What can we learn from Tomboy Tools?

Anne, using a Tomboy Tools power drill. (Photo from the Tomboy Tools website.)

The Independent reports, in "Women tool up for independence with DIY parties," about Tomboy Tools, a company that sells through home parties, like Pampered Chef and Tupperware. In this case, they sell tools to women. From the article:

Janet Rickstrew founded Tomboy Tools along with two friends in 2000 after attending a Pampered Chef party in their home town of Denver. "We had a lot of fun, but it wasn't enough. We thought we should do something else," the 42-year-old former university maintenance department worker said. Now the company has 500 party consultants in the United States and a further 150 in Canada. They expect to double the number of party planners this year as well as rolling out in the UK. Recent research has suggested that 80 per cent of home improvement decisions and 60 per cent of DIY purchases are now made by women, according to the business consultancy the Proficiency Group...

Thinking like swift marketers, how can we use similar methods to sell the value of historic preservation and how to do it without going broke?

I am a big fan of weekend workshops and the like such as the Historic Bungalow Home Fair in Chicago (this year's schedule: Conference: April 5-8, 2006 Exhibits: April 6-8, 2006).

Index Keywords: civic-engagement; historic-preservation