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What a month it has been! In this month’s newsletter we are delighted to share personal stories from our Shedders as well as announcements including our upcoming Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 18th November, and our end of year Shedfest celebration on Sunday 8th December, which will wrap up what has been an incredibly special year.
We welcome you to pop in and check out what’s happening at the shed. A great time to swing by is during our weekly workshops including Spacemakers, on Fridays from 10am-3pm and the Repair Cafe, on Saturdays from 1.30pm-4.30pm. Text Sophie on 0490 501 745 if you’d like to pop in and check out our space and our community.
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The other day I had a moment that reminded me of one of the key scenes in the Captain Marvel movie. Like many inspiring action movies, the protagonist – Carol Danvers confronts her foe. Overcoming fear and intimidation, she recognises that it is her human spirit – her emotions and resilience – that make her strong. Her radiance glows as she expresses her own transformation and liberation – embracing her true self in a moment of empowerment and self-realisation.
For me, something similar takes place at Shedding on many different levels – particularly the more I learn about tools and embrace roles of leadership. The other day I used a blowtorch to heat a rasp until it was glowing red. I slowly plunged it into a small hole in a hardwood handle I had created and something happened.
Something happened inside that just exploded. I felt so powerful, with the flame of the blowtorch and the billowing smoke that I created. Since then I have had the chance to mentor others, and notice something very special happening. I notice that people start coming to me – asking me to mentor them.
Though I may not know the answer, I know that I can find it. All of a sudden I think, “Oh my gosh, I’m valuable in this place. I have value.”
For many of us at Shedding, the first use of a power tool that previously created fear and intimation now creates a new sense of empowerment. There is a new, vibrant, and energetic excitement of embodiment when someone uses the circular saw for the first time or is empowered with the newfound knowledge, skill and experience of using the dropsaw, a router, and even a blowtorch. And then comes the thrill of being able to turn around and mentor a fellow Shedder to gain the confidence to do the same.
For me, Shedding is my place of empowerment.
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For me, SpaceMakers is a vital part of
Shedding Community Workshop.
Before I came to Mullumbimby, someone told me, “Check out the Repair Cafe – there are some good people there.” So I did, and there were! I joined the sewing team and got involved.
It was all happening at the shed – a vast space impressively set up for woodworking on what looked like an industrial scale. At our weekly Repair Cafe sessions, I observed the varied operations going on at the benches – broken furniture being put back together, electricals being brought back to life, and design items being created with timber.
I noticed the cooperative, harmonious atmosphere, friendly collaboration and flowing activity. Everyone seemed able to get on with their varied projects without getting in each other’s way. What were the keys to that I wondered, knowing that it can be so very tricky for people to work together?
Underpinning everything, I found, “Wellbeing first, as the foundation for learning and sharing community spaces” as an explicit value embraced by all Shedders. Quite simply, Shedding was that rare thing in practice – an inclusive, conscious and caring culture. After that comes a commitment to best practices in supportive teaching, learning opportunities and the creation of value in the physical realm.
And there Spacemakers comes into its own. A diverse group of Shedders, from the recently initiated to the very experienced, put in time at the shed every Friday to maintain and improve the functionality of the Shedding space. At the same time, they are practicing, developing, and teaching skills.
When I joined in on Friday 18th October, the task list for the day included handles for files and rasps, top frame bench rebates, cutting and installing shelves, labelling containers, sharpening tools on the Tormek, and bottom frame deck boards. All quite intelligible to people who’ve done Upskill, I’m sure.
After an initial planning session, everyone started working on the jobs they decided they would like to work on for the day. Someone was sharpening drill bits, someone else creating new tool belts from old ones, and screw sorting was on the list too.
At Shedding Community Workshop, everyone is welcome. If they choose to, they will be empowered to learn the skills of combining materials and tools to turn out useful objects.
The workshop is a very productive place. Shedding produces a lot of human growth, self-confidence, satisfaction, trust and happiness too.
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Shedding Community Workshop and Mullumbimby Clayworkers have collaborated to create three long wall-mounted shelves in the kiln room annexe at the Clayworkers studio. I am a member of both community groups and when I heard of the desire for built-in shelves in the annexe I asked Sophie if we could offer support. The outcome was Shedding donating salvaged formply and offering their space, tools and expertise for the pre-fabrication of the shelves.
I photographed, measured up and made scale drawings of the space. Sophie came up with a design that made great use of the available material, cutting right-angled triangles from formply to screw to the exposed studs. The shelves then screw onto those triangular brackets. I spent a few afternoons at the shed sourcing and cutting to size the formply sheets and then cutting the brackets.
My days at Spacemakers put me in good stead to create accurate cutting lists and tool lists which kept the project flowing. Sophie, Dave, Rhonda and Huck mentored and supported me to get it all cut. Shedding supplied the two screw types for fixing the shelves as well as the formply, mentoring and power saw use. Mullumbimby Clayworkers will be making a donation to Shedding with thanks.
