.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Well, it's what you're talking about. Those that those aren't
carpentry things. Those aren't carpentry skills that you're talking about.
And you trained carpenter, right, You're not a trained to
any of these. But it's exactly what we said, once
you learn a few things. I was just a complete
dope in high school when it came to cars, you know,
I just I had friends who loved cars. They would
(23:13):
puts with their car. That wasn't my thing at all.
And I just assumed that I was just an idiot
when it came to cars. It was not my thing.
I'm not mechanically inclined, but man, the lack of money
will propel and will cause you to do a lot
of things and to dig in is you know, I
could either, you know, do nefarious things to try to
(23:34):
get money, or I could try to fix the things
that are broken. And I learned to oh swap, you know,
change breaks and the fun of it. It really becomes
quite fun once you get over that initial fright of
I'm jumping into something really over my head. But I
had done a few little things around the house, and
I thought those have worked. Why can't I do that?
Speaker 2 (23:55):
It's already broken?
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Like the worst I can do with the breaks, I
guess it could be severe, but.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
I've done mechanic work too.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah. I guess the thing I look at is every
time something goes wrong, you know, the kids will call
because now I've got five kids. Multiple people have cars,
so everything breaks more readily now because there's just more
of them. And that's always the first thought, is this
something I can hack and because something I can tackle?
And I'll look it up and sometimes it is. Sometimes
it's something, Oh, we can do this, we can do
(24:24):
this really easily. Yeah, and sometimes it's not. I know
better than to jump into that. So how long ago
did you start this academy?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
I just started the academy, I think back in August,
but I didn't know how to start it. I've been
actually working on this for about almost well a year now,
and I was teaching at a high school and I've
had so many you know, people and women come to
me and say, ah, man, I wish I could. One
(24:53):
lady said, if I could do what you could do,
my house will look different every year. She said, I
would just change things. And so I thought, you know,
but you can do it. So and I did want
to teach it, and I wanted to online, and so
I've started putting it together. And at first it was
just a YouTube channel, and you know, I had to
go through all of my technical training because like I
(25:16):
tell people, I'm a carpenter. All of this how to
work this and work that is just that's a learning process.
So that's where I'm at now. But I just want
to help people, like I said, not just for economic
causes or whatever reason, yes, but also the joy of
(25:37):
making stuff. I've made chopping boards and Christmas trees, and
once again, I just feel like if people, or more
women get in touch with their tools and get involved
and learn how to use them, just the possibilities are
so endless of what you'll be able to do and
the confidence that it brings is also priceless. You know,
(25:58):
once you learn how to use tools and understand basic principles,
like you know, plum level and square, plum level and square.
It needs to be plumb level and everything is based
on it being square. So those basic concepts I thought once,
if people could learn that, and if people could learn
(26:18):
how to use their tools, your imagination can run wild.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yeah, So what's your vision for the crafty carpenter and
your academy moving forward? What do you think in the
next couple of years, what do you see.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
I'm hoping to see a lot of women. I want
us to be able to, like I said, just share
with each other, use our tools, get online and say
a place where you can get online and say, hey,
I want to change the handles on my cabinet door,
or I think I want to like send give my
kitchen a new look. What's your ideas and be able
(26:54):
to bounce ideas off each other or even say you know, hey,
I pulled this the cabinets off the wall, and this
is what I found back there, and now how do
I address this situation? So I just I wanted to
be a place where women can grow and learn and
express and share projects because it's also a lot of
(27:16):
fun that when you build something to be able to say,
look at this, this is so cool because it's what
I did, you know, it's it's you know, how do
I get all this glue off my fingers?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Just a place where.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, but a place where we can all come together
and share our projects and learn from each other. Or
I had one lady she wanted just to simply hang
some blinds by her windows, and she was scared, and
so I did a video for her and on this
is how your windows are framed. Windows and doors are
(27:51):
framed like this. You got a good three inches on
either side and a whole head or above. So this
is the area. And then if you want to go
past that area, this is the kind of bolts you're
going to use, because you can you know, if you're
not going into a stud you still can hang your stuff.
You just can't hang it with a normal screw. So
(28:13):
just you know, stuff like that, Like it's.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
How did it end for her? She pulled you never.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Told me I see I know, yeah, and showed me
that I would love to see. And that's what I'm saying.
To share your work, I would have. Maybe she hasn't
done it yet, I don't know, but she never came back.
But then so, but that's out there, you know, like
understand if you understand the frame framing around your windows
(28:39):
and doors, now you know you know everything once you know.
Now you know if you want to hang a door
and you have to understand the framing, the framework, you
know where you're kneeling is.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, we talked about that earlier. I know, I did
a segment on our radio show. I don't know how
long ago, earlier this summer, maybe earlier this spring. But
it was the anatomy of framing you know, of a house, okay,
and you know, it's just brilliant and riveting to listen
to on the radio. I'm sure I did my best
to make it as entertaining as possible. But it's so
interesting to me because all of what you just said,
(29:15):
you have a better understanding for what's going on behind
the walls. You feel more confident doing other things because
you know, at least to some extent, what's going on.
And the other thing that really hit me, I don't
remember if I even said it out loud in the show,
but some of the terminology with you know, all the
framing materials I'm not comfortable with. I don't. I just
(29:38):
didn't know it, you know, and you feel like a
complete idiot using the wrong word or saying something. So
what I would do is I would avoid any conversations
in the paint store. I would avoid conversations other places
where I had to call those terms and you know,
bring those terms up, and it limited, you know, some
of the things I would even ask in the stores,
(29:59):
and just learning a little bit of the vocab, Yeah,
this is what that's called. I can have that conversation.
