Meet the sisters: Leonie von Hartmann
Leonie von Hartmann is a passionate urban woodworker who is fulfilling her lifelong dream and building a camper van. She enjoys every second of doing it. She is also an active Berlin Wood Sisters community member who does never hesitate when a sister needs help or advice. You can follow her journey here.
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Hi, I’m Leonie, 31 years old and I came to Berlin after school, to study here (a wild mix: Philosophy, cultural science, a bit of politics). I left for about 6 years, studied abroad, traveled to Africa, Asia, and Australia, and came back to Berlin in 2019 to be closer to my family again. At the moment I’m doing several things at once (as usual): Fitting out my first, very own van, (Foxy, an old VW T4 lady, she’s my best friend!), writing and translating as well as performing as a fire artist and doing lots of movement and circus stuff in my free time.
What is your first memory regarding tools and woodworking? When did you start exploring building stuff yourself?
My very first memory is my father allowing me to help him cut some wood with a big manual saw for a treehouse he built for my siblings. Unfortunately, I didn’t grow up with him so I didn’t get to learn much from him when I was younger. I always liked crafting though and crafted a lot with my Mum. When I moved into my first apartment by the age of 19 I discovered that IKEA furniture and tools are actually quite easy and fun to handle so my then-roommate and I decided to build a little table out of old scrap wood. It was wonky and ugly but I was so proud!
“ I decided to build a little table out of old scrap wood. It was wonky and ugly but I was so proud!”
Where do you get your knowledge about building?
Mostly community festivals and then youtube. I lived in Australia for a while where we often went to the bush for a rave and built stages and structures there. My roommate in Australia also had a van and showed me some woodwork and then I picked up lots while volunteering and traveling.
Which tools do you own and which tools do you rather borrow?
By now I have quite a collection of tools and power tools. Especially for the van I just need them too often, too spontaneously to borrow, so I bought some and got gifted some. Things I still borrow (or use someone else's) are a table saw, flex, or really big and/or specific tools.
Do you have dream projects?
Yes! The van was a forever dream and I always thought I would do that once with a partner. Then I went through a rough breakup and decided I can totally do that alone (including learning how to drive manual again)
What projects have you made and what have you learned during your builds?
As said, lots of festival structures (but of course these ones I didn’t quite make alone) and then some smaller furniture like shelves, a little table (the one I described earlier, I would not dare to post a picture of that one though :D), a shoe rack, some pallet benches, and a pallet bed. And then of course Foxy. My current and forever project. I just recently finished the bed, which was my favorite project so far and the one I'm most proud of. It still has flaws, as recently pointed out to me but that’s okay, it’s a learning curve and it was the first more complex project that I really planned and completed by myself - well on some days I had a helping hand but let’s say mostly alone and fully in charge. It’s a fold-out bed that can either be flat (2 meters space to lay comfortably) or be half-folded (two couches, one facing the inside of the van, one facing the back) or fully folded (good for storage).
What would you tell women who hesitate to learn woodworking? What benefits will it bring to a woman?
Let me tell you a story: Festival build. I was cutting some wood, when my friend, S. came to me, asking if she could give me a hand. She is one of those “let’s do it” women. Always claiming she has no clue about building but is super eager to come and help (and she actually has some talent there too, let’s be fair here) But yes. SHE is claiming she has no clue. And I should soon enough find out why. So when she asked if I needed help, I asked her if she could drill this screw in, while I was holding and then change the drill bit. She started and stopped after a few seconds.
“I don’t know why this is so hard!” She said. “Want me to show you why?” I asked. She did so I simply changed the drill from left (getting the screw OUT) to right (getting it in). “Oh!” She said. “Of course, I didn’t think about that”. “Happens to me a lot, too,” I said. Then I asked if she knew how to change the drill bit. She went silent for a second, then looked behind her and said “Could you show me how you do it fast? Like not opening the drill by hand I mean”. “Of course!” I said and showed her. “That’s it??” She asked. “That’s it,” I said. She looked at me and then started laughing. “You know. I always wondered how the guys did that so fast but I felt SO STUPID to ask so I never did. That’s why I like saying I have no clue about building. I’d love to learn but I always feel so stupid when I ask my partner or another man and they start to show it to me super fast, thinking I’m used to the tool. But I had this thing in my hand for maybe 5 times in total. I don’t know what happens if I accidentally touch the wrong button and it scares me. But I would never tell a man that, they don’t understand because they’re so used to it” “Yeah”, I said, knowing exactly what she meant.
Have you always been so confident with tools?
When I got my first saw, I had NO CLUE how to get the blade in. And I did not want to ask a man, admitting that the silent stereotype or even assumption, a blonde girl can’t handle tools was right. We can all learn from each other but when we start something new it’s nice to have someone explain it to us that can somewhat relate to how unfamiliar this thing is to us. Because if we all have no clue (or HAD) we can be brave and figure it out together. And it will not only work but also be FUN! S. and I ended up handing the project we were working on over to someone else and built a shower instead. Just her and me, because we really felt like we wanted that and needed a shower. The (very male) build team shook their heads about it, saying we had too much to do for extra ideas. But a few days later the whole camp loved the shower and we definitely have one more woodworker lady among us now.
You seem someone who does not doubt in herself.
Despite all of my efforts to not give in to gender norms, I do still struggle with doubting myself sometimes. And I do still think when it comes to tools and woodwork women and men do approach things differently. A lot of women (including me) are raised to be humble - up to a point of self-doubt. Raised to ask questions and to not be too loud and confident. I don’t like to speak in gender roles because yes, we all CAN learn EVERYTHING we put our minds to. But one thing I came across over and over again (up to a point where I don’t think this is a coincidence anymore) is that a lot of men “just try” and if it goes wrong, they fix it and try again and a lot of women hesitate to start until they’re absolutely sure what to do.
Why do you think it is so?
I think this comes from the way we are raised. A boy falls down and cries – he’s often told to just get up and try again. It may not give him the security to reflect and speak about his emotions but it will give him the security that trial and error will work eventually. A lot of girls are not raised that way. Are not handed the saw when we’re young, not getting used to working with wood. We can still learn this. But in some cases, we might experience some challenging moments that are beyond the actual situation and more internal. I personally like to dive into this and challenge myself to grow. And the experience of working with your hands, creating something out of wood is very, very rewarding in this! Plus wood just smells sooooo good!
