TRENDY TOOLS

S AN JOSE, Calif. — On a recent Sunday afternoon, eight women gathered in Amy Monahan’s living room, curious about a new wrinkle in the home-shopping scene. Trendy handbags? Upscale kitchen gadgets? Aromatherapy candles? Nope. Think screwdrivers, hammers, caulking guns, power drills, hacksaws. This home-party demonstration by Tomboy Tools representative Elizabeth Macapanpan is just the latest twist in a trend that has marketers focused on the buying power of female do-it-yourselfers. “Americans spend $132 billion a year on home improvement. And women are making 81 percent of home remodeling decisions,” says Macapanpan, citing recent research.

They’re also, increasingly, taking on those home-improvement and home-repair projects themselves. It’s a market worth paying attention to. The National Association of Realtors says single women purchased one in five houses in 2003, and Fannie Mae projects that by 2010, 28 percent of all U.S. households will be headed by women.

According to new research conducted for Sears, Roebuck and Co., 86 percent of female homeowners admire proficiency in home repair in other women and 83 percent of women say working with tools makes them feel “independent.”

In the same survey, three out of five women said they would rather receive an hour’s worth of advice from TV DIY guru Bob Vila than pop psychologist Dr. Phil.

Most of the women at the party said that many of the tools they have at home are unwieldy or uncomfortable to use.

“Men don’t complain. They just endure the pain,” said Janice Lennox, picking up an 8-ounce Tomboy Tools hammer. She liked its streamlined, lightweight feel, its cushy grip. “I would definitely use this.”

Tomboy Tools is one of a handful of companies selling tools designed for women, joining Barbara K!, Rubbermaid and others in this growing market. Only Tomboy Tools has chosen the home-party route.

Co-founder Sue Wilson says it’s all about relationships.

“Women are really good, sharp shoppers,” she says from her Denver-based business. “They want to make a connection with a product. They say `show me this product, tell me about it, let me try it.’ They also want a relationship down the road.

“That’s why we designed our selling platform around the home party. It’s a situation women already feel comfortable with,” says Wilson, who ran a wholesale distribution business for about 20 years. “They go home a better-educated homeowner. They can say, ‘I had fun and I learned something.’ “

And maybe they’ll purchase some new tools.

Wilson says the idea for Tomboy Tools was born after she started taking on repairs around her own home and discovered her friends were, too.

“There’s always that problem of finding someone who can really do the job you want done and not charge you an arm and a leg,” she says.

“We started asking each other: ‘Do you know how to do this?’ ‘Can you teach me?’ ‘Do you have the tools?’ “she says. One night, the group attended a Pampered Chef party and “a light bulb went on. We thought we’d really like to go to a tool party and realized it was a great idea for a company.”

Wilson and business partners Janet Rickstrew and Mary Tatum began taking their ideas to manufacturers in 2000. Today, as the company has grown, “some companies are coming to us with ideas. They’re really understanding that the female market is smart and savvy.”

The grip on the Tomboy Tools 9.6-volt cordless power drill, for example, is much easier for the women in Monahan’s living room to handle than the 9.6-volt Dewalt model Macapanpan has brought for them to compare. That eight-ounce hammer is just right for small jobs around the house.

“You don’t need to have the largest tool to do the job right,” says Wilson. “You don’t need a sledgehammer to hang a picture.”

The ergonomic handles on the paintbrushes are comfortable, says party hostess Monahan, who has tackled all sorts of DIY projects but hates that she gets cramps in her hand using a regular paintbrush. The blade in the utility knife can be changed without a screwdriver. The caulking gun — which resembles an aluminum cookie press — loads easily and its squeeze handles operate smoothly. The tape measures have fractions rather than the standard hash marks and can be locked with one hand. The power drill has a built-in level. The clever “Super Stepper” is a roomy toolbox and sturdy step stool in one.

For the women at the party, these are features that make sense without any explanation.

For Callie Barron, the party was an opportunity to try her hand with a power drill for the first time—in a comfortable, supportive setting.

“Anything that can make a hole in my skin, I don’t like,” she said with a laugh. But Macapanpan, whose background includes 20 years in construction and facilities management, urged her to don safety glasses and take the cordless tool for a spin. After a couple of false starts, she successfully drilled a hole in a piece of wood. Cheers and applause rang out.

The party patter was light and fun, but Macapanpan’s underlying message stressed safe tool use. Wear safety goggles. Cut away from your body when using a utility knife. Use a ratchet screwdriver to minimize wrist injury. If you have long hair, tie it up.

Macapanpan has been a Tomboy Tools rep since January. She offers the basic tool demo but also customizes workshops for groups interested in learning particular skills, such as basic woodworking and plumbing, hanging a door or working with drywall. She also has a San Jose-based home-repair business called Do-It-Herself.

Wilson says Tomboy Tools looks for trainers who are “social people.”

“Some women love tools and really want to share what they know,” she says. “Others don’t know a lot about tools but love to sell. They don’t have to be experts. We do a lot of training.

The home party “is the primary sales model,” says Wilson. “But because we’re Web-based, we get a lot of feedback and suggestions. Women are realizing they’re not alone in the do-it-yourself universe, that we’re all dealing with home repair.

“Our attitude is: ‘If we can learn it, you can learn it.’ “