By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
Cindi Dugger wears pink, loves jewelry and admits to being a bit “girlie,” but she’s not afraid to fix a broken toilet, repair damaged drywall or lay tile.
Dugger, a Joplin resident, insists she’s not different from other women; she just knows what’s she’s capable of doing. Now, Dugger is taking her “can-do” attitude and her box of pink tools to other women in the area to help them realize they can do projects, too.
“This isn’t just about the tools — pink, blue, whatever color they are,” Dugger said. “It’s about empowering women.”
Dugger just celebrated her first year as a sales consultant for Tomboy Tools, which sells ergonomically designed tools marketed to women. Tomboy Tools was started in 2000 by three friends in Denver, Colo. The company has grown to more than 1,000 sales consultants across the United States and Canada.
The tools, made for a woman’s hands, are smaller than the standard varieties, Dugger said. The idea is to get tools in women’s hands that they will actually use and that make sense to them. Some of the company’s tools feature a tape measure with measurements of every one-eighth inch labeled, a lightweight compressor that can be picked up with one hand, and a utility knife with an easy-turning adjuster, so no screwdriver is needed to change the blade.
Tomboy Tools is based around home party sales that Dugger said allow her to not only get the tools into women’s hands, but also to teach some basic home repair lessons.
“I bring in a miniature toilet display, and I can teach them about basic plumbing,” Dugger said. “We can show basic drywall repair, and I’ve even done some simple upholstery. It’s very empowering for women to learn how to do that. They pick up the tools and say, ‘I can do this.’”
Dugger uses the tools she sells. She said she has always thought that if she needed a project done, it was her job to do it.
“I felt like it was up to me to do it because it wasn’t fair to my husband to ask him to fix the toilet or the sink as soon as he walked in the door from work,” she said.
Tomboy Tools launched its first series of pink tools last fall. The company still sells tools in black, blue and red, but Dugger said the new pink tools have been successful, partially because of the meaning behind the color. The 13-ounce Pink for a Purpose hammer has the inscription “Hammer Out Breast Cancer.” Dugger said $6, or more than 70 percent of the net proceeds, go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Richard Johnston, senior research analyst for the Home Improvement Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., said women are an essential part of the home-improvement industry. The institute’s most recent consumer survey, with data from 2005, showed that nearly 38 percent of women surveyed said they had purchased hand tools for their households in the past year. Some of the most popular items women purchased were flashlights, measuring tapes, utility knives, screwdrivers and wrenches.
“Women are an important part of the home-improvement industry,” Johnston said.
Melissa Dunson is the business writer for The Joplin Globe.
Business
Related Photos
Discussion
Think pink: Woman builds niche selling tools to women
- Business
-
-
Stock hold gains, erasing early losses
Stocks held steady in the green Tuesday afternoon on growing confidence about the U.S. job market and hope that Greece will reach a debt deal.
-
Dow approaches 13,000, and maybe a record to come
It was just last summer that the Dow Jones industrial average shed 2,000 points in three terrifying weeks. Investors had a host of things to worry about, including the possibility of another recession.
-
Wal-Mart’s new food label tells shoppers what’s Great For You
In case you can’t tell which foods at Wal-Mart are healthful, the world’s largest retailer will make it obvious right on the package with a “Great For You” label.
-
Pa. Senate approves first fees on shale drilling
Pennsylvania moved closer Tuesday to imposing a fee on the drilling that has transformed the state by exploration of its vast Marcellus Shale reserves.
-
Disney, Univision discussing English-language news channel
The Walt Disney Co. and the nation’s leading Spanish-language broadcaster are in talks to launch an English-language cable news channel, according to people familiar with the matter.
-
Magazine sales end 2011 on down note
With the royal wedding, the Japan earthquake, the Occupy movement and the Arab spring, it’s not like there was a shortage of news in 2011. But you wouldn’t know it looking at newsstand sales for the nation’s magazines.
-
Hasbro 4Q net income down 1 percent
It was a blue Christmas for Hasbro. The No. 2 toy maker said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit slipped 1 percent, pinched by softer-than-expected demand in the U.S. and Canada and slow sales of games and puzzles during the key holiday season.
-
Average gas prices hover at record-high levels
Last month turned out to be the most expensive January ever at U.S. gasoline pumps, boosted by growing economic strength.
-
Most states agree to mortgage deal, with notable exceptions
More than 40 states signed on to a proposed $25 billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were not among them.
-
Overtime bill pits needs of high-tech employers vs. workers
High-tech workers across the country could see smaller paychecks under an industry-led campaign to revise labor laws to further limit overtime benefits.
- More Business Headlines
-
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms
Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence
Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom
Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club
