Friday Finery: Chile shed

One of my oldest schoolfriends, Kevin Towl (I watched my first world cup football final at his house in Telford in 1978), now lives and works in Chile, and he has been kind enough to send Shedworking some photos of his latest project (a 'casita' translates as 'little house' but it's very much a shedlike atmosphere as you can see). Here's what he says about it:

After a few ups and downs my 'casita' is almost ready. Switching from one builder to another didn't help the process and I seem to have ended up with a child's drawing of an Irish pub. Anyway, the book shelves go in soon and I am looking for the perfect desk.

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New beach huts in Hove up for grabs

Local residents have the rare opportunity to own one of 11 new beach huts which are being installed on Hove seafront this week situated between Hove Lagoon and the beach, with the popular Hove Beach Park directly behind.

Ten of the new huts are being built in the gaps on the promenade above Hove Lagoon Watersports. The 11th hut will fill a gap nearby, following the removal of an abandoned derelict hut.

Brighton and Hove City Council say that residents interested in buying a hut are invited to an open viewing day on March 31 between 12 noon and 3pm. Further viewing days can be arranged if needed.

The 10 huts will go on sale to Brighton & Hove residents for offers over £25,000. The 11th hut, which is in a more established location, has been priced at offers over £30,000. Money raised from the sale of the huts will be used to fund further seafront maintenance.

Councillor Birgit Miller, Cabinet Member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism, said: “Our famous seafront beach huts rarely come onto the market, so we are thrilled to be offering residents the chance to own one of 11 brand new huts."

Offers can be made in writing by April 7 and sent to Seafront.lettings@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Bidders are asked to state their first and second preferences.

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Shed of the Year returns with a new sponsor

Entries for Shed of the Year 2026 are now open, sponsored this year by shed specialists Tiger.

This year marks the competition's 20th anniversary and will feature new categories as well as category sponsors, another first. These are:

• Eco haven (sponsored by British Garden Centres)
• Workshop/studio (sponsored by Horsforth Brewery)
• Most colourful shed (sponsored by Protek)
• Pub/entertainment (sponsored by Horsforth Brewery)
• Community shed (sponsored by St Gemma’s Hospice, Tiger’s chosen charity of the year)
• Cabin/summerhouse
• Budget champion
• Garden sanctuary (sponsored by British Garden Centres)
• Unexpected/unique (sponsored by Protek)
• Simple but effective

There are also two additional judged categories, Tiger in the Wild (the best Tiger shed entered into the competition) and regional winners from across the UK. The overall winner will be crowned in July.

A spokesman for Tiger said: "As the new lead sponsor, Tiger is proud to support a competition that so perfectly embodies the philosophy that an individual’s shed is their personal haven. A shared passion for garden buildings and their transformative impact on people's lives forms the foundation of this partnership. By stepping up to sponsor this anniversary, Tiger is helping to ensure the future of a competition that has brought joy and inspiration to thousands over the past two decades."
 
"What makes this partnership feel so right is that Tiger is a genuine shed manufacturer," added Andrew Wilcox who runs readersheds.co.uk and established the competition. "They don’t just ‘get’ sheds; they live and breathe the craft, the passion, and the culture that we all love. They care about our community and want it to thrive, not just for the branding. Plus, with their incredible network of showsites across the UK, we’re going to be able to reach even more local shed-heads than ever before.

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Work from home to beat oil crisis, says International Energy Agency

 

The International Energy Agency has released a new report 'Sheltering From Oil Shocks: Measures to reduce impacts on households and businesse' which "details 10 demand-side options open to households, businesses and governments to shelter themselves from today’s oil shock and relieve the strains on affordability".

The IEA admits that it's hard to generalise and that different countries have different energy needs but nevertheless number one on its list is 'Work from home where possible'. The report's authors point out that commuting accounts for between 5% and 30% of car activity across regions. Here are their thoughts:

As not all jobs are suitable for working from home, at the national level, three additional remote working days, for those whose jobs allow for it, could reduce oil consumption from cars by 2%-6%. If an average individual driver shifts from no teleworking to three remote days in a five-day workweek, their personal car oil consumption could be reduced by up to 20%.  

