Source: Radio New Zealand
Aalia and Jala Hooker started Flatpack Girls in 2021. Ke-Xin Li
Auckland woman Roisin Connolly is stoked to move into her new home before the festive season.
Her Christmas tree is out and decorations are up, but some key furniture is still missing before she can comfortably welcome her guests.
Specifically, she’s missing an entertainment unit, a coffee table, a toy boy, and two bedside tables.
And the reason?
“I won’t be buying flatpacks again,” Connolly said at the painful sight of half-built furniture.
The Christmas tree is up, but Roisin Connolly’s new home is not ready. Ke-Xin Li
“They can be a little bit cheaper, but a lot more stressful. I have tried and my son has tried, and my friend came over and did half of one, and everyone, everyone’s finding it very difficult to do them. I feel like you have to be good at Lego, and I was never good at Lego.”
Connolly is not alone. Flatpack frustration and flatpack-furniture grief are the terms coined to that feeling when missing pieces, unclear instructions, and uncooperative partners drive one to a state of despair.
One well known store has even gone as far as nicknaming one of it’s most difficult pieces “The Divorce Maker”.
But two rangatahi have made a business out of solving the flatpack puzzle and easing the frustrations.
Twelve-year-old Aalia Hooker explains how she started Flatpack Girls with her 14-year-old sister Jala in 2021.
“When we were little, we would always help Dad with the flatpacks that we made for our house, and one day we had a homework challenge at school which was to start a business. So we thought: ‘Oh why don’t we help people make flatpacks’ and it’s just carried on since then.”
And with more furniture than ever being sold as self-assembly, business is busy.
Over the last five years, the girls have turned their hands to everything from chairs to cabinets, and even a gym.
Jala Hooker says perseverance is key to successfully building a flatpack furniture. Ke-Xin Li
“One time we got to a person’s house and they asked, can you build a gym? We said yes but everything was back to front, or around the wrong way, and the instruction was all in Spanish so we just had to rely on the pictures. We went there after dinner, and we were there till it was dark and that was in summer.”
Jala said their dad Nathan had to help quite a bit.
“We were really short as well so we couldn’t build half the stuff that was up high. So he held us up when we were building it.”
Aalia said Connolly’s furniture sets were challenging to build, but they persevered.
“It’s so satisfying like putting the last piece in. It’s like, click, it’s done.”
Aalia Hooker said it’s enjoyable to help others do something they couldn’t do. Ke-Xin Li
When they first started their business, Jala’s favourite task was building a six-drawer tallboy. That’s no longer the case.
“Drawers are the worst, you have to get the details exactly right, otherwise it doesn’t work,” she said.
Aalia agreed.
“I don’t like drawers. Because on most tallboys, there’s five or six to do. You just have to do it over and over and over again, and it just gets really repetitive.”
Even the professionals can find flatpacks challenging. Ke-Xin Li
The sisters’ expertise has earned them many recommendations and jobs, but Aalia said not everyone’s glad to see them.
“Sometimes when we get to a house, the full family was there and the husbands will take off as soon as we get there.”
I asked them why that happened.
“I don’t know, I guess it’s sort of embarrassing knowing they can’t do it and two little girls can.”
Aalia and Jala Hooker started Flatpack Girls in 2021. Ke-Xin Li
After five years assembling hundreds of flatpacks, the sisters have some advice on combating flatpack frustration.
It starts before you buy the flatpack.
“It’s kind of hard because the more money you spend on a flat pack, the better the instructions will be. We sort of have to charge more for the worse quality ones because they’re harder to make.”
Aalia Hooker said attention to detail is critical in successfully assembling a flatpack. Ke-Xin Li
Then, when it’s time to build, “it takes a lot of patience and resilience,” Jala said.
Aalia’s advice is attention to detail.
“You have to look through the instructions and double check everything before you put it together. If you do one thing wrong, it messes up the whole thing.”
But as anyone who’s tried to put something together themselves knows, sometimes the frustration is with your do-it-yourself partner.
“Sometimes when we’re working on the same thing, we’d start to argue, that’s my piece of wood or whatever. No, that’s mine. Give me the screwdriver. It can be really annoying sometimes.”
Aalia and Jala Hooker started Flatpack Girls in 2021. Ke-Xin Li
While the girls do fight, they say building flatpacks is definitely a two-people job, and they have some advice on how to avoid conflicts.
“Usually there’s stages in flatpacks, so one person can do the drawers and one person can build the base, so you’re not going together at the same thing. You probably will have to use the same tools, but usually you can just wait instead of having to argue who wants to drill this bin.”
If you are in the market for some help, depending on the complexity of the job, Jala and Alia charge $80 for large furniture and up to $60 for small pieces.
They donate 10 percent of their earnings to a charity that helps people access clean and safe drinking water.
And the rest?
A frozen Coke right after the job, bought with the money they just earned.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
