BY
BILL BRADLEY
The days of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor are long gone, especially
now that Tomboy Tools has come to town.
"Women, including myself, are already into or want to learn
more about how basic tools, including power tools, can assist
them in making the repairs they need for their homes," said
Colleen Dinan, owner of the Tomboy Tools franchise in Sudbury.
"What I offer are the tools, specially designed for women,
the knowledge of how to use them and the feeling of empowerment
that results," she said.
 Dinan, a former full-time insurance representative, may
be on to a growing trend.
"I have some interesting statistics recently gathered by
Sears Canada. Eighty five percent of women surveyed have been,
or expect to be, solely responsible for a home at some point in
their lives. Fifty three percent of married women say they are
responsible for basic household maintenance and repair, either
on their own or in conjunction with their spouse. Eighty three
percent of women say working with tools makes them feel
independent," said Dinan.
Dinan found out about Tomboy Tools, an American company,
while talking to her hairdresser last year about why tools were
not more woman-friendly. Her hairdresser had seen an ad about
Tomboy tools in a woman's magazine and Dinan followed up on it.
"I read the ad, was impressed, and phoned them immediately,
inquiring about a franchise. I haven't looked back thanks to
the support of women here in Greater Sudbury," she said.
Based on the popular Tupperware concept, Tomboy Tools
representatives hold gatherings for women in their homes where
they show off and demonstrate their wares.
"The relaxed and fun atmosphere of a Tool Party allows women to practice with and ask questions without any intimidation. Women can test drive Tomboy's ergonomically correct, lightweight female-friendly tools, such as power drills and mini compressors great for inflating tires or working with upholstery."
Dinan sells a tool box stocked with an assortment of tools
women could use to tackle many common jobs around the house.
"It's a big yellow box filled with 18 items-tools sized for a woman's hands and strengths and very washable latex grip gloves and an apron. There are pliers with shorter handles made for a woman's hands, a multi-bit ratchet screwdriver, pry bar for loosening baseboards, a 16 ounce magnetic head hammer, mini hacksaw and quick change utility knife 25 foot tape measure that has fractions and metric on the tape itself for easy figuring, among other things."
One very popular item is the hammer. It is pink.
"I've sold 150 of these hammers in 13- or 16-ounce sizes in
the last two weeks. Not only are they designed for a woman's
hand but they are a fund raiser for breast cancer research in
Canada-30 percent of the sale goes to that," said Dinan.
For more information, phone 855-6336 or visit www.tomboytools.ca .
