This Women's History Month, we'd like to introduce you to some of the fantastic women on our team here at Family Handyman.
As part of Women’s History Month, the world celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, and we’re keeping the celebration going by highlighting the women on the Family Handyman team. Get to know their backgrounds, learn about their favorite projects, and find out what skills they’re looking forward to learning next.
How Did You Get Into DIY?
Nicole Doster (Content Director): “While my role professionally is often to spotlight the expertise of others, DIY is central to my everyday life. After renting for years, it was homeownership that fully immersed me in it. When something breaks, there’s no landlord to call! My partner and I always try to determine if there’s a safe, reasonable way to handle it ourselves before bringing in a pro.
Noelle Devoe (Deputy Editor): “I’d be lying if I said I’m the handiest person in the world, but I am inclined to try to do something myself before calling a pro whenever I can. Before buying a home, it looked like sewing my own journal covers or printing, cutting, and binding my own books. Once I became a homeowner, I ventured into the home improvement lane. I am proud to say I am now comfortable with an electric drill, so hanging curtains and decor are no problem for me. Peel-and-stick products also hate to see me coming!”
Carmen De La Paz (Supervising Project Editor): “I’m a big believer in the idea that what’s meant for you will always find you. I started out in the DIY space by wanting to save money. Soon, I was able to flip houses for myself. After that, people started hiring me for their own projects. I’ve done many, many shows for HGTV, the Oprah Winfrey Network, Roku and others and have been nominated for several Emmys.”
Rebecca Wright (Associate Editor): “I’ve been my dad’s home repair assistant ever since I was old enough to hold a tool. To hear him tell it, my favorite DIYs were painting and drywalling. One of my earliest memories is helping my dad to construct a swing set in the backyard. I was too little to do the actual cutting but that didn’t stop me from helping him assemble the individual components or holding onto the hardware and tools.
“As I got older, I got to help with more complex projects, and I got to use the more dangerous power tools. A couple of summers back, I helped my dad redo a good chunk of the backyard. We put in planking for a deck, installed a fountain that I ran the electrical for, put up some string lights, and did quite a bit of new planting.
“I’m also the designated DIY emergency person for most of my friends. Whether it’s a power outage or a flat tire, when I get a call, I do my best to help them solve the issue at hand.”
Christine Campbell (Editor): “My first DIY memories are of my grandpa, an avid whittler, woodworker, gardener and all-around handy guy. Decades later, my family still treasures the things he made by hand: dollhouses, clocks, figurines, furniture and more. One of my favorite parts of my job now is hearing from readers about their own builds and family heirlooms inspired by Family Handyman’s advice. It’s so rewarding to be part of that tradition!”
What’s Your Favorite DIY Project You’ve Done?
Devoe: “I was fortunate enough to be able to buy my childhood home from my parents, and while the bones of the house were solid, the design was unsurprisingly outdated. Rather than completely gut the kitchen, which boasted what I called “McDonald’s red” counters, I used peel-and-stick vinyl to convert them to white marble countertops. Sure, they won’t last as long as the real thing, but they look great, cost close to nothing, and I can change them whenever I get the itch! Plus, my mom still loves those red countertops, so she gets to know they’re still alive under there!”
De La Paz: “I love making tiny houses; I’ve made several in a variety of styles, including Spanish, mid-century, and kids’ playhouse or large-size doll house that adults can fit in. You can go far with the themes and get creative with how you use the space like having a sofa that converts to a bed or designing a loft with book storage underneath.
“I’ve done everything on the houses; dug the footing, handled the cement work, put up the frame, installed roofing, set up the water, air and electrical systems, and more. The footprint is usually 12×12 so it’s doable as a ‘one man band.’ Building these homes is adding a bunch of basic skills together in a creative way. They feel elevated, but they’re still doable. I strive to keep the skills very basic. I don’t use miter cuts unless absolutely necessary and I minimize layering. When I build, I’m being strategic about teaching, inspiring, and making the project accessible to an audience so they can develop these same skills.”
Wright: “When I was eight years old, I got my own room. My parents gave me creative control of designing it and as part of the deal, I had to help with whatever I picked. So I made curtains and helped my dad prime and paint the space. I picked lavender for the walls, asked that we make the ceiling look like a sunrise, and wanted decals all over.
