In an interview with The Furniture Society, Emily describes how her work has evolved over her career from furniture-builder to educator, author, and founder of Girls Garage. An important part of the interview is a discussion of the transformations seen in our programs and projects from how building geometry is made “real” through application to the impact of giving girls space, tools, and encouragement to do what they’ve been told is off-limits.

On the experience that led to a girls-only workspace, Emily said “I ended up pulling groups of female students aside, working just us as girls and women, and the feeling was game chang­ing. There was no self-censor­ing or doubt, only the work in front of us that we all knew we knew how to do. Girls Garage grew not out of the frus­tra­tion of co-ed spaces but out of the magic that comes from being amongst sisters who believe in you. That cata­lyst is hard to describe, and for young women, it’s an invi­ta­tion to be their fullest selves, to never ques­tion whether they belong. In many ways the power tools become metaphoric for our power as women, and we work hard to culti­vate both the tech­ni­cal skills AND the life skills that will serve girls well.”