I don't have to worry about being stupid about it. Yeah,
you know, I understand it, and now people can help
me and I can move ahead. For me, I hate
feeling stupid, so I would avoid those things. Just the
language alone helped me a lot. So your academy is
that largely it seems like it's exclusively a woman's thing,
(30:21):
right you want? It is true, I do.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Have Actually I think there is a man or two
in there, but so I haven't excluded men. But I
was trying to make it a present place for women because,
like I said, my experience on jobs and then like
you said, terminology and I just feel like there's a
lot of a sense of intimidation that women can feel
(30:43):
trying to learn carpentry or a trade. And so I
just wanted to make a place where you don't have
to feel intimidated. And and I encourage people to ask
why why?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Why?
Speaker 2 (30:56):
You know, why am I You know, why am I
nailing it here? Instead of I wanted it there? You know?
Why is going to take you from not understanding to
being an expert? You know, you got to just keep
asking the wise.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
So this academy that you've got going, is there a
charge for that? How does that part work?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
No, the academy is actually free to join. I charge
for liaison work for like people men or women who
are getting a project done, and then I'm that liaison
between them and the contractor because, like you said, the
terminology permits that they have to pull all of these
things that have to be done. And I just kind
(31:36):
of keep the contractor should have it's called critical path
where he has laid out in a timely fashion everything
should be clear and understood. And I still think that's
kind of intimidating for a lot of people to talk
to a contractor. But you don't have to feel intimidated
asking me or talking to me, and I can talk
to that person. And then I also charge for larger
(31:59):
projects that if people want me to actually walk them
personally through putting up a petition wall, or you know,
they want to put a deck outside, or you know,
a project that they want to do hands on but
they still feel kind of unsure about it, then I
charge consultation for that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Now do you do that local? Do you do that online?
So you'll help anybody anywhere, anybody anywhere, Yes, because I
got listeners in Detroit, I've got listeners on the west
side of the state, and who knows where else anybody
else is finding this.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Yeah, it's cool.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Let's give them some information. If they want to reach
out to you, how do they find you?
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Finding me is really easy. It's always the Crafty Carpenter,
So YouTube channel the Crafty Carpenter, and then the school
which is a platform that's spelled skol. It's school community,
and then you just type in their search bar the
crafty Carpenter. I should come up, but it's called the
(32:55):
Crafty Carpenter diy Academy.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Well, good luck with everything. I'd certainly like to you know,
touch base with you from time to time. Maybe we
could pick a couple of topics sometime down the road
and just let you run through some of the stuff
that you would normally read it.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Awesome. Yeah, I'm so glad you had me here. I
really enjoyed this.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Yeah, it's a lot of fun talking to you. So
all right, take care of you all right again, Remember
you can catch that full interview, you know, much more
stuff if you go to repco Lightess YouTube page. Check
that out. Also check the show notes and the YouTube
description for all the links and everything you need if
you do want to check out Ginger's academy. All right,
(33:33):
let's take a quick break and when we come back,
I've got three or four reasons why I think the
trades might be the perfect job for you, your kid or
your grandkid. I'll have that in just a minute. Stick around,
we're back. You're listening to the Repcollite Home Improvement Show
sponsored by Benjamin Moore, and I hope you enjoyed that
(33:55):
interview with Ginger Martin the Crafty Carpenter. Don't forget to
check out our page, and then while you're at it,
make sure you visit Rep Collites YouTube channel for the
full interview. You can watch it all in glorious video.
You know, every moment, every brilliant question that I ask.
You can watch it in near four K definitions. So
(34:17):
definitely head to Repollate YouTube channel, check out that full interview,
and then while you're there, hit subscribe ring that little bell.
I mean, you want the full experience, and if you
do that, you'll get notified whenever we post new content
and your life will be better for it. So definitely
do all those things. All right, In the last little
bit that we've got, let's talk about trades. Let's just
(34:37):
beat this like a dead horse. You know, we spent
three quarters of the show talking about them. Let's finish
out talking about trades. And like I said in that interview,
I grew up in a time when college was really
considered the only path. You know, if you didn't go
to college, people assumed you were kind of dumb. You know,
you just weren't cut out. That's what I took away. Anyway,
Maybe maybe that's not what they were saying that that's
(35:00):
what little Dan took away. If I don't do a
big career, if I just go into work somewhere I'm
kind of dumb, and that mindset has consequences, and as
a result, we've ended up with a shortage of skilled
trade workers out there, and looking back, I kind of
do get frustrated thinking about how the trades were just
off handedly dismissed, you know, when they really can be
(35:22):
a perfect fit for a lot of people. You know,
they're not for everybody, of course, they're not for everybody,
but for the right person, they're rewarding, and they're a
valuable path that, you know, and we all need them.
That's the thing. We all need these skilled workers, and
right now, because we don't have them, there's a little
bit of pain out there. So if you've got a
kid or a grandkid considering their future, don't overlook the trades,
(35:45):
you know, don't breeze past them. Be that advocate, you know,
be that voice who at least brings them up and
stresses the fact that there's beauty and working with your hands,
you know, and creating things on a daily basis, in
developing and fine tuning a craft, you know, and taking
pride in your work. All of that can be found
in the trades. Encourage those kids, and you know, who
knows where things go. So with that in mind. To
(36:07):
help you do that, here are a few reasons why
the trades might be the perfect choice. First off, one
reason they're great is limited debt. You know, college is expensive.
We talked about that in the interview, and I know
it's necessary for some careers, you know, completely necessary. I
don't want a dentist or surgeon working on me who
learned it all back on the farm, right, I don't
(36:27):
want that. Maybe in a pinch, you know, maybe in
a life and death dental emergency maybe, But for the
most part, I want a dentist with a degree, right,
and clean hands, but even more so a degree. So yeah,
some jobs need college, but that education it definitely comes
with a lot of debt. And pursuing a trade right
after high school means you start earning money right away,
(36:50):
usually without the burden of massive loans or anything like that.
