Meet Angel: Handyman in Hawaii

a LOVE story...

Aloha!

I am Angel, and I am a carpenter’s assistant and a handyman.

My story is a LOVE story…

When we were 18 years old, handsome, funny, confident Tommy Freeman took my hand and asked me to dance. I swooned and giggled and we spun around cheek to cheek! We then lost touch. We grew up and life happened…

The next time I saw Tommy Freeman we were 43 years old and he took my hand and asked me to dance. I swooned and giggled and we spun around cheek to cheek… this time I was brave enough to ask for another dance!

 This time, we fell in love…

I had just left a 22 year marriage and my three sons were grown. He had just left a 20 year marriage and his son and daughter were grown. We found each other again as we were starting over in our middle age as empty nesters.

(Falling in love feels more like FLOATING in love, by the way… we floated in love…)

 LOVE second life…

I was living in Hawaii and working at a private middle/high school as a librarian’s assistant and costume/props designer. Tommy was living in Orlando, Florida. For two decades he was an owner, designer and builder of several restaurants, bars and clubs downtown. After we reunited, Tommy sold everything and moved to Hawaii to be with me. We joined my costuming & librarian skills with Tommy’s building & finish carpentry skills and became a very popular, reliable, talented team!

LOVE my new job…

Most of our clients are property managers hiring us to maintain and/or rehabilitate their rental units. We have quickly become the favorites, as tenants seem more comfortable with a male and female repair team being in their home that are clean, efficient and talented… not to mention joyful!

We perform light plumbing and electrical and install fixtures and appliances. We also tile, and lay flooring and do interior painting. Our favorite projects are those requiring carpentry skills like window restorations, building/repairing cabinets or hand crafted furniture.  

Our job mainly consists of problem solving. We investigate, diagnose and find a solution.

Sometimes I am intimidated when I am faced with a task or repair I have no experience with. Tommy reminds me that it only seems hard because it is a mystery. Once I remove the mystery of how something works or is put together, it is no longer intimidating. As my experience grows, so do my skills and confidence. When I perfect a new skill it’s a celebration. We kiss… high five… and bump butts…!

The more I learn, the more efficient we become as a team.

LOVE living in Hawaii…

Oahu is a small island with a large population (960,000 residents) made up of a many cultures. The cost of living is the 3rd highest in the country making the cost of homes about $10,000/square foot; therefore, most people rent. The cities are dense which makes parking a huge challenge!  Often the hardest part of our job is getting in and out of high rise apartment buildings with tools and supplies. Acquiring the materials and supplies can also be difficult as our resources are limited and shipping costs are high. This is where my library science degree comes into play; I know how to research and find what we need.

We are still a new business, we have one vehicle and our office is in our home. We have a few goals for the future. In a few years we hope to own two small vans, have a work shop and a small crew. I would like to find another woman interested in learning the maintenance work as well as the scheduling and purchasing. I don’t see many women in this occupation, and I don’t know why.  We want to make enough to own a few rental units of our own in our home town on the Gulf of Mexico.

Why I LOVE Rosie…

After a decade of working in a school, I started this handyman job with a closet full of dresses and cute heels. I have actually done handyman work in dresses a few times; but I discovered, I NEED POCKETS.

Girl jeans have such teeny tiny pockets I couldn’t really use them.

I have to wear cargo utilities on Hawaii Five O (background CSU for 5 years) and I hate them. I feel like I’m trying to squeeze my girl body into boy clothes and it just isn’t working.

I created a work apron from Tommy’s old jeans which really works great. However, now all of my jeans and T-shirts are painted and stained. When I need to lay flooring or crawl under a bathroom sink, jeans are just too binding and tight.

The Rosie overalls give me room to move and bend and my tools stay put in the deep pockets. The bib protects my T-shirts from paint and dirt and the bib pockets are perfect for my lipstick!

I was THRILLED to find Rosie Work Wear.  Efficient, durable and made for a female body… it’s what I needed!

Lots of pockets and my favorite feature are the pads that slip into the knees.

 

My life motto: Seek joy daily

 

We do not have a website. We send people to our Facebook page: Thomas Freeman where we have all of our Before and After photos of our work. There is also one under Tommy Freeman.

On instagram I hashtag #thomasfreeman and  #tommylovesangel 

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