Women At Work: Annie Van Orman

What made you start doing the amazing things that you do?

I guess I started because I knew that nobody would stop me. haha. But let me back up and explain…

I learned, in my 20s that nobody could stop me from, say, renovating my own bathroom. I could walk into the hardware store, buy tools and materials, and nobody would stop me from doing these small DIY jobs around the house. For some reason I had this notion that unless I was a professional I wasn’t allowed to do these things on my own. When I finally realized that wasn’t true, doing these small DIY jobs almost felt like cheating.

So over the years I spent a significant amount of time building skills across various trades, simply because no one was telling me “no”. I liked the work, found it highly engaging, and I was reasonably good at it. Plumbing, electric, framing, finishing carpentry, flooring, stonework… Was I really great at what I was doing in the beginning? No, definitely not! But every small job completed ended up being a lesson in how to do it better next time. And I did get better, and smarter, with each job accomplished. And the projects just keep getting bigger and bigger!

The automotive work I’m doing right now is primarily as a hobbyist. What I do is 100% for myself. I have no competitive advantage I need to protect. No client or boss I need to satisfy. There are no hard deadlines. This gives me an incredible safety net for failure, because it’s only my time (and sometimes money) that gets wasted.

But I guess what made me start doing these amazing things is really just the knowledge that I’m allowed to try. I’m allowed to learn. I’m allowed to be here. And there isn’t anyone out there who can stop me. I don’t need anyone’s permission to learn new things and develop new skills. And by the way, you don’t need anyone's permission either!

Did you complete any training? If not, how did you learn your trade/skill?

Over the course of my life I’ve picked up a lot of skills just from some of my natural proclivities and interests. When I was a kid I spent a substantial amount of time taking things apart, just so I could put them back together again. I built treehouses. Devised booby traps. Created elaborate pulley systems so I could flip the switch to my bedroom light without needing to leave my bed.

The only “official” training I had (for what I’m doing now) was an 8 week welding course at the local Community College. Every other developed skill has been picked up along the way simply by trying and doing. Lots of hours of research and reading, watching other people to observe what their process is, then trying it on my own. This translates to a lot of time practicing, because you’ll fail a fair amount when you’re trying to build a new skill.

I was once described as a “public learner”, or something close to that. My social media page is all about bringing people along with me as I learn new skills and try to build/restore a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle (named Helen Wheels). I am very transparent with the process and don’t shy away from showing the bits that don’t work out like I had planned. Showing the failures can be incredibly valuable to others watching the process. I love showing what the process of learning actually looks like.

What did you want to be when you were growing up, or a little kid?

A mechanic. Or a long haul truck driver. I had never really seen a woman do either of those jobs… ok, well except for maybe Large Marge from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. But she was maybe more terrifying than inspirational.

Being a mechanic interested me a lot. Tinker Toys, LEGOs, and other toys where there was an element of having to BUILD it in order to PLAY with it were typically what I would gravitate to. I think I took apart (and put back together) every pedal bike I ever owned just for the fun of it.

My mom had this very elaborate music box I would play with as a kid. I would open it up, turn the key, hear the mechanical “clicks” and watch the tumbler roll and engage with the tangs to create music. The tumbler would very slightly slide over after the end of each song, which would relocate where the tangs engaged, then play a whole new tune. I was fascinated by how that worked, and how efficient it was. You could slide the glass back and rest your fingers on it and feel the mechanics at work. It was full of gears and springs, and I desperately wanted to take it apart to see if I could put it back together. But I didn’t dare, since it was a special music box my parents had bought on a vacation as a souvenir and it would’ve been BIG trouble if I broke it.

I was never discouraged from pursuing auto mechanics, but not really encouraged either. It was something I didn’t really know HOW to pursue. I think some would’ve thought it was an odd choice for a girl, and that always somehow made me feel “wrong” for wanting to do it. I didn’t know where I would fit in, so the idea sort of fizzled in my late teens. 

What are the top five things that are always in your pockets?

Flashlight, utility knife, mini flat head screwdriver, the tears of my enemies, and probably those nuts and washers I was looking for yesterday.

Tell us something surprising about you.