You know, my electrician kid said it earlier, But he's
socking money away right now except what he drops on
door dash, But he's socking money away. He's saving for
a house, saving so he can start a family. It's
a really, really great choice. Second, with the trades, you
gain practical lifelong skills you know, that was in the
(37:10):
interview as well. But my electrician kid, he doesn't just
work his trade. He's picked up abilities that are going
to save him money and serve him forever in his
home and in his father's home, which is really important
to me. Me is who I'm talking about there. I'm
not being religious, you know, take that in a religious way.
I'm sure he can use this for God's kingdom, But
(37:32):
mostly I was thinking about my house. I've got some needs,
electrical needs, and I'm hoping he'll help another of my kids.
He spent last summer working with a painting contractor and
he went from zero painting experience to confidently moving around
thirty foot extension ladders and painting houses. You know, these
skills stick with you and they make life easier. Third,
(37:52):
in the trades, you're surrounded by people who tackle challenges
head on all the time. You know, my electrician kid
works with trades people who fix houses, renovate properties, and
take on huge projects without hesitation. And that kind of
confidence is contagious. It prepares you to handle anything and
to jump willingly into anything. Last thing, jobs are plentiful
(38:13):
and they pay well, you know, I know, college grads
who are struggling to find work right now. And while
that's the case, trade workers they're in demand. You know,
if one job doesn't work out, there are five others
waiting for your skills and the pay pay is really good,
you know, no waiting years to get established. So if
your kids or your grandkids are you enjoy working with
your hands, you want a rewarding career, you know, consider
(38:34):
the trades. Talk to local contractors, painting contractors, plumbers, electricians
to learn more. You know, it's challenging work, but incredibly
fulfilling and that's going to do it. If you happen
to be looking for a painting contractor for some work
this winter, be sure to head to repcollite dot com
and click the find the Painter tab on the homepage.
Fill out a brief form, and then will help you
(38:54):
connect with a painting contractor in your area who specializes
in whatever work you need done. Now. Remember you can
catch the full interview with Ginger on reprolites YouTube page.
Check that out. Be sure to subscribe. Ring that little
bell and like the video. You know three things for
you to do there. Do all of those. Appreciate it.
I really appreciate it all right. Whatever you do today,
make sure paints a part of it. Have a great weekend, everybody,
(39:16):
and I'll see you next week. I'm Dan Hansen. Thanks
for listening.
Well, good morning everybody. Happy New Year. Here listening to
the Repcolite Home improvement show sponsored by Benjamin Moore. And
I know, I know, I know, we're a couple of
weeks into the new year, but this is my first
time back really for the new year, and I want
to make sure I cover all of the pleasantries appropriately
and adequately. So happy New Year. I hope everybody had
a great Christmas. All of that all right on the
(00:24):
show today, I'm really excited, super pumped. I've got an
interview that I'm going to play about a month or
so ago, something like that. I was contacted by Ginger Martin.
She's a carpenter by trade, and she's now running an
online school called the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy. We sit down,
we have a great, big, long conversation about what it's
(00:44):
like to be a woman in the trades, how there's
so much value, you know, not just to the trades,
but in learning DIY skills and getting comfortable tackling projects
around your home. A lot of things are covered in
this interview, and what I'm going to air today on
the show is only a portion of the full thing.
Like to catch the full interview in Glorious Video. Had
to repcollite YouTube page and check it out. But right now,
(01:05):
let's get to the interview with Ginger Martin. So your
dad was a carpenter and an architect.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, see, my family is craftsman. I would say, way
back in the day. I think my dad was born
like nineteen twenty seven. My uncles were tilesmen, floor people, plasters.
So my grandfather and uncle on his side were a carpenter,
so he kind of grew up in it too. Then
he went to the military and decided he wanted to
(01:33):
study architecture. It's almost like the cherry on top of
the cake if you asked me, because you already know
how to do carpentry, but now you learn how to
draw the drawings. So I guess he wants to take
it to the next level. He wanted to be a contractor.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I mean as far it just it was everywhere in
the family, I mean, everything covered, whatever you need it done,
you had somebody who could do it. Now, my kid's
an electrician and that alone has been incredibly helpful. Yeah,
so many little projects and you know I can point
him out, Hey, could you take care of this for me?
Or look at it and what I'm what I really
(02:08):
find with him is he's a young, you know, apprentice,
he's closing in on journeyman. But what he'll do is
he's looking for things to fix now, so he'll bring
things to my attention and oh, I could do this
for you and get this switched around. And he'll always
do it, you know, he'll do it on his weekends
and stuff. So that's good. But I still have to
buy the parts.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, but he loves what he's doing, and that's that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
He loves loves demonstrating. I think one of my favorite
things of watching this whole thing, you know, evolve for
him is he loves demonstrating the knowledge that he's got.
You know, he's the expert when it comes to this,
and it's it's a weird shift for us because previously,
you know, I would lead the way on whatever, and now,
oh yeah, I got to take a back seat because
(02:50):
he knows what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It's really fun that you must be really proud. Yeah,
I remember that stage.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, so did you have you have brothers?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You have other Yeah, actually I'm the youngest of seven,
so four boys and three girls, and yeah, and That's
kind of how I got into it because my dad
trained all of the boys and he became My dad
was a union contractor, so we moved to Michigan from
New Orleans when I was like five. The boys were
(03:20):
all being trained to be carpenters and the girls all
worked in the office.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Really, yeah, you broke them all.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And yes, when I came up, I was like, well,
let's see they're getting paid fifteen dollars and they're getting
paid seven, and yeah, I can do this. I can
do this. So when I think back of it, I
always tell people I actually was pretty cheeky because he
had retired by the time I came along. You know,
(03:49):
all of my brothers were off on their own, different states,
doing their own thing. And here I come out of
high school and say I want to be a carpenter
and he's like, I'm retired, and she said anymore. Yeah. Yeah.
