Girls Garage

Girls Garage is a design and construction school for girls and gender-expansive youth ages 9-18.

06/19/2026

Bringing an architectural drawing to life is more than just building the structure itself; it requires real-time problem solving. Today's puzzle: how to bring this multi-layered lattice wall (which we believe weighs upwards to 600lbs) to its upright position. After much deliberation and a couple of stops to the hardware store, we installed a vertical i-beam threading it through the center of the whole structure to keep it from bending and added two braces on the sides at the top of the wall so we could use them as lift points. Additionally, we added plywood bases and 2x4 shoes to protect the feet of the wall as pivot points. After positioning three pulleys overhead, one with a secondary in-line pulley, we used a roofing harness mechanism and rope to connect to the Girls Garage truck hitch with two supporting rope holders at the side. Once staff completed a quick test of the lift system, it was time to deploy our plan with our Girls Garage builders. With focused hands, attentive eyes and ears, we all watched as the wall we just finished building yesterday rose and softly landed upright. These young wood workers absolutely NAILED this collaborative feat!

06/18/2026

Building is often an unexpected coordinated dance: "Ready? 3, 2, 1, lift! Step, step, left, left, turn, turn, slowwwwwly lower, and rest." The last couple of days has been full of clamping and carefully driving screws into redwood. One of two special exhibition caseworks is close to reaching the finish line (as is the first week of summer camp!) ☀️

04/23/2026

Spring is in full bloom! 🌸 For a limited time, take 20% off your entire order with code SPRING20. Snag beautiful, new art for your walls, trucker hats perfect for the warmer weather, and limited edition student designed t-shirts. Whether you’re repping Girls Garage or gifting a future builder, now’s the time! Every order includes a FREE holographic “Fear Less. Build More.” sticker, currently not sold in our shop.

✨ Free shipping for all orders in the US (always!)�✨ Code valid through April 30
✨ Tap that link in bio for our shop!

Your purchase supports our hands-on programs in carpentry, architecture, and activist art for girls and gender-expansive youth. We’re slowly prepping for our summer camps and are stoked to share what we’ve been building soon 👀

04/15/2026

“We built this together.”

When people walk into the Girls Garage space, they are greeted by our community wall: a catalog of student names, staff members, project collaborators, supporters, and more. Each name is meticulously written BY HAND, a reminder to slow down and make room for gratitude. The best part of every session is the burst of excitement as students search the wall, spot their name, and shout, “Look! That’s me, I’m up there!” Here's to building the world we want to see, together ⚒️

01/21/2026

Home renovation, DONE ✅

Yesterday, we gathered together with beloved collaborators, industry partners, city officials, family, and friends to unveil the complete home renovation project we started last year. As you might recall, we jumped into this tremendous project with Rebuilding Together East Bay Network () to renovate a house for an aging couple in West Berkeley.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day that calls us to service and collective action, we cut the ribbon on this home that now carries the energy of everyone who helped bring it to life:
- Girls Garage students, parents and guardians, and staff
- Rebuilding Together East Bay Network, especially Danielle Faulkner
- Christine Cox from Custom Drywall ()
- Kazoo Shearman ()
- Martin and Brie from Fireclay Tile ()
- Ashby Lumber ()
- Kit Switch (.switch)
- Yelp Foundation
- Della Tran
- Mayor Adena Ishii (), City Manager Paul Buddenhagen, and Councilmember Shoshana O’Keefe!

The space buzzed with excitement, awe, and celebration as people slowly trickled into the completed home. And while most of the students who started the work with us graduated last spring, our newest cohort of Advanced Design/Build students stood in the now kitchen, proud of everything they accomplished to bring this house to the finish line. Rosa, a young builder who has been with us since she was 9, stepped up to the mic and reflected on her time working on the house, reminding us that this renovation was about growth and opportunity as much as it has been about showing up with shared community purpose.

We are beyond proud of what this project has brought to the Girls Garage community, Rebuilding Together, the city of Berkeley, and the couple who get to continue to call this place their home. Just because the home reno is done doesn’t mean we’re hanging up our toolbelts just yet. We are so excited for what our collaboration with Rebuilding Together East Bay Network will grow into in the coming years 🏠🌱

fearlessbuildmore

12/31/2025

THANK YOU for helping us make 2025 such a memorable year for the Girls Garage community! From the home renovation to the whale play structure, the first GG mural to bus stop ads, the little free library to our first international build, and EVERYTHING in between, showing up with joy every day helped us finish up some of our biggest projects to date. Here's to another year of bold construction projects and art that moves you! 🛠️💪

10/02/2025

SNEAK PEEK: we’ve been working on something we’ve never done before. It’s about 85% insane and 100% awesome. Hint: it involves choreography and an audience of hundreds. We can’t wait to show it to you soon! In the meantime, here’s a behind the scenes of our rehearsal!

01/16/2025

Two beloved alumni, Alya and Sammie, stopped by Girls Garage this week to check out the new space and share updates on their lives and blossoming careers! Alya just received her welding certification under the guidance of our friend , and is now diving into automotive mechanics. Sammie has a thriving tshirt-making business and is studying chemistry, soon to be chemical engineering! We got a little misty-eyed when they both reflected on their time at Girls Garage, and how much the space inspired them to pursue these ambitious paths with bravery and joy. We’re so proud to continue to support them into their next chapters!

To our other fabulous alumni: come visit! And thanks for being part of our growing Alumni Cohort, too :)

01/15/2025

Looking for a meditative, hands-on creative practice to start 2025 in a state of calm? Want to make something beautiful and useful with a lovely group of people led by an incredible local artist? Look no further!

In this introductory workshop taught by Bay Area artist Lena Wolff (), participants learn the techniques, materials, and methods of Sashiko, a meditative form of embroidery that draws from a lexicon of lyrical and geometric patterns that developed in Japan in the mid-1600’s.

Together we’ll make a pair of indigo-dyed coasters embellished with sashiko embroidery. A brief history and the basic principles of Sashiko will be introduced, including an array of stitches and how to read and draft patterns onto fabric hand with ease. Reference material will be given to all students as fodder to springboard future projects to embellish clothing, quilts, or other home textiles. This workshop is suitable for experienced sewists or beginners alike. All materials and tools will be provided (and some snacks, too!).

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd, 11am-2pm
At Girls Garage in Berkeley!

This workshop is open to participants ages 16 and up of all genders on a sliding scale from $100-$150. For our sliding scale, please pay what you are able to, acknowledging the value of artists’ time and talent.

Lena Wolff is an artist, craftswoman, and activist for democracy in equal parts. Her work extends out of American quiltmaking traditions while at the same time being rooted in minimalism, geometric abstraction, Op art, social practice, feminist and political art. Wolff’s interconnected artistic output includes drawing, collage, sculpture, frequent collaboration, and public projects. Her work is in the permanent collections of ONE National Le***an and Gay Archives, the Berkeley Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Oakland Museum of California, among others. She lives with her wife, artist Miriam Klein Stahl and their daughter in Berkeley, California.

01/14/2025

Appreciation post for ! When we moved into our new space last year, the exterior needed some major reimagining. We wanted a low-water landscape that was beautiful and low maintenance, and our friends at Spectrum Gardens really delivered! From succulents and stones to natives and grassy bushes, we just love arriving to work every day and being greeted by our flora friends.

Address

2080 2nd Street
Berkeley, CA
94710

Website

http://www.girlsgarage.org/

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