Hello everyone! My name is Rhea and I’m originally from Nova Scotia. I work in the film industry as an Assistant Editor – so it’s long hours sitting or standing at a desk, staring at the computer screen, putting together shows. I enjoy my job a lot since there’s a lot of creativity, but I often crave something more practical, a physical way to express myself.
So when I found myself in-between contracts for a couple months, I started looking for courses on woodworking that I could do to fill my time. My interest in woodworking came from my Dad, who is a woodworking genius. He built our family home and a million other things over the course of his lifetime! I’ve always looked up to him for that and wanted to see what I could do if I put my mind to it. I didn’t find any open woodworking courses, but I did find the Tools for Women Residency, so I thought I might as well apply for that! A few months later I got in, and I’ve had a wonderful journey with my fellow women makers!
For our courses, we did Wood Shop, CNC Router, Laser Cutter and Metal Shop. Each one was really interesting and it was so nice to learn all the options available to us for making things.
I wish I had had more time to utilize my membership, but the film industry hours just didn’t allow it. I did manage to go in a few times though and my favourite thing I made were tiny earrings with the Laser Cutter.
It was really fun designing them in InkScape, and then bringing the file into MakerLabs and loading it into the Laser Cutter. After a few issues with VCarve, and a few adjustments, I pressed Start and off it went!
Here is the video of the laser cutting the earrings out:
I was so happy with the cute little shapes the laser cutter helped me create 😀
Then to finish them off, I went to Michael’s and got the earring stands and backs, and some glue and paint. I painted some parts of each earring and then glued the backs on, and voila!
Overall I found this residency very fun and interesting, and it has definitely sparked my interest in making more things. I also feel comfortable and confident going into MakerLabs now to do my next project! I can’t wait till I have some time to do something big!
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