I told him. I said, well, you're just gonna have
to come out of retirement like you taught everybody else,
(04:09):
like you have to teach me. I can't take no
for an answer, so he put a proposition. He said,
all right, well, what I taught your brothers in four
years you're going to have to learn in two years.
So I sometimes look back and I think I should
have just went to college, but that because that was
a hard two years. He would we would come home
from work and he would throw project management books at
(04:31):
me and you need to read this, and oh my god,
I had to know like the weight of all the nails,
all the nail He took me through it. When I started,
people didn't want me on the job because what is
she doing out here? That type of you know atmosphere.
And then like two years later, I was being requested,
(04:54):
is she working? Can she come out? Ask her if
she wants to work on the weekend, And so.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I've it was great, that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And that was really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
You're in a field where there's not a lot of
women at that point, right, there's not a lot of women.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
That was now in nineteen Actually, I think in the
States it's like four percent women in construction. That's pretty low.
But when I came out there on the job, I
think my first union job that I was on without
any family member was in California and the job was
over a thousand men and there was four women on
(05:29):
the job and I was there was a carpenter apprentice
and me. So it was like two carpenters and an
electrician and a labor that were out there.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But yeah, so I know that, you know, you grew
up with it. I know that. In the intro video
that I watched, you talked about being on the job
sites three years old and stuff. Oh yeah, yeah, so
a little kid and we're starting to work at seven.
I think you said, well, your dad at seven, But no,
I'm sorry. I was swinging the hammer using tools.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Oh yeah. So I just remember always being either in
the office or on the job. When I was in
third grade, he was remodeling the church of the school
that I was going to, so after school I didn't
go home. I would go to the back of the
church and just help him hand him stuff, and the
nuns would bring me cookies or something. And so I
(06:21):
don't remember not knowing the names of tools. And sometimes
I would be on a job and I'd have a
problem and I would be thinking, now, how can I
do this, and it would just pop into my head.
And a lot of times I would think, I don't
even know how I know that, Like, I don't remember
learning that. It just came. Yeah, So when I was seven,
(06:41):
my dad joked about me trying to bend a nail
and staying outside for hours hitting the nail, trying to
not bend it, straightened it. And I was trying to
straighten the nail. Yeah. So I always never was shy
about using tools or trying to fix something or make
something or you know. My apprenticeship it was hard because,
(07:03):
like I said, he maybe do it in two years.
But there was so many memories from that, like I
just want to like women that are getting to it
or anybody that's getting into it, You're gonna have your mistakes.
I glued my fingers together. Once I have fallen through
a second floor floor Joyce. I climbed up the ladder
and I stepped on the plywood because we were putting
(07:25):
the sub floor and it wasn't nailed down, and I
just went straight through the first floor. You, oh my god,
I'll have well, he just we were both scared. Like
I landed on my feet, but it was like, oh
my god, how I get here? Yeah, And I like,
I went up the ladder and damn, just like that,
(07:46):
I was back on the first floorspoon. My dad used
to say, you always fall in a pile of and
come off smelling like roses.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
See, I always fall in that pile, and I smelled
just like what that pile smell like. That's how I've
been really lucky.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I have fallen off ladders and I've been lucky enough to
land on my feet every time.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
All right, we're gonna take a quick break and we'll
be back with more from Ginger Martin. That's just a
hat and stick around and we're back. You're listening to
the repcoll Light Home improvement show sponsored by Benjamin Moore,
and we're in the middle of a recent conversation I
had with carpenter Ginger Martin. And remember, if you like
(08:28):
what you're hearing, this is only a small portion of
the full interview. You can catch it all in video
format on the repcoal Light YouTube page. But now let's
get back to the conversation. When did you decide that
you wanted to go into the trades. I know that
you said after high school you talk to your dad,
when the thought process start to solidify in your head.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I wanted to be a figure skater.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Really, I was a figure.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Skater from the time I was I don't know, I
started skating maybe about ten or eleven or so. Yeah,
and I started competing, and that's what I wanted to do,
but it was I got disheartened because I had tried
out for the Ice Capades and they sent a letter
to a place where I didn't live anymore. And by
(09:16):
the time I got the letter, the recruitment part of
it where they were gonna send for me to go
out to California to train, it was already got accepted.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yeah, but you just never got the letter in exactly. Well,
that's a kick in the stomach.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, So that Andy. By then, I was seventeen or eighteen,
I think, and I was just so, now what am
I gonna do? So that was my plan, b I thought.
And that's like I said. I thought, Okay, time is
going to pass, and I thought, I can pass my
eight hours or ten hours a day sitting in the
office making seven bucks an hour, or I can do
(09:53):
this and make fifteen bucks an hour. You know, when
I was coming up watching my brothers at four teen
and fifteen, they were tearing people's houses apart and remodeling,
and I mean big jobs like porches and bay windows.
And they always had money, like they always had money
and so that was and I always had to ask
(10:15):
them for money. Hey, give me some money. And so
when I got graduated high school, I thought, yeah, I
want I want to make the most that I can.
And entering the world to me was still, I guess,
a little scary, and I knew I didn't want to
go to college.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
So I just thought, you know, why didn't you want
to go to college.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I just had a bad school experience the whole time.
So I just never really liked school, and I didn't
you know, I think people will say, you know, well,
college is going to be different. I didn't trust that
it would be, and so I just thought, I'm not
doing this anymore.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
So I know, I went, and I guess it helped me.
I mean, I'm sure it helped me. It didn't hurt me. Yeah,
it cost me some money, but other than that, I
learned some stuff. Am I using it? I don't know.
I guess I'm using parts of what I've learned. So
I don't think it was a bad thing. It's just
I'm very interested. Because I've got five kids and now
(11:09):
we've got three in college. I guess I've navigated this scenario.
