Almost three years after Men's Shed Vernon opened doors to a new spacious workshop on Meadowlark Road, local women have followed suit with a space of their own. 

Formed in November 2023, the Vernon She Shed Society opened doors to a workshop at 2807 45th Ave., on Jan. 1.

It is the first registered She Shed in Canada. 

The She Shed workshop is a place for women of all ages to get together, get into handywoman mode and work on projects big and small. One of their first projects was building 60 birdhouses for the Girl Guides. They've also built children's picnic tables for the local transition house, benches, planter boxes and trellises for the Army and Navy, and their next big project is building garden boxes for Armstrong Elementary School's new garden program. 

Donna Harms, president of the society, said the She Shed started out with nine ladies and has since grown to over 100 members. 

"We love it to pieces," she said of their workshop, which is filled with tools and machines generously donated by locals who were downsizing in their senior years and wanted a useful home for their much-loved band saws and power tools. 

There are many benefits to joining the She Shed, said Harms, which is all about female empowerment in a space that's traditionally been reserved for men. 

"It's a place for women to congregate, to be creative and expressive and comfortable, and to be empowered with power tools," she said.

"When I was in school, we (girls) weren't allowed to take shop classes. We had to take economic classes, sewing and cooking and whatnot."

Some of the older members may remember being excluded from shop classes in school, and they're showing what women can do when they have a project in mind, some wood to work with, and the tools to let their ideas loose. 

Volunteers have been eager to help get the She Shed off the ground. As an example, Harms said the She Shed will be offering an upholstery class, and volunteers jumped at the chance to help out. 

The hope is to have the She Shed open seven days a week and 12 hours a day, and that will only be possible with the dedicated volunteers helping to run the shop. 

Those volunteers have also made the shop a welcome place for newcomers learning the ropes. 

"Some of the younger ladies that have come in have been so delighted because they're being taught by older women, and not feeling intimidated, not feeling inadequate," Harms said. 

In their first week at the new shop, Harms has been amazed at the membership growth, and that growth is only expected to continue. 

The She Shed held its first two open houses Jan. 11, for supporters of the She Shed. The second the following day was for the broader public. Saturday saw at least 50 people present at one point of the open house.  

As the first She Shed in Canada, Harms hopes the Vernon Shed can be a blueprint for other She Shed's to follow and open up around the country.

That could happen soon, as she said Kamloops Men's Shed is already looking to start a She Shed.

Men's Shed Vernon played a pivotal role in the She Shed's beginnings, letting the women use its space until they had a space of their own, and if a She Shed does open in Kamloops, it would be following Vernon's blueprint of the Men's Shed helping local women to get their own group off the ground. 

"We would be happy to help others get started," Harms said.

Harms has been overwhelmed with gratitude for the little community of women she's watched grow.

"One of the things that has touched me to my heart has been the camaraderie. The ladies here all come in, are very positive, are very upbeat, are all very friendly and so willing to help," she said. 

People can join the She Shed by visiting . A $25 registration fee gets people emailed information from the She Shed. Before they can start running machinery, newcomers must complete an 18-hour introductory course over six weeks for $160. 

"We do extensive safety training in that whole period, and within no time at all you're going to build a planter box, and then a toolbox, and then a welcome sign," Harms said. "And then you can build anything you want and you'll have two or three nights to do that, and during that time you're going to have somebody right beside you on every machine."

Once people are comfortable with the machines, they can pay $375 for the year and can come and go as they please, making use of the shop's many machines and tools they may not have at home.

Anyone who joins soon may get to take part in a home maintenance class, where the women will be learning how to locate their water shut-off and their electrical panel in their home, and other know-how that could help them save money.