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Shedding is a place of celebration!
At Shedding, we embrace the ongoing journey of learning, sharing the skills we’ve gained, celebrating our successes, and valuing the mistakes we make, which serve as fertile ground for deeper knowledge and growth.
At Shedding, we celebrate one another. No matter who you are, your skill level, or the kind of day you’re having – everyone and everything matters.
We also celebrate the power of listening—listening to others, with others, and to ourselves, with the intention focused towards wholeness and wellbeing.
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, every Friday from 10am-3pm and the Repair Cafe, every Saturday 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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Throughout my life, I’ve always gravitated toward activities typically seen as “men’s work.” Whether it was sports or woodworking, I loved using my hands and working with tools. However as I entered the trade world, I faced a harsh reality. Sexism, gender stereotypes, and harassment were constant obstacles. Time and again, I found myself marginalized, sexualized, and unsupported. Eventually, I grew tired of fighting against a world that wasn’t changing fast enough and decided it was easier to pursue other careers. A few years ago I decided to give it one last try by becoming a van fitter. For six months, I was the happiest I’d ever been at work. I knew this was what I wanted to do. But soon, the old problems resurfaced – sexual harassment, mockery of my gender identity, and a complete lack of support from management. My mental health deteriorated, and I left the job with a heavy heart and no backup plan. It took a long time to grieve that loss.
So, back to TAFE I went. There, I met a local from Mullumbimby who told me about Shedding – a carpentry shed run by a woman just 45 minutes away. I couldn’t believe it! A space like this was something I had only dreamed about. From the moment I joined, I knew Shedding was special.
Sophie, who runs the Shed, is incredible. She’s not some unapproachable expert; she’s genuine, loving, and down to earth. There’s no hierarchy here, just a true sense of community. Shedding has given me a place where I can build without being judged, sidelined, or underestimated. The inclusive values Sophie and the team promote are lived out daily, modelled and celebrated, which has made all the difference. For the first time, I feel safe, supported, and empowered in a building environment.
One of my most important personal growth takeaways from Shedding is that instead of feeling like a victim and running away, I’ve learned to take responsibility for how I’m treated by clearly communicating my needs. This experience has transformed how I see myself and my work. I’m now back to fitting out vans, but with renewed strength and confidence.
Shedding isn’t just a workshop. It’s a community that has changed my life. While I’m there, I get to hear all the other stories of lives this community is changing for the better. I’ve made so many incredible mates, my mental health is great, and I have a more positive outlook on my career. I’m also grateful to be learning mentoring skills. Mentoring isn’t something I’d usually feel confident doing, but in this non-hierarchical setting, I can have fun with it, make learning and mentoring explorative, and now I get to support others like myself to feel empowered using tools.
Jac Rogers
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At Shedding, we focus on wellbeing, self-empowerment and community connection. We offer a safe, trauma-informed and inclusive environment for all people.
We use reclaimed and recycled materials to provide hands-on education in waste recovery, repair and re-use.
No matter the skill set or capacity, every single person has a role – to feel a sense of purpose as part of a team. Our facilitators are trained on tools, and in mental health and wellbeing practices.
We have a much-expanded directory of available and willing repairers and volunteers, with a huge diversity of skills, knowledge and collective capacity. We support our volunteers to discover the satisfaction of learning tools, repairing belongings and sharing passion and knowledge.
We receive requests from community groups, organisations and businesses who would like to replicate and implement our hands-on wellbeing and sustainability practices country wide.
We share our resources and networks with them (free of charge). Many of these groups have visited our space, participating in our workshops to inform and support their own like-minded collaborative missions. Many of these groups are now preparing to host their own workshops and repair spaces.
Our aim is to continue to share our resources to all in need of them, inclusively supporting all people to host their own all-inclusive workshops for wellbeing.
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SPACEMAKERS
Working collaboratively to design and build our community space
Spacemakers is our free weekly workshop series 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 in the Shed 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 tools and our space, that it may care for us.
We are looking forward 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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This month we welcomed over 80 students from Byron Community College and Mount Saint Patrick College, to get on the tools and discover the joys of repurposing ‘waste’ materials and gaining skills in carpentry and building!
Beginning with roadside ‘stringer’ pallets, we learned to dismantle them with our favourite pallet puller. For the first time ever, we had every one of our hammers banging away on the benches, knocking out nails and levering them with long-handled pry bars.
Our older students delighted in discovering the easeful use of the circular saw to chop up ‘block’ pallets, and achieve clean square cuts using the dropsaw. For some students, a project was made – they used clamps and drills, measuring and marking and preparing timbers to screw together and complete with the meditative buzz of the sander.
Our Shedding mentors were deeply inspired, watching passionate younger humans not just learning skills on tools but learning to actively support each other with kindness and compassion – offering encouragement and friendship through fun (and sometimes challenging) group activities.
If you’re keen to bring a few young ones to check out our space, get in touch!
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As someone who loves tinkering in my shed, having a space where people will bring me puzzles to solve – such as a reciprocating saw that won’t take a blade or a hammer in need of a new handle – is my idea of heaven.
And something I didn’t anticipate, has been that the ‘broken thing’ – the item needing repair – is also a bridge into this community. Through the collaborative process of repairing someone’s item, I also come to meet them and know them, and they’re usually someone that I might otherwise never have met.
It leaves me with this feeling of connectedness and positive regard for the community and for people that I don’t yet know yet within the community.
Gabriel Bullock
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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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Come and join Shedding in a feast and some fun!
Our next Potluck Dinner is
Wednesday 2nd October from 6-9pm!
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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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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