It also points out that Governments can encourage businesses to allow their employees to work from home, and can mandate public officials to work from home, where possible, and close public buildings on certain days. Their examples make interesting reading:

Policy examples: In response to the 2026 crisis in the Middle East, several countries have announced measures to encourage working from home. For example, the Philippines and Pakistan have mandated 4-day workweeks for government workers, while Sri Lanka has closed public offices on Wednesdays, and Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam are all actively promoting remote work. Many European governments also encouraged working from home in response to the energy crisis in 2022-23, including through the joint IEA-EU Playing my Part Campaign. For example, France incentivised public officials working from home in 2022, and encouraged private companies to follow this example.

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Friday Finery: David Hockney's barn

This week's finery focuses on a detail from David Hockney's work 'Autour de la maison, été' (2019) which is coming up for auction at the end of this month at Christie's London. 

The full thing is a monumental 12m long printed on a single sheet of paper, and shows Hockney's home and garden in Normandy at the height of summer, but the key elements are obviously the shelike buildings. Hockney incorporates medieval barns and contemporary treehouse in a work, as Christie's puts it: "recalling the narrative structure of the historic Bayeux Tapestry".  

The estimate is £200,000-300,000 but it will probably go for more.

Pic credit: © David Hockney/Christie's 

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Garden office conference to focus on writing huts

Intriguing news that there is to be a conference later this year at the Justus Liebig University, Giessen, in Germany entitled 'Forest Cabins, Garden Sheds, and Other Niches: Spaces of Retreat and the Potentiality of Writing'.

In her call for papers Professor Kirsten von Hagen writes:

"Writing practices have long been associated with withdrawal and retreat, often into nature. From Henry David Thoreau’s cabin in the woods to Virginia Woolf’s garden shed in Sussex [pictured top in my recent book Rooms of Their Own and illustrated by James Oses], spaces of retreat appear central to creative practice. They promise time, focus, and a calmer environment removed from everyday distractions, raising the question of what constitutes an “ideal” space for writing and creative work.

"This conference seeks to examine secluded, marginal, and sometimes remote spaces of retreat more closely, with a particular focus on writing as practice. What forms of writing emerge in such settings? How are writers shaped by spaces of withdrawal? Which strategies accompany retreat-based writing practices, for example, walking and writing or a particular attunement to surroundings?"

It follows the 2025 conference 'The Cabin in the Woods and Other Utopian Confinements: Hopes and Horrors of Living in Small Houses in Remote Areas' and aims to place "creative practice and writing at the center of its exploration of spaces of retreat, including cabins, garden sheds, and other hut-like environments."

More details at the link above but a list of possible topics - deadline for submission is March 26 for the July conference - included in the call suggests:

• The potentiality of writing and creative practice
• Retreat as a space of withdrawal or resistance
• Ecocritical perspectives on writing retreats
• Ecofeminist and posthumanist approaches to retreat
• Entanglements with the more-than-human world in times of withdrawal
• Blurred boundaries between fiction and non-fiction in literary representations of retreats

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Cosy Garden Rooms scoops business award

Congratulations to Cosy Garden Rooms who have won the Micro Business of the Year prize at the East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire) Business Awards.

The award is contested by entrants with one to 10 employees. "We’re proud to be recognised among the region’s outstanding businesses," said a spokesperson. "Here’s to continuing to grow, innovate, and deliver exceptional garden rooms."

East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “Nottinghamshire is known the world over for its rich history of making, creating and is home to some of the country and the world’s best innovation. Whether skill in trading within the county or far and wide at international level, what I see continually across Nottinghamshire’s business community is a forward-thinking approach, focused on overcoming challenges, seizing opportunity and on growth." 

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