Last Monday was installation day. Jenny, Karen and Tanya joined me at Clayworkers with drills, clamps, levels & stepladders. I pre-drilled the brackets while the rest of the team clamped, checked levels and then screwed the brackets in place. Then we pre-drilled and screwed the shelves onto their brackets. We are all enamoured of our resulting shelves with their sleek, elegant lines and chuffed to have collaborated to make them. How do you like them?
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Last weekend, I was excited to learn how to safely use the dropsaw and drill press. Ably mentored by Rhonda, I was able to make two combs to use in the Community College Laneway art studio located at the Byron Bay Community College, here in Mullumbimby.
We are going to create marble paper, a traditional technique that involves floating paint on water and combing the surface to create patterns.
Many thanks to Shedding and the wonderful group of volunteers.
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Working collaboratively to design and build our community space
Spacemakers is our free weekly workshop where you get to collaboratively build a range of projects for our community space. It is an introduction to designing and building projects together – from start to finish. We provide the project, tools and materials for you to discover what is needed to bring a project to life. It is such a fun time, a great place to show off your existing tool skills, learn some new ones, and share the joy of supporting each other.
We have been spending the last few weeks cleaning and sharpening our tools and equipment. This has included drill bits, files, chisels, and various assorted saw blades. It’s been a time of learning new skills in tool and equipment maintenance. We have discovered the joy and value of caring for our space, that it may care for us.
We excited to providing tool and knife sharpening services in the future and are busy sharpening up our own skills to offer this service at The Repair Cafe. Stay tuned for more details.
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The Repair Cafe offers people the opportunity to help our community by sharing skills to support the collaborative repair of household items, like toasters or bicycles and small home projects.
We welcome skilled volunteers and anyone who wants to help, to come together to assist however they can. But it’s not just about fixing things – it’s also about meeting new people, sharing knowledge, and having fun. Everyone is welcome to join in, learn something new, and feel the spirit of community. Whether you have something to fix or just want to help out, the Repair Cafe is a great way to experience teamwork, laughter, and a sense of achievement.
The Repair Cafe is open every Saturday afternoon, from 1.30-4.30pm at Shedding Community Workshop on 18 Prince Street, Mullumbimby.
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It’s that time of year again, and we are so excited to welcome you to join our AGM and potluck dinner as we share with you our successes, challenges and discoveries over the past year.
We will come together on Monday 18th November from 5.30-8.30pm to share food and chats, followed by reflections, visioning and celebration of all that we have created together.
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Join our annual SHEDFEST on Sunday 8th December from 10am-3pm. This very special event is an end of year celebration and open day, bringing together Shedders, Repairers, collaborators and guests to play with tools! We will be hosting a suite of hands-on workshops amidst live music, food, drink and activities to discover our workshops for wellbeing, our creative community and a smorgasbord of skills!
Please RSVP to hello@shedding.com.au and follow our social media pages as we will be sharing the event online with a growing line up of workshop facilitators and live musicians galore!
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Come and join Shedding in a feast and some fun.
Our next Potluck Dinner is
Wednesday 4th December from 6-9pm!
This will be our last Potluck Dinner for the year of 2024!
The first Wednesday of every month our Shedders and friends enjoy gathering for a delicious meal and great conversation. Everyone is invited to bring a dish, snack or dessert to be shared or simply invited to make a donation if you have capacity.
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Your donations help us to help
those in need of our services
We so appreciate the support of our Shedders who give their time each week to help our space support our community. Another huge level of support is financial donations. If you’d like to support us with a tax deductible donation you can hop onto our website or simply use the following account details:
Name: Shedding Community Workshop Inc
BSB: 722744
Account Number: 100129062
Description: Donation
We are so grateful for your support.
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Regular workshops
UPSKILL
UPSKILL is the place to start your Shedding journey. It’s an introduction to the fundamentals of carpentry and building, and once you’ve done it you can jump into all our other workshops.
Day: 1x Saturday (check the website for dates)
Time: 8.30am-1.00pm
Cost: $50.00 (Can’t afford it? Get in touch)
Book in: Click here
SPACEMAKERS
SPACEMAKERS happens on Fridays and is our free workshop series where you get to collaboratively design and build a range of community projects. It’s such a fun time and a great place to practice your existing tool skills, learn some new ones, and share the joy of supporting each other.
Day: Fridays
Time: 10am-3pm
Cost: By donation
RSVP: To book your spot email us, or just drop by and say hi.
REPAIR CAFE
Join our host of volunteers every Saturday arvo as we passionately share skills to repair all manner of things. You don’t need to be an expert, basically if you can turn a screw driver anti-clockwise you’ve got the skills we need!
Day: Saturdays
Time: 1.30pm-4.30pm
Cost: By donation
RSVP: Just drop by and say hi.
MONTHLY POTLUCK DINNERS
On the first Wednesday of each month our Shedding community comes together to share food, conversation and hands-on skills. We’re currently learning knot tying, it’s so much fun!
Day: First Wednesday of the month
Time: 6pm-9pm
Cost: Bring a dish to share or a donation (recommended $10)
RSVP: Send us an email/facebook message
Can’t wait to get on tools with you!
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