“When I was allowed to redo it again as a teenager, I ripped out the old carpet and did all of those DIYs over again. This time I wanted it beach themed so I swapped out the floral curtains for green ones; again, making them myself, picked blues and greens for the wall, and sourced a lot of decor from our trips to beach towns.
“By the time I was moving out and watching my room turn into a guest room, I got to roll my sleeves up once again and give that room it’s third makeover. Gone were the bright hues that teenage me picked; now that room is a soft blue with white trim.”
What’s Your Dream DIY Project?
Doster: “I’d love to transform our front yard with some native, pollinator-friendly landscaping. Living in Florida’s tropical climate is such a gift as we have access to incredible plants that thrive here.”
Devoe: “I would love to install new kitchen cabinets in my kitchen, but that project will run you a good $15,000. In the meantime, open shelving will have to do!”
De La Paz: “I recently completed two art installations: the Waukesha Christmas Parade Memorial and the Waukesha Strong Community Tile Project. I’d love to do more large-scale public art installations like these in the future. I love the long haul of a vision, planning out the timeline, the materials, transportation and more. The sculpture took one year and the tiling took two and a half. I also really love how public art installations impact people; they’re more accessible than a gallery show or a private collection and so people can’t help but to experience them.”
Wright: “I’m still renting in an apartment that’s been painted generic white. I’d love to repaint the whole place and play around with pops of color and abstract shapes and patterns on the walls. Every time I see a video of someone doing exactly that, I get even more ideas for how I’d bring my own place to life.”
Campbell: “As someone with teetering piles of books all over my apartment and nowhere to display my hodgepodge collection of trinkets, I dream of a home library lined with built-in bookshelves, plus a fireplace and a cozy window seat for reading. After years of beige rental walls, I’d go full maximalist with the styling.”
What’s Your Biggest DIY Fail?
Doster: “Attempting to cut in paint after one too many glasses of Sauvignon Blanc.”
De La Paz: “There can never be a fail if you learn how to fix it. You’ll always mess something up; there’s always a learning curve. If you give into your failures, you’re never going to fix them. I’ve absolutely had failures, but I never give up there. Instead, I always works to fix it. At the end of the day, it’s not what you messed up, it’s how you handle it. I believe the difference between a technique and a mistake is that a technique is something you can repeat, whereas a mistake is something you can’t.”
Campbell: “The East Coast snowstorms earlier this year reminded me of my first winter in Boston after college. I walked out of my apartment to find my car buried under a foot of snow and, trying to be efficient, used a metal-tipped shovel to clear it off. It definitely got the job done—and scratched up my car’s hood and roof in the process. Now I stick with a snow brush!”
What’s a DIY Skill of Yours You’re Really Proud Of?
Devoe: “My DIYs are more on the decor/crafty side of things, so I’m particularly proud of what I have learned how to do with a sewing machine or my Cricut, from hemming my own curtains to cutting my own wall decals.”
De La Paz: “Wood turning and welding. Both have a steep learning curve; you need to learn a lot to get to a basic level. Once there, it requires a lot of time to end up with finesse. Woodturning takes hundreds to thousands of hours to be able to make any shape well and without taking days to do so. Welding needs to both look pretty and be functional.”
Wright: “I’m very much a jack-of-all-trades kind of person. I love that I’ve got a variety of DIY skills, but my absolute favorite has to be crocheting. While I love being able to tackle larger-scale projects, I also really enjoy being able to make decor and tools for my place. And when it comes to crochet specifically, I love how hands-on it is while still being portable. I can do it anywhere. It’s the kind of skill that I can use for my own space, or as a gift for friends. This year, I’m working to make a granny square blanket for my space.”
What’s One DIY Skill You Still Want to Learn?
Devoe: “I’d love to master leveling someday. It sounds simple, but getting things perfectly straight is its own skill.”
De La Paz: “Blowing glass; it’s like alchemy. It’s a skill similar to welding or woodturning, where you have to dedicate years to mastering the craft.”
Wright: “I’d like to be handier with car stuff. I can change a tire no problem, but I’d love to feel confident handling more maintenance and minor repairs.”
