Aspiring woodworker Georgia (Gee) Goddard is living her dream.
Ms Goddard knew woodwork was something she wanted to do from a young age and has been building on her passion for the craft in recent months, alongside Maungawera woodworker Fin Gilmour.
‘‘Ever since I was a child, fixing and building things was something that lit me up.
‘‘Woodworking was my favourite class at high school and I knew it was a path I might one day want to follow.’’
Not one to follow traditional paths, she googled ‘‘woodworking Albert Town’’, instead of pursuing a commercial apprenticeship, which led her to Mr Gilmour.
Chatting over a cuppa, they discovered they shared the same ethos, particularly around turning trash into treasure.
Last year, Mr Gilmour agreed to mentor Ms Goddard, and she has been learning the craft from him ever since — from structural building, starting a project from scratch, and restoration.
‘‘I’ve learned so much about all the different tools to use, different types of woods to work with and terminology related to the craft.’’
There is a lot she loves about woodwork.
‘‘It is such a grounding thing to do. It is slow, thoughtful and creative.’’
She is passionate about saving items as well as creating them from scratch, preferably out of rescued materials.
Throwing items away is a waste of time, energy and resources, she said.
That is why she will be joining Mr Gilmour and many other volunteers at the Repair Revolution at the Wanaka Community Workshop on Saturday.
Ms Goddard, whose forte on the day will be furniture and toys, was one of the first to sign up to the event and is looking forward to connecting with the community and its many repairers.
‘‘I’m so excited to help people bring their broken things back to life and to pass on some of the knowledge and skills I’ve gained through Fin.’’
Ultimately, she wants to be part of the repair ‘‘butterfly effect’’, with people telling their friends and family to help keep the revolution going.
‘‘I’m super motivated to support repair events to see less things end up in the dump and see treasures being given a new life,’’ she said.
To find out more, visit www.wastebusters.co.nz and click on the ‘‘repair’’ tab.
