Sunday, November 30, 2008
Railway Wagon/Shed
For the many readers who like railway carriages and sheds. Photo by John Rawlings of a converted wagon in Somerset, at the everincreasing Just Sheds pool on Flickr.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Mini Mart City Park

"We view this project as a creative means to address issues like energy, waste, and environmental stewardship; tensions between open space and development, notions of public versus private land, and art and the community."

Saturday Shed Art: Michelle Basic Hendry

"Cooper’s Shed is the first in a short series of paintings I am doing on the small, nearly ghost town, of Cooper’s Falls. I introduced Cooper’s Falls and the grandson of it’s founder Mr. Frank Cooper to you in August. This is a shed that sits behind the old Community Hall across from Mr. Cooper’s childhood home and the old store. The building is nearly absorbed by the forest behind it, but still stands strong - much like the town it resides in."Lots more lovely pictures and details at Michelle's site.
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Friday Shed Art
Friday, November 28, 2008
Around the shedworld



Labels:
around the shedworld
James Weaver: shedworker

"I’m now fortunate enough to have a lovely little studio at the end of our garden. It’s separate from the house, which I feel is important, as well as being warm and dry. It’s actually a ‘fancy shed' bought from the proceeds of an exhibition a few years ago, with larger windows than your average garden shed and also has electricity to it, so it’s quite cosy in the winter months and, unlike the kitchen table, allows me to work on several pieces simultaneously."Indeed, one recurrent theme in his work is the beach hut.
"I had no idea at the outset that I’d be using beach huts as a subject for so much of my work. I was drawing and painting a lot of the boats and saltmarsh around our island at the time and the beach and beach huts (of which we have hundreds) increasingly began to fascinate me. These modest pieces of seaside architecture are so very colourful and quintessentially British, and from the waterline here seem to stretch for miles and miles."

Almost Green: book reading

Friend of Shedworking Fiona Gilsenan went to a reading by friend of Shedworking James Glave and sent us this review:
I'm sorry to say I drove my car the ridiculous distance of .8km to the Fernwood Community Association where eco-writer and Shedworker James Glave was addressing the Annual General Meeting of the Victoria Car Share Co-op on Monday night. But I think he would understand. James is the first to acknowledge the challenges faced by well-intentioned but frazzled parents (and freelance writers) as they take baby steps to greener lifestyles. He was at the meeting to read from his very funny book, Almost Green, in which he chronicles building an environmentally sensitive writing studio on Bowen Island near Vancouver.You can read excerpts from the book at James' site and also at Salon where some of the comments have become a little heated.
As part of his own "half-hearted fumbling toward sustainability" the Eco-Shed represented a pretty steep learning curve, but James can now speak confidently about the relative soft costs of cob or straw-bale versus rammed-earth construction and advise on a method for storing harvested rainwater from the roof of a 280-square-foot building. (That method involves hitching a 250lb plastic cistern to a Lexus SUV, but it represents an impressive if potentially lethal commitment to sustainable shedworking.)
The Eco-Shed , featured in the September issue of Oprah's Winfrey's O at Home magazine, is now complete, although it serves only part-time as a shedworking venue. James reckons it is built to a Gold LEED standard, with its passive-solar design, salvaged and reclaimed lumber, Danish wood stove, and super-efficient ventilation and insulation systems. Meanwhile, it has to earn back its advance (approximately $100,000 Canadian dollars), so at weekends it doubles as a guest suite for visiting city dwellers seeking a green getaway.
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Books/magazines
In which country has homeworking risen fivefold this year?
I bet you were wrong. According to The News, the answer is Poland. Apparently, every twentieth employee in Poland earns his or her living working from home.
Can shedworking save the planet?
A new report for the Smith Institute and the Live Work Network shows how shedworking - and homeworking in general - cuts carbon emmissions.Can homeworking save the planet? How homes can become workspace in a low carbon economy is edited by Tim Dwelly and Andy lake of the Live Work Network and includes the thoughts of leading world experts (including World Wildlife Fund policy adviser Denis Pamlin and BT head of policy Caroline Waters) on the environmental impact of the shift to homeworking and live/work property. The report includes a comparison of carbon emissions by home workers and office workers as well as ways in which employers can benefit from a shift to shed/homeworking. Tim Dwelly said:
"This brings home the critical importance of live/work and home-based business to the future low carbon economy. We simply cannot go on assuming that commuting between separate homes and workspaces will remain the norm. We are no longer in the industrial era. With over 40% of all UK businesses now home-based and numbers likely to rise in the downturn, it is time for policymakers to urgently review their approach to employment and business and recognise the potential contribution of the live/work part of the UK economy."You can download the full 115-page report here.
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Green homeworking
Thursday, November 27, 2008
AR Design Studio: Glass Cube