But it was a big deal because it's expensive. It is,
you know, how is this going to work? My kid,
the electrician, I don't know that. I'd say he had
a bad experience in school, But what I would say
is that school wasn't his thing. Yeah, you know, he
did high school just fine, but I was wondering how
(11:32):
college was going to go. He wasn't a good organizer
in a sense for the school work and just getting
his schedule timed and doing his homework on time. And
I thought, oh, I don't want to go back to
college just to help him through college. Oh you know,
how's that going to go? And it just wasn't his thing.
And then he decided on this path, and oh my goodness,
(11:53):
it's opened the eyes up of my other kids. You know.
I've got one who's a teacher and she's thoroughly thrilled too.
In college. Now both are thinking they're going to get
their degree in whatever, but they're going to pursue a trade.
Oh that's what they're going to do. But Caleb, my kid,
just sitting on this lot of money.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah, I mean, it's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
And he doesn't have the dat he's this guy.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Exactly, you know, And you know, and Another thing is
that by the time I was eighteen, I think three
of my brothers were married and had families, and they
weren't taking care of their families. So it was like, yeah,
I could go to college, but I can also like
(12:36):
kind of get paid while I'm learning to be a carpenter.
And honestly, I make more money than a lot of
my peers that I know that have gone to college.
And I think a trade is if anybody, women are
a man or women at wants to go to a
through a trade, I think it's a really great thing
(12:57):
because not only are you getting pay to learn, but
especially if you join the union, you get benefits, you
get everything that you would get into like a more
corporate setting.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
But the money is awesome and you've got the you
don't have the debt and you don't yeah you've a
mast from college. It's yeah, it's really cool. So I'm
wondering how many people are listening right now who are thinking, Okay,
you know you did it, Ginger, you did it, but
you grew up in it. You know, this is something
(13:28):
maybe that just automatically comes natural to you. I'm not
mechanically inclined. I'm not good with my hands. What do
you think, I mean, you've got this academy. You've got
to believe. I would think that everybody can learn to
some extent.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Oh yeah, you start. Everybody starts somewheres. And like I said,
even me growing up with it. When I actually went
into it and started, I grew my fingers together.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
I would what'd you gloom together with? What? Particularly putting
down the floor?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
You know, back in the day, the floor tiles, they
didn't come with glue, so you have to put the
glue down with a trial and spread the glue and
then you'd put your floor tiles in and then as
you rolled it are the glue would come up between
the cracks and you wipe that out. And so that's
what I was doing, and I was trying to impress.
(14:18):
I guess I wanted to do the room by myself.
I didn't want my dad's help, so he went outside
and he was doing something else, and you know, I
was cutting the corners and I was really proud. It
was coming out really good, and trying to go fast.
When I would get glue on my fingers, I would
rub them together and try and you know, get the
little but my fingers were getting dirty, and the glue
(14:40):
was building up, and like I said, I was trying
to go fast. So they started kind of getting sticky.
And then so I rubbed the dirt and to try
to get the glue to come off, and I don't know.
The next thing, it was contact cement.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Oh so they're just stuck together.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah. So the next thing I know, now the dirt,
the glue is seeping through the dirt, and then my
you know, I can't move my fingers anymore. I went
outside and my dad was actually working underneath the house.
I went outside and I told him he had to
come out, and he was upset, you know, like he
was like I said, already retired. So now that I'm
(15:17):
under the house, now you want me to come out.
So he came out the house and I'm from under
the house, and I just I held my hands up
and he started laughing at me so hard. He was crying,
and I started crying because he was laughing at me.
And oh my god, yeah, we had to get paint,
dinner and everything. Just like just keep soaking my hands
(15:38):
and the whole time he was just laughing at me.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
And oh that's so funny. I did my in laws.
I work with paint I work with coatings and stuff
like that. We sell deck products, and so they had
a deck that needed doing, and you know, it was
early on in the whole marriage. And I'll come over.
I'll help you out because I'm the expert, you know.
And I was going to be impressive too. And I
(16:01):
stained myself into a corner without realizing it. And I
got done and I turned around and my father in
law was down on the ground with his coffee looking
at me. He said, how are you going to get down?
He says, I've been watching you for an hour paint
yourself into that corner. I had to jump over the age.
They had to get a ladder. They debated if they
were going to So, yeah, you know, you don't grow
(16:24):
up knowing how to do this stuff. Even if you
grow up in it right, still make mistakes. You still
have to learn. Everybody's going to learn. But you really
believe that everybody's got a shot. I do believe that, and.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
I do believe that there's more and more people who
are interested in learning how to do it themselves, you know.
But as far as learning the basics is safety first
with your tools and getting comfortable even here in the
sound of the saul, Like I think a lot of
people get intimidated even when they just hear the sound
(16:54):
of a saw, and just you know, working past all
of that and getting people comfortable using their tools. So
that's just kind of what I what I'm trying to do.
And I also think as we go into the times
that we're in and if it gets any worse, people
should be familiar with how their homes are put together.
Your son as an electrician, he's learning more than just
(17:17):
electric electrical work. He's learning, he's learning framing. He's learning
because he's just around it and he's seeing it. But
it's important to learn how your home is put together
because if times get really hard and you can't afford
that contractor you know, things break and it's it's good
to know how to fix it and have that confidence
(17:39):
of of oh my goodness, even if it's just a
temporary fix until you call a contractor. It's good to
know how to you know, use your tools and apply
and things to your homes.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Just being comfortable with it, just picking up some things,
you know. I think that's a huge value in what
you're doing, too, is even if you know, the people
checking you out and the people listening to this show
and learning stuff, and people going anywhere to learn stuff
doesn't necessarily mean that they need to jump into the
trade both feet. If they can still handle a couple
(18:13):
of main projects at their home, a couple of little
things that they've got to work on or things that
go wrong, they understand that a little better. I mean, yeah, goodness.
