I had an absolute blast attending a women’s night at our local Home Hardware Building Centre. The owner, Jane Van Noy, and her staff provided us with all the supplies needed to build our own wooden bench. We even got to try our hand at operating some of the power tools with the very capable and helpful, Monique Berry, overseeing that part of the process. I’m happy to report that everyone completed their project with all fingers still intact.
The majority of the ladies stained their benches, but I opted out of that particular step because I couldn’t decide how I wanted to finish mine. I am a little disappointed with myself that I didn’t get any pictures of the other’s stained benches, but in my defense, I was kept busy with a hammer in hand. Although, we were given instructions for building a set of nesting benches we only constructed one of them that night, so we have the remaining ones to complete on our own. The good thing is I now know what mistakes to avoid when working solo. I hopefully won’t need to use wood filler to cover up the stray nail holes I ended up with on my first project.
The night, however, was about more than building a bench it was also about building connections within the community. There was time set aside for snacking on food and visiting with our co-participants and Jane’s knowledgeable staff. Local Astrologer, Annick Rousseau was also on hand giving some of the women short astrology readings which proved to be very popular. Food, fun, prizes and even a goody bag to take home, what could be better.
We all left with a large tote bag filled with samples, a t-shirt, gift certificates from other local business owners and we each took home a prize along with the finished or in my case, not fully finished project. The night was an overwhelming success; we connected with a local business owner and her staff on a more personal level, we met new people with similar interests, and some of us came home with a desire to continue to create. I certainly, see myself adding a new hobby to the mix.
The satisfaction of looking at something I built myself is the best, but building connections even better! Thank you, Jane, for hosting such a great event.