Sailor opens a pub – that isn’t
[caption id="attachment_24295" align="aligncenter" width="593"] Lt(N) Gill Herringer puts the finishing touches on a carving created in her new workspace.[/caption]Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~Lt(N) Gill Herringer united her love of pubs with her creative craft tinkering to create O’Malley’s Irish Pub, Carpentry Shop, and upcoming Bakery.Don’t let the name deceive you though, there’s no alcohol involved. Her fledgling small business creates “fun, funky and useful wood art, with some sewing, some baking, and the best damn pickles you have ever tasted,” she says. “I’m slowly working on building up a decent inventory, but I also can do custom carving and other woodworking projects. The bakery part is what I envision adding later, you know, when I'm retired and can spend my weekends sitting behind a table at various farmers' markets.”The Naval Warfare Officer and instructor at Naval Fleet School (Pacific) Venture Division launched her uniquely branded workshop during the pandemic lock down, which afforded her lots of after-work free time. She cleared out her and her daughter’s hockey equipment and other items, and transformed the 600-square-foot unfinished basement space into a workshop. The set-up includes a work bench, woodworking tools, a label maker, organized piles of screws, and wood.“I spent four days sorting and setting things up,” she said. “The new set up meant that instead of scrambling to pull out tools only when things needed fixing, I could actually make things, and I did.”She has carved and built home décor items, selling them through word of mouth and her Facebook page at “very affordable prices.” The aim being to make a very modest profit, while paying for materials and giving people the opportunity to own affordable quality items. “The business grew out of a hobby because I eventually ran out of things to make for myself,” she says. “Now I make things...