Patt fell in love with wood when she joined an evening woodwork class for women in Bristol, UK in 1984. In pursuit of her passion she trained full time as a Carpenter/Joiner. She learned everything from stair casing to roofing and dovetail joints in cabinetmaking.

In 1985 Patt helped set up a Government funded Women's Workshop in Bath, UK and with a group of women began teaching woodwork to unemployed women over 25 years of age. Patt helped many trainees to become either teachers themselves or to start their own carpentry business. Some formed their own groups and offered an all woman service while others found jobs in the industry.

Returning to Australia and later to sleepy country town, Mullumbimby, Patt wondered if the women in Australia would like to learn woodwork and they did. She set up a pilot course under the Government funded NEIS (New Enterprise Incentive Scheme) and Woodwork for Women was born. It was the awareness of the inequities in technical education that encouraged her to develop a system suited to teaching woodworking to women in an environment of fun, non-competitiveness with an emphasis on developing confidence. She designed courses using mind and body to teach tool handling and the fundamentals of furniture making. Her teachings may not follow the conventional route, but the students arrive at the end point having gained an understanding of how and why the project is constructed the way it is and how to properly and safely use the tools.

ABC Interview - September 2010