Dog shed palace

The science of shedworking
Have famous physicists had their own sheds? And could these have influenced their work?
Did Newton sit in an apple shed, absently picking up some of them and dropping them on the floor?
Did Einstein find the space in his shed shrinking and the time going by more slowly – or the other way round?
Did Schrödinger's cat come from Schrödinger's shed?
And was Heisenberg uncertain about whether he had a shed or not?
Or could a Shed be the ultimate unit of matter?
One shed = the amount of stuff that one man can accumulate in ten years of marriage.
Indeed, could it be that we will soon see strings going out? – and sheds coming in!
Final Wooden House


"350mm square profile cedar has an amazing impact. It transcends what we usually call “wood” and becomes “an existence” of an entirely different material. While the dimensions adequately display its materiality as wood, 350mm squared is simultaneously the dimensionality directly corresponding to human body. Thus, three-dimensional space is created out of 350mm increments. This stepped space was a long fascination of mine for couple of years as its defining characteristics are the generation of a sort of spatial relativity and a new sense of various distances unachievable by coplanar floors."Essentially, all the floors, walls, seats and ceilings are jangled up.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Very big beach hut advent calendar

"All along the Hove seafront from the border with Brighton up to the Hove Lagoon there are some 440 beach huts and it occurred to us a year ago that opening their doors was rather like opening the doors on an advent calendar to reveal a piece of chocolate and a suprise picture. We've been able to recruit beach hut owners who are prepared to open their hut for an hour between 5.30pm and 6.30pm at some point during the month and to create a display themed around a Christmas Carol. Some hut owners who weren't able to do a display have been teamed up with local artists and a theatre company who are going to put on something on their behalf."Check back to their blog for regular updates (which we'll also bring you here on Shedworking in the advent runup to Christmas Day).
Via Shedblog
Micro Bunkie

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A Kithaus in Brooklyn


Pre-Budget Report roundup
Those of you running businesses from your garden office in the UK will have been examining the Pre-Budget Report from Chancellor Darling, but if you're still somewhat in the dark, there are good quick rundowns about the impact on small (and titchy) businesses at Enterprise Nation and SmallBizPod. For a more general view, the columnists at The Independent are worth reading.
Ramada: wallless shedworking
Debra Prinzing at Shed Style has added 'Ramada' to her Shed Glossary. What do you think? Could you work in a shedlike atmosphere in Tuscon, Arizona, photographed by Scott Calhoun?
Mary's Greened House
Monday, November 24, 2008
SIPs - a greener garden office

"SIPs are usually known as a sandwich of OSB board and styrofoam, all glued together to make a structural panel. While they make a very well-insulated, tight wall and are fast, I have worried about their longevity and would have preferred to use a less petroleum-intensive insulation than styrofoam."Agriboard, who exhibited at Greenbuild this year, has come up with a solution using wheat and rice which is still pretty impressive in building terms while also being carbon negative. More details at Lloyd's post and at Agriboard's own site. For garden office suppliers out there particularly keen to emphasise their green credentials, this is well worth looking into (see the storm shelter pictured above from Agriboard's site as an example of what can be done).
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Alternative Space: snazzy new web site


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Shed Prank

"Home Depot, forced to lure customers inside without glitzy display windows, seed the warehouse perimeter with their products. This is only practical with hard-to-shoplift items, such as bags of steer manure and storage sheds. Unfortunately, these sun-baked displays are all but abandoned by the sales staff, and must rely on graphics and signage to speak to their potential customers. Despite an ambitious number of signs, I felt my local home depot wasn't addressing some of the strongest benefits of owning a garden/storage/privacy shed/mini-garage/closet. I decided to make some new signs and try them out!"Read more about the campaign here.