That I’m not really a car person! haha. This will maybe disappoint some people, but the truth is that I don’t really know very much about cars!

Now that I’m part of the automotive community I get to have a lot of conversations with people about, well, cars. These conversations actually teach me so much, and I am always to happy to participate in them… but I am always a bit embarrassed when I don’t know if I should be impressed by how much horsepower your engine pulls. Is 350 powers of horse impressive? Should my engine have more pounds of torque or less? And what is a super-charger? Or a twin turbo? I’ll never know, and at this point I don’t know who to ask.

I know exactly what I need to know for my simple little air-cooled engine, but beyond that I really don’t know as much as I wish I did.

So many people say “wow, you must be so excited to finish building your car so you can finally drive it!!” And I always agree, and say “yes, I’m so excited!” because that is true to a degree. But the real answer is that driving a car seems so boring compared to building it!! I am just a builder at heart. 

How do you encourage other women to start doing what you do?

I think being visible on social media, and showing the process of what I’m doing, is currently the most helpful thing I can do. It’s that notion of “if you can see it, you can be it.” I think part of the reason why it took me so long to do what I’m doing is because I didn’t “see it” for so long. I want other women to see what I’ve been able to accomplish and say to themselves “well, if she did it. Why not me?” Other than being visible on social media, you’ve got to put the tools in their hands. I know that seems so obvious, but I’ve had friends in my shop who have told me they’ve never operated an electric drill before. And as soon as I put the tool in their hands, and have them drive a screw into a plank, the reaction is almost the always the same — “oh, that was really easy!” I also want to be as accessible as possible to other women who have questions about the hobby. One thing I’ve noticed is that other hobbyists/women often want to ask questions from other hobbyists/women. I think what happens is there feels like there is a disconnect in skillset when you compare a hobbyist to a professional, and we worry that we won’t stack up. It feels more comfortable to ask someone who you perceive to be at your same skill level. Someone who is also working with a more limited knowledge, limited tools, and a smaller budget.

Who’s a role model who helped you in your journey to where you are?

I have had a lot of wonderful role models in my life that have helped me on my journey to where I am now. It would be very difficult to single out just one. So instead I’ll just tell you about the earliest recollection I had of seeing a woman working in the automotive trades. The woman was a fictional character I saw on TV as a child, but she definitely left an impression. Some of you may remember from the early 80s, the classic television sitcom “Family Ties”. To be brief, one episode was centred around a mother/son conflict. The conflict arose when the son believed skills were determined by gender, and that a woman could clearly not do a "mans job". The mother disagreed and a competition was devised to prove who was right. The competition — who could do a better job rebuilding a carburetor. In the end, the mother was able to do the job better while the son floundered at the task. He eventually conceded that skills were probably not determined by gender. I can’t even begin to put into words what this coveralls wearing woman with greasy hands, who was using tools to rebuild a carburetor, did to my little 7 year old brain. I think it exploded. Now I had no idea what a carburetor was when I was 7 years old, but I KNEW with absolute certainty that I would WAY rather be rebuilding one instead of learning how to cross stitch a decorative pillow. It was the first time I saw a woman/mother working in the trades (specifically the automotive trades) and sadly I don’t think I saw that again for another 25 years.

If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be?

I’m reasonably happy with where I am right now, which I know saying that is like inviting the universe to come and create chaos in my life. But looking back on my life (to this point) I can see that every experience was needful. If I wasn’t given the opportunity to rebuild myself every time I had fallen apart, would I be the same today? Probably not. I would hate to deprive my past self the opportunity to learn and grow through the experience of living a life full of ups and downs. I know that little baby Annie would be so stoked to see where her future/now self wound up. Even though the present me sometimes feels disappointed because it feels like I got here 15 years too late, teenaged me would be blown away with what we get to do. I’m still looking for ways to evolve and grow, that will never stop. So my advice to little baby Annie would be this — “sorry kid, you’re just going to have to experience it all. No shortcuts for you. I promise it's going to be epic.”

Do you have any special projects or cool things you want people to check out?
Probably just my 1969 Volkswagen Beetle resto/mod project! You can check it out on my Instagram page @annies_vw
  

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