What is your trade and how long have you been working in the industry?

Wallpaper Installation/Paperhanging

My business is 7 years old

Tell us about previous careers if you have them and why you changed to your trade.

I’ve done a bunch of different things – print production, event management and my last career before changing to my trade was Vet Nursing, which I loved but it felt like there was nowhere to go with it and the money wasn’t great. I wanted to work for myself and work with my hands, whilst getting ahead financially

Tell us about how you got your job/apprenticeship.

There’s no real apprenticeship for Paperhanging. Painting & Decorating apprenticeship does cover some wallpapering but from my understanding it’s not a lot. My only way in was to work for a paperhanger. After going around some of the shops that supply wallpaper and talking to them, I got a few numbers to call. I called Mark and convinced him to take me on, he was reluctant at first but we soon became a good team and worked together for a while. I was honest with him about wanting to work for myself and he was happy to pass on his skills. I worked for him for several months, whilst slowly starting to get my own jobs

**How have you progressed in your career? **

Starting out as a business owner and installer everything was learned job to job, I kept thinking if I can pull this hard job off then I’m winning and just kept progressing from there. Lots of highs and lows and always still learning

What do you get up to day to day at work?

Every day is a different install. Unless we are working on a commercial job then we can be on the same site for a while. While the process is generally the same, each paper and space is different. There’s a lot of planning and prep that goes into a good install.

Who inspired you to choose this career?

There wasn’t really anyone initially that inspired me but I was intrigued about this relatively unknown trade that was having a resurgence but there didn’t seem to be many installers

Taking the risk and starting something completely new was scary but I would say it was the support of my family and friends that helped. Especially my parents who were really encouraging even though it seemed like a crazy decision at the time

What challenges did you have to overcome to get to where you are?

Learning everything from scratch, putting myself out there, imposter syndrome, entering a male dominated world, learning to run a business, trying to juggle everything

What do you love most about your trade?

I love how it can quickly transform a space and how stoked my clients are.

I love the precision and attention to detail

I love the contact with all the different people – clients, designers, architects, builders, other trades and the suppliers.

I love being able to run my own schedule and the freedom that gives me to live a more balanced life, or work my ass off when needed

My most proud career achievement is:

Probably installing a gold leaf hand painted De Gourney mural on a circular column for a jewellery store, that was tricky

My future career goals are:

Keep getting better at my craft and trying to keep that life work balance in check

Some things I wish I had known when I started:

I just wish that when I was 16 and confused about what to do when leaving school that I knew starting a trade was an option, it was never an option back then. That has changed a lot now, and I’m excited to see how more woman entering the trades changes the industry

**Has your career choice impacted your life outside work? **

New hobbies, confidence, or opportunities, or maybe less time to yourself, needing to juggle home life/sports to fit with shifts for some examples.

I think its been good for my sport/activities because I can juggle it round to suit me. When the surfs good at home I’ll start work later or finish early. Sometimes it doesn’t work out because of deadlines etc but I know I’m happier and more efficient if I’ve had time to go do the things I love

The only thing is that I always struggle to keep on top of all the admin that comes with running a business. Emails, quote, invoices. Constant changing around the schedule to make everything work. I come home from work some nights and spent hours doing admin but you get used to it, always chasing your tail

**What advice would you give someone looking to get into your line of work? **

Hustle…hustle…talk to everyone in the industry, find someone you want to work for and approach them. Nothing ever comes to you, you have to work hard for it

Anything we haven’t asked that you think potential tradies would like to hear?

Working in the trades would suit someone that likes to be on their feet all day, work with their hands, get stuck it. I love having a job that’s tangible…you see what you have done each day and it feels good. There are challenges you are faced being a woman on sites but most people are cool and the culture is changing – it’s becoming more diverse and inclusive. It can be a little intimidating when you start out but once your confident in what you do, you won’t care about that.

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