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Greentainer Project

Via Jetson Green
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Enterprise Nation - A professional garden office door
This week, Emma Jones from Enterprise Nation looks at the importance of a professional 'front door' for shedworkers.
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Monday's posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.
When you run a business from your garden office, you realise the importance of extending a professional welcome to existing clients and potential customers. Presenting to prospects a reception that says ‘we are in business, here to serve and quality is our aim.’ There are a number of ways to extend such a welcome.Emma Jones is Founder of Enterprise Nation and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’. Garden office door courtesy InsideOut Buildings.
By post
You might want to hide your address; maybe it sounds too domestic or you just don’t want people turning up on your doorstep! You can do this with a P.O. Box number that’s easily set up with Royal Mail. Or, rent a mailbox at Mail Boxes Etc., which gives a more tailored and personal service than a P.O. Box. You get a nice sounding address – and a place to meet other home business owners.
By phone
It’s cheap and sometimes free to get an 0845 local rate number or an 0870 national rate number for your home business. It will hide where you’re based and divert calls to wherever you specify. Bear in mind, though, that having such a number – especially with national rates – might put customers off ringing you.
If you use a landline number it’s best to have a separate line for home and for business. It will stop your business calls from being answered by the kids and give you a chance to escape work calls when you want to. You don’t need to invest in an actual second line as VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is an option. This uses a broadband internet connection to make and receive calls. The VoIP service I use and recommend is Skype.
To have someone take calls when you can’t, consider a call-handling service like Moneypenny. They answer calls with your company name, text on urgent messages and email the others, giving you a big business feel and giving customers a professional welcome that inspires confidence.
On the web
This could be the topic of a full feature in itself! Your website is sometimes the first thing potential customers see – and they’ll make a judgement in seconds! Create a well-designed site by hiring a professional designer or build your own and include the basic pages: About us/ News/ Products or services/ FAQs/ Contact us
If you’re not ready to invest in a bells and whistles website, set up a blog to show off your products and services. This can be done for free via blogger.com [which powers Shedworking.co.uk] or wordpress.com
Face-to-face
Meeting clients outside the garden office offers another opportunity to show how professional you are. Find a venue that chimes with your brand and that will create the right impression. Anyone who visits my site will know I’m a member and huge fan of private member’s club, One Alfred Place. It provides me with a professional base in the city and a space in which clients feel comfortable about doing business.
Investing in these services will make you look professional and well and truly open for business.
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Sunday, November 23, 2008
Follies, follies, follies

Via the Folly Fellowship
Saturday, November 22, 2008
H2Offices - floating office design updated


Friday, November 21, 2008
Solar Shed Vent

Effect of new planning regulations

"As we suspected the planning rules are starting to affect those people who do not wish to place a cabin away from a boundary. At the moment we have two solutions. On site modification during our installation process or a bespoke range of 44mm thick walled cabins that can be made to your specification."Interestingly, he adds that demand is still strong despite all the doom and gloom around because, as he points out, the combination of commuting costs and a stagnant housing market makes the opportunity to be a shedworker very tempting indeed. More information on planning permission regulations here.
Labels:
Planning permission
Around the shedworld

Labels:
around the shedworld
Friday Shed Art - Sarah Lynch

Labels:
Friday Shed Art
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tiny House Blog Week - UK Log Cabins

Matroshka: compact shedworking concept

Thanks to Eva Johannson for the tip
Tokyo company's 'green garden office' experiment
Office supplies specialist Kokuyo opened a "garden office" on the rooftop of its headquarters in Tokyo today to reduce electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions: the company aims to reduce emissions by 56 tons a year, of which 10 per cent will come via its garden office. But that's not all. The company believes it will also improve efficiency. Kokuyo President Akihiro Kuroda said: "Workers can work more efficiently in a natural environment. I hope it will lead to changes in employees' mentality."
140 employees are expected to work in the garden office - which has full electrics and a wireless LAN network - for 90 days a year. The pleasant surroundings include newly-planted trees and a pond (which will help with heat in the summer as well moveable eaves-like solar panels). Workers will be allowed to work indoor when it rains but during winter they will still be expected to work in the garden office, using blankets to stay warm.
Via Mainichi Daily News
140 employees are expected to work in the garden office - which has full electrics and a wireless LAN network - for 90 days a year. The pleasant surroundings include newly-planted trees and a pond (which will help with heat in the summer as well moveable eaves-like solar panels). Workers will be allowed to work indoor when it rains but during winter they will still be expected to work in the garden office, using blankets to stay warm.
Via Mainichi Daily News
Spreading the shedworking word
I've been spreading the word about shedworking this week at a couple of places, first at Enterprise Nation as part of Enterprise Week this week and then at North Meadow. Also, a quick thank you to all our subscribers - we've just passed the 1,000 mark on the RSS feed for Shedworking (over 1,200 if you also include email subscribers) - and congratulations to the Just Sheds Flickr group which Shedblog reports has just passed its 2,000th photo.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tiny House Blog Week - Gypsy Coach

"This gypsy wagon, like the sheepherder wagons of the American west, has been crafted to take you back in time and give you the experience of a bygone era. The wagon can be used as a portable guest house, a special work space or a romantic retreat."It's 16ft by 8ft and has a rather delightful Victorian-themed interior including curved ceilings covered with deeply embossed wallpaper imported from England. There's a living room, sleeping loft and kitchen plus a chemical toilet.

South Bank shedworking

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