In the press

Time Out - March 28 - April 3 2007

Women's work

Ladies: fed up by being called 'darling' by unreliable removal men? Gents: too embarrassed to admit to another man that you can't fix a leaky tap? Who are you going to call? Katie Dailey reports on London's growing army of female tradespeople.

Kerrie Keeling, interior decorator

Kerry Keeling made the move from investment banking to project management and interior decorating and design four years ago. 'When I was in my old job, I looked at the women senior to me and realised I didn't want to be like them: masculine, childless, acting like men. I thought: Surely you can succeed by being yourself?

So Keeling handed in her notice and set herself up as a handywoman, mainly doing painting and decorating for old colleagues. Like Jo Behari, she had been frustrated by the level of service she had found in her own home. 'When I was having work done on my flat I would come home late from a day at work and have to clean up after the builders. 'When she realised she could do better herself, she didn't need any encouragement: 'I felt pushed because I didn't like what I was doing at work, and pulled because there was such a gap in the market.'

A Woman's Touch prides itself on taking care of small details which a client would notice and appreciate: 'Putting the loo seat down; turning up when you say you will; basic things which, in any other industry, would be a given.' They even bring their own teabags.

This attention to detail has paid off. Where, originally, Keeling worked alone, 'just decorating, driving around in my second-hand car with borrowed tools', she is now the owner of a thriving business with 20 employees and a fleet of vans. She can provide trained electricians, plumbers and decorators whi will take on anything from painting a door to laying foundations. She only employs three men, one of whom is her dad. 'We don't set out to employ only women but the name of the company means we get approached by a lot more women than men. 'Women aren't just attracted the idea of working in a female-centric environment; they often have no choice. 'I have a huge number of women coming to me because so few big construction companies will take women on. It's starting to change slowly, but the reality is that there still aren't may opportunities.'

S how to Kerry's male workers find working for A Woman's Touch? For Tony, a tiler with 25 years' experience, it has been a revelation. 'After two months of working with me, his wife rang up and said, "Tony is a different man - he keeps washing up and Hoovering." He's a man's man, but loves being surrounded by all these women. He gets teased huge amounts when he goes into decorators' merchants but I think it gives him an insight to what happens to women most of the time.'

Many of her customers are men, too. 'We get a lot of professional men who are too embarrassed to ring a bloke to say, "I think my washing machine's broken."

The company now has a apprenticeship scheme and runs DIY workshops - a bit like Ann Summers parties but with power tools. Eventually Keeling would like to extend that to a national network of training schemes. 'Manual work is still looked down on but it's highly skilled and well-paid. It needs to be regarded as a proper career option.'

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