I don't want to go into appliance repair, but I
have learned because you know, my dryer quit working exactly,
my bank account was empty. I didn't have any you know,
I know it's expensive. I'm starting to look online. I
(18:33):
figured out enough to figure that thing out now with
a thirteen dollars part. I don't want to go into
the field, but I can address some issues. And once
you learn one thing my experience, I'm sure that's yours,
you feel confident.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
To try something else exactly.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
All right, let's take a quick break and then we'll
be back with the conclusion of my interview with Ginger Martin.
That's next. Stick around and we're back. You're listening to
the REPC Collite home improvement show was sponsored by Benjamin
Moore and I've got the final part of my interview
with the crafty carpenter Ginger Martin. And remember you can
(19:11):
catch the full thing on Rep Collites YouTube channel, and
if you do that, you can put a face to
the voice and that's always kind of nice. So be
sure to check out that video on Repcollites YouTube page.
But right now, let's get to the conclusion of my
conversation with Ginger Martin.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Someone was throwing a washing machine away and I asked
him if I could have it, and they gave it
to me. He said, well, you know it's broken, and
would you want this, Yeah, if you want to take it.
I took that washing machine apart. And what had happened
was her son's She had a toddler. His shoe had
gone got stuck into the rints pipe so it wouldn't rinse.
(19:50):
I pulled the shoe out and I had that washing
machine for years and years.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Wow, it's just brilliant, you know, And you can do
these things and you just you learn a little bit.
I fixed air conditioner and that's a big deal. In
the summer, when you know, we came home from something
and it was eighty some degrees. It was during a
crazy hot heat wave by us, and you know, eighty
some degrees in the house, which is not pleasant. And
(20:15):
I'm a gentle soul, so I need.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
My air conditioning.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
And oh, man, look at the bank account again. Oh
we're going to have to figure out how to fix
the air conditioner. So I'm looking around what are the
most common things, And I find there's one thing, really,
really common. It's a capacitor. Most of the time, it
could be this. You know, if it's doing these things,
because you can even tell the Internet what it sounds
like what it's doing. It starts up, this happens, it's
probably this. And I look into it. They gave me
(20:41):
some troubleshooting things. It looks like that part isn't working.
It's a thirteen dollars part again or a twenty dollars party. Yeah,
and there's some safety things you got to do to
make sure you do it right. But I fixed the
air conditioner limp through another year or two before we
had to put a new one in. I mean, it's great, crazy,
and yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
You do get this confidence of HM if I fixed that,
Like I've fixed plumbing pipes. I've walked people through on
the phone where their main waterline had broken, and what
to do until you know the city got there. Uh,
you know, shut down the water at the main at
the goal outside there should be a little you know
(21:18):
cap in front of your door, so you need to
shut that water off and just yeah, the confidence you
have and you know, I have an air conditioner story too.
I was pregnant and this was in Texas and it
was so hot and the air conditioner it was a
window unit and it had broken, and I couldn't sleep
(21:39):
like that, Like I can't sleep like.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
That, So I can't.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, so i get up in the middle of the
night and I'm like this, I can't do this. I
gotta take this thing apart and see what's going on here.
So I turned the air conditioner on and it started going,
and it started shooting pieces of a steak out of
the because I had taken the front part off. So
the blower part, yeah, it's a snake had crawled up
(22:10):
in there. And so the fan no, so the fan, yeah,
it got cut up and spit out at me. And
so now I'm screaming like I'm brave, but I don't.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Yeah, You're not going to sleep the rest of that
night if I don't know if I.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Want to use the air conditioner now you know, not
that those snakes can crawl up there. But yeah, that
was horrible. But once again.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Had the guts to jump in and open the thing up, right, Yeah,
and it did.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
It worked again. It worked as long as we lived there.
So so be brave. I'm fixed uh VCRs the back
in the day. But once you get that confidence, you're
you're willing to at least try.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Well, it's what you're talking about. Those that those aren't
carpentry things. Those aren't carpentry skills that you're talking about.
And you trained carpenter, right, You're not a trained to
any of these. But it's exactly what we said, once
you learn a few things. I was just a complete
dope in high school when it came to cars, you know,
I just I had friends who loved cars. They would
(23:13):
puts with their car. That wasn't my thing at all.
And I just assumed that I was just an idiot
when it came to cars. It was not my thing.
I'm not mechanically inclined, but man, the lack of money
will propel and will cause you to do a lot
of things and to dig in is you know, I
could either, you know, do nefarious things to try to
(23:34):
get money, or I could try to fix the things
that are broken. And I learned to oh swap, you know,
change breaks and the fun of it. It really becomes
quite fun once you get over that initial fright of
I'm jumping into something really over my head. But I
had done a few little things around the house, and
I thought those have worked. Why can't I do that?
Speaker 2 (23:55):
It's already broken?
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Like the worst I can do with the breaks, I
guess it could be severe, but.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
I've done mechanic work too.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah. I guess the thing I look at is every
time something goes wrong, you know, the kids will call
because now I've got five kids. Multiple people have cars,
so everything breaks more readily now because there's just more
of them. And that's always the first thought, is this
something I can hack and because something I can tackle?
And I'll look it up and sometimes it is. Sometimes
it's something, Oh, we can do this, we can do
(24:24):
this really easily. Yeah, and sometimes it's not. I know
better than to jump into that. So how long ago
did you start this academy?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
I just started the academy, I think back in August,
but I didn't know how to start it. I've been
actually working on this for about almost well a year now,
and I was teaching at a high school and I've
had so many you know, people and women come to
me and say, ah, man, I wish I could. One
(24:53):
lady said, if I could do what you could do,
my house will look different every year. She said, I
would just change things. And so I thought, you know,
but you can do it. So and I did want
to teach it, and I wanted to online, and so
I've started putting it together. And at first it was
just a YouTube channel, and you know, I had to
go through all of my technical training because like I
(25:16):
tell people, I'm a carpenter. All of this how to
work this and work that is just that's a learning process.
