Meet the Fratton decorators painting a path for women entering the trades

Two Fratton decorators who built their own business after meeting online are urging more girls to learn a trade, despite still battling with outdated and misogynistic views on site.

Rachel Lewis and Candice Hodgson met online, and bonded over their shared vocation.

“It's obviously quite rare for two women to meet and happen to be decorators,” said Ms Lewis, who is originally from the Isle of Wight.

“We just bonded and then I moved to the mainland, because there wasn't really much work on the island. We ended up working together and we were just really good as a team. We thought ‘let’s do it, let’s set up a business’.”

They set up Rachel and Candice Painting & Decorating, based in Fratton, and the business has gone from strength to strength.

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“The response we get from customers is always really positive. A lot of our clients are older and they feel so much more comfortable with women in their house. The biggest compliment for us is when sometimes they end up falling asleep when we're there. That’s when we know that we've made them feel comfortable.

“We’ve always been employed through recommendations, we don’t really advertise much. We've always said that, you know, ‘yes, we're two women’, but we always get our jobs through skill and character. We're so much more than just our gender, and we've always had a positive response because people just love the fact that we are doing what we're doing.”

However, Ms Lewis and Ms Hodgson are open about the fact that they have also faced uncomfortable situations while working, and have often been judged by men who work in trades.

“Even on site, men are still looking at us like ‘what they doing here?’” said Ms Lewis. “I try to take it as a positive thing, but sometimes it's really difficult because you think, well, I'm here doing this exact same job as you. Yes, we are women, but we can do just as good a job as you, if not better.

“We have had misogynistic marks in the past and you know, we try to take it as positively as possible to educate people as much as we can, but sometimes it does get to us. We’ve had things in the past like ‘why don’t you smile?’. Well, do you want me to look like the Joker while I'm trying to do my work? Why don't you ask any of the men to smile? A guy came up to Candice once and asked if she was on her period because she wasn’t smiling. It's just so bizarre that he would say that to us.”

Despite some uncomfortable comments, both women insist that they would still recommend learning a trade to all girls who wanted to.

“I do think that attitudes are changing,” said Ms Lewis. “I would always encourage girls to learn a trade. I've always said, we've had to grow a backbone so the next generation don't have to. Even though it's 2026, there are still not enough women in the industry, in my view.

“For me, the best thing you'll ever do is have a trade, especially having your own business. It’s the confidence that it brings you. Before I had my own business, I wasn't very confident and because of the setbacks that I've had, it made me think ‘should I really be doing this?’ But I just pushed through it and I'm just so glad it did.

“We're six years in now, and it was generally the best thing that I've ever done. We just want to prove to people that women belong in the trades, and we're just getting better and better.”

You can find out more about Rachel and Candice Painting & Decorating here.