Shoug Alainati, or The Flip Diva, invites Farrah Saville into her home to chat about being a female carpenter in Bahrain and about how she’s creating a new mould for women.
Behind red gates in a house in Muharraq we find the Flip Diva’s home. The eclectic space is well decorated – covered in art, refurbished furniture, a mannequin light and a small workstation. Nuts, bolts, shelves and drills cover the workstation while a spirit level hangs on the side. This is where masterpieces are created… and Shoug Alainati is at the heart of it all.
She is warm and welcoming while making tea for the Woman This Month team as we delve into our interview. We are celebrating Bahrain as National Day takes place on December 16, and what better way to pay homage to this island nation than to sit down with Bahrain’s favourite carpenter?
Shoug talks openly about her journey to getting into carpentry and refurbishment. “It started by chance. I was redecorating my room… I had one of those hormonal episodes where I needed to change my room. Back then, I didn’t have much of a budget, so I Googled, started researching on YouTube, and learned how to repaint some furniture. As time passed, I realised I didn’t like this piece or wished it was shorter or higher. I even had to learn how to fix furniture. After a few months of trial and error and buying a bunch of tables to paint them and try it out, I found my passion,” says Shoug.
From redecorating her bedroom to experimenting with a few tables to turning a hobby into a business, Shoug has managed to go from fab to Flip Diva – her online persona and company. The Flip Diva has collaborated with big names such as IKEA, turning her “side hustle” into a full-fledged career.
“My friend said to me one day, why don’t you develop your hobby into a business? So, I created a tray collection. I was so scared because nothing had sold for one month,” she says. “At the time, I was still working a corporate 7-to-2 job as an executive secretary. So, I gave the tea boy the trays and told him to serve tea to all the employees in the trade. I was doing my marketing! People began asking where he got them, and I sold my tray collection!”
“I told my parents, and then I went ahead. Some people thought I was crazy, but others like my dad were like a gift. He’s my biggest supporter,” she says.
According to reports in the United States, only 5.2 percecnt of carpenters are women. In this region, reports of female carpenters have emerged from the Middle East and North Africa as anomalies. Shoug says about her trade: “I don’t want to call it breaking the mould. I’m making a new one: a woman can be and do anything she wants. I’ve had a few doubters, people who would shake my piece to see if it’s sturdy enough or ask me technical questions about how long a screw is and things that are not common for men. Sometimes the questions feel almost like an interrogation,” she laments.
“The only thing that will lead you to know what you want, who you are, and what you are capable of is trial and error. So, from the first couple of years I started, I tried everything, including construction, welding, electricity, and carpentry; I tried taking a lot of courses with carpenters, electricians, and painters. So, it’s just about building your community,” she adds.
As we sip cups of tea and try to give her rescue cats, Harvey and Domino, equal attention, Shoug says when passions become businesses, and big-name corporations start getting involved in collaborations and commissions, it’s important to stick to your guns. “Eventually, you lose your church, and you become the merch. By this, I mean that merchandising doesn’t become artisan work anymore. That’s why I only do one piece. I don’t do repetitive pieces, and I use recycled wood,” she says.
“So recycled wood is never repeated. Any table I make, even if I make the same table with the same measurements a million times, will never be repeated because the wood I’ve used is recycled. Stick to your principles. Just write up it and stick to them,” she adds.
For those looking to try flipping and refurbishing locally, Shoug advises starting small with a table or chair. As for finding pieces to flip, she says: “You have to start with your neighbourhood and your house first because I am sure there are a million hidden pieces somewhere in the house that you think you should replace, but you don’t need to. Ask around in your neighbourhood or local community. If you’re going bigger, try thrift shops like the one run by BSPCA. Alternatively, make your thrift shop with your family and friends by swapping things. And don’t think of pieces as being used; think of them as vintage!”
If you would like to know more about Shoug and check out her work, you can follow her on Instagram @theflipdiva.