So that's where I'm at now. But I just want
to help people, like I said, not just for economic
causes or whatever reason, yes, but also the joy of
(25:37):
making stuff. I've made chopping boards and Christmas trees, and
once again, I just feel like if people, or more
women get in touch with their tools and get involved
and learn how to use them, just the possibilities are
so endless of what you'll be able to do and
the confidence that it brings is also priceless. You know,
(25:58):
once you learn how to use tools and understand basic principles,
like you know, plum level and square, plum level and square.
It needs to be plumb level and everything is based
on it being square. So those basic concepts I thought once,
if people could learn that, and if people could learn
(26:18):
how to use their tools, your imagination can run wild.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yeah, So what's your vision for the crafty carpenter and
your academy moving forward? What do you think in the
next couple of years, what do you see.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
I'm hoping to see a lot of women. I want
us to be able to, like I said, just share
with each other, use our tools, get online and say
a place where you can get online and say, hey,
I want to change the handles on my cabinet door,
or I think I want to like send give my
kitchen a new look. What's your ideas and be able
(26:54):
to bounce ideas off each other or even say you know, hey,
I pulled this the cabinets off the wall, and this
is what I found back there, and now how do
I address this situation? So I just I wanted to
be a place where women can grow and learn and
express and share projects because it's also a lot of
(27:16):
fun that when you build something to be able to say,
look at this, this is so cool because it's what
I did, you know, it's it's you know, how do
I get all this glue off my fingers?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Just a place where.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, but a place where we can all come together
and share our projects and learn from each other. Or
I had one lady she wanted just to simply hang
some blinds by her windows, and she was scared, and
so I did a video for her and on this
is how your windows are framed. Windows and doors are
(27:51):
framed like this. You got a good three inches on
either side and a whole head or above. So this
is the area. And then if you want to go
past that area, this is the kind of bolts you're
going to use, because you can you know, if you're
not going into a stud you still can hang your stuff.
You just can't hang it with a normal screw. So
(28:13):
just you know, stuff like that, Like it's.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
How did it end for her? She pulled you never.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Told me I see I know, yeah, and showed me
that I would love to see. And that's what I'm saying.
To share your work, I would have. Maybe she hasn't
done it yet, I don't know, but she never came back.
But then so, but that's out there, you know, like
understand if you understand the frame framing around your windows
(28:39):
and doors, now you know you know everything once you know.
Now you know if you want to hang a door
and you have to understand the framing, the framework, you
know where you're kneeling is.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, we talked about that earlier. I know, I did
a segment on our radio show. I don't know how
long ago, earlier this summer, maybe earlier this spring. But
it was the anatomy of framing you know, of a house, okay,
and you know, it's just brilliant and riveting to listen
to on the radio. I'm sure I did my best
to make it as entertaining as possible. But it's so
interesting to me because all of what you just said,
(29:15):
you have a better understanding for what's going on behind
the walls. You feel more confident doing other things because
you know, at least to some extent, what's going on.
And the other thing that really hit me, I don't
remember if I even said it out loud in the show,
but some of the terminology with you know, all the
framing materials I'm not comfortable with. I don't. I just
(29:38):
didn't know it, you know, and you feel like a
complete idiot using the wrong word or saying something. So
what I would do is I would avoid any conversations
in the paint store. I would avoid conversations other places
where I had to call those terms and you know,
bring those terms up, and it limited, you know, some
of the things I would even ask in the stores,
(29:59):
and just learning a little bit of the vocab, Yeah,
this is what that's called. I can have that conversation.
I don't have to worry about being stupid about it. Yeah,
you know, I understand it, and now people can help
me and I can move ahead. For me, I hate
feeling stupid, so I would avoid those things. Just the
language alone helped me a lot. So your academy is
that largely it seems like it's exclusively a woman's thing,
(30:21):
right you want? It is true, I do.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Have Actually I think there is a man or two
in there, but so I haven't excluded men. But I
was trying to make it a present place for women because,
like I said, my experience on jobs and then like
you said, terminology and I just feel like there's a
lot of a sense of intimidation that women can feel
(30:43):
trying to learn carpentry or a trade. And so I
just wanted to make a place where you don't have
to feel intimidated. And and I encourage people to ask
why why?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Why?
Speaker 2 (30:56):
You know, why am I You know, why am I
nailing it here? Instead of I wanted it there? You know?
Why is going to take you from not understanding to
being an expert? You know, you got to just keep
asking the wise.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
So this academy that you've got going, is there a
charge for that? How does that part work?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
No, the academy is actually free to join. I charge
for liaison work for like people men or women who
are getting a project done, and then I'm that liaison
between them and the contractor because, like you said, the
terminology permits that they have to pull all of these
things that have to be done. And I just kind
(31:36):
of keep the contractor should have it's called critical path
where he has laid out in a timely fashion everything
should be clear and understood. And I still think that's
kind of intimidating for a lot of people to talk
to a contractor. But you don't have to feel intimidated
asking me or talking to me, and I can talk
to that person. And then I also charge for larger
(31:59):
projects that if people want me to actually walk them
personally through putting up a petition wall, or you know,
they want to put a deck outside, or you know,
a project that they want to do hands on but
they still feel kind of unsure about it, then I
charge consultation for that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Now do you do that local? Do you do that online?
So you'll help anybody anywhere, anybody anywhere, Yes, because I
got listeners in Detroit, I've got listeners on the west
side of the state, and who knows where else anybody
else is finding this.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Yeah, it's cool.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Let's give them some information. If they want to reach
out to you, how do they find you?
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Finding me is really easy. It's always the Crafty Carpenter,
So YouTube channel the Crafty Carpenter, and then the school
which is a platform that's spelled skol. It's school community,
and then you just type in their search bar the
crafty Carpenter. I should come up, but it's called the
(32:55):
Crafty Carpenter diy Academy.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Well, good luck with everything. I'd certainly like to you know,
touch base with you from time to time. Maybe we
could pick a couple of topics sometime down the road
and just let you run through some of the stuff
that you would normally read it.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Awesome. Yeah, I'm so glad you had me here. I
really enjoyed this.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Yeah, it's a lot of fun talking to you. So
all right, take care of you all right again, Remember
you can catch that full interview, you know, much more
stuff if you go to repco Lightess YouTube page. Check
that out. Also check the show notes and the YouTube
description for all the links and everything you need if
you do want to check out Ginger's academy. All right,
(33:33):
let's take a quick break and when we come back,
I've got three or four reasons why I think the
trades might be the perfect job for you, your kid or
your grandkid. I'll have that in just a minute. Stick around,
we're back. You're listening to the Repcollite Home Improvement Show
sponsored by Benjamin Moore, and I hope you enjoyed that
(33:55):
interview with Ginger Martin the Crafty Carpenter. Don't forget to
check out our page, and then while you're at it,
make sure you visit Rep Collites YouTube channel for the
full interview. You can watch it all in glorious video.
You know, every moment, every brilliant question that I ask.
You can watch it in near four K definitions. So
(34:17):
definitely head to Repollate YouTube channel, check out that full interview,
and then while you're there, hit subscribe ring that little bell.
I mean, you want the full experience, and if you
do that, you'll get notified whenever we post new content
and your life will be better for it. So definitely
do all those things. All right, In the last little
bit that we've got, let's talk about trades. Let's just
(34:37):
beat this like a dead horse. You know, we spent
three quarters of the show talking about them. Let's finish
out talking about trades. And like I said in that interview,
I grew up in a time when college was really
considered the only path. You know, if you didn't go
to college, people assumed you were kind of dumb. You know,
you just weren't cut out. That's what I took away. Anyway,
Maybe maybe that's not what they were saying that that's
(35:00):
what little Dan took away. If I don't do a
big career, if I just go into work somewhere I'm
kind of dumb, and that mindset has consequences, and as
a result, we've ended up with a shortage of skilled
trade workers out there, and looking back, I kind of
do get frustrated thinking about how the trades were just
off handedly dismissed, you know, when they really can be
(35:22):
a perfect fit for a lot of people. You know,
they're not for everybody, of course, they're not for everybody,
but for the right person, they're rewarding, and they're a
valuable path that, you know, and we all need them.
That's the thing. We all need these skilled workers, and
right now, because we don't have them, there's a little
bit of pain out there. So if you've got a
kid or a grandkid considering their future, don't overlook the trades,
(35:45):
you know, don't breeze past them. Be that advocate, you know,
be that voice who at least brings them up and
stresses the fact that there's beauty and working with your hands,
you know, and creating things on a daily basis, in
developing and fine tuning a craft, you know, and taking
pride in your work. All of that can be found
in the trades. Encourage those kids, and you know, who
knows where things go. So with that in mind. To
(36:07):
help you do that, here are a few reasons why
the trades might be the perfect choice. First off, one
reason they're great is limited debt. You know, college is expensive.
We talked about that in the interview, and I know
it's necessary for some careers, you know, completely necessary. I
don't want a dentist or surgeon working on me who
learned it all back on the farm, right, I don't
(36:27):
want that. Maybe in a pinch, you know, maybe in
a life and death dental emergency maybe, But for the
most part, I want a dentist with a degree, right,
and clean hands, but even more so a degree. So yeah,
some jobs need college, but that education it definitely comes
with a lot of debt. And pursuing a trade right
after high school means you start earning money right away,
(36:50):
usually without the burden of massive loans or anything like that.
You know, my electrician kid said it earlier, But he's
socking money away right now except what he drops on
door dash, But he's socking money away. He's saving for
a house, saving so he can start a family. It's
a really, really great choice. Second, with the trades, you
gain practical lifelong skills you know, that was in the
(37:10):
interview as well. But my electrician kid, he doesn't just
work his trade. He's picked up abilities that are going
to save him money and serve him forever in his
home and in his father's home, which is really important
to me. Me is who I'm talking about there. I'm
not being religious, you know, take that in a religious way.
I'm sure he can use this for God's kingdom, But
(37:32):
mostly I was thinking about my house. I've got some needs,
electrical needs, and I'm hoping he'll help another of my kids.
He spent last summer working with a painting contractor and
he went from zero painting experience to confidently moving around
thirty foot extension ladders and painting houses. You know, these
skills stick with you and they make life easier. Third,
(37:52):
in the trades, you're surrounded by people who tackle challenges
head on all the time. You know, my electrician kid
works with trades people who fix houses, renovate properties, and
take on huge projects without hesitation. And that kind of
confidence is contagious. It prepares you to handle anything and
to jump willingly into anything. Last thing, jobs are plentiful
(38:13):
and they pay well, you know, I know, college grads
who are struggling to find work right now. And while
that's the case, trade workers they're in demand. You know,
if one job doesn't work out, there are five others
waiting for your skills and the pay pay is really good,
you know, no waiting years to get established. So if
your kids or your grandkids are you enjoy working with
your hands, you want a rewarding career, you know, consider
(38:34):
the trades. Talk to local contractors, painting contractors, plumbers, electricians
to learn more. You know, it's challenging work, but incredibly
fulfilling and that's going to do it. If you happen
to be looking for a painting contractor for some work
this winter, be sure to head to repcollite dot com
and click the find the Painter tab on the homepage.
Fill out a brief form, and then will help you
(38:54):
connect with a painting contractor in your area who specializes
in whatever work you need done. Now. Remember you can
catch the full interview with Ginger on reprolites YouTube page.
Check that out. Be sure to subscribe. Ring that little
bell and like the video. You know three things for
you to do there. Do all of those. Appreciate it.
I really appreciate it all right. Whatever you do today,
make sure paints a part of it. Have a great weekend, everybody,
(39:16):
and I'll see you next week. I'm Dan Hansen. Thanks
for listening.
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