Monday, December 24, 2018

Merry Christmas from Shedworking


“Yo ho, my boys,” said Fezziwig. “No more work to-night. Christmas Eve, Dick. Christmas, Ebenezer. Let’s have the shutters up,” cried old Fezziwig, with a sharp clap of his hands, “before a man can say Jack Robinson.”
Shutters open again on January 1.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Haynes Shed Manual update



Readers have been asking about the progress of the Haynes Shed Manual which I am co-authoring with John Coupe from www.secrets-of-shed-building.com. I'm pleased to say that it's now gone through the copyediting stage and we will be looking at the proofs over Christmas and New Year (as will another proofreader). The cover has not been fully confirmed but we're pretty close to it and will look tremendous. It all goes back to the publishers the second week of January and then we're looking at a spring publication date. Many thanks to everybody who's enquired (and of course to those who have helped us get this far). -------------------------------------------------------
Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Friday, December 21, 2018

Winter Solstice by Clare Curtis


A lovely sheddish image of the winter solstice, which falls today, by illustrator and printmaker Clare Curtis whose work hangs in Shedworking HQ. -------------------------------------------------------
Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Duncan Cameron: shedworker



Based in Somerset, Duncan Cameron is a sculptor, illustrator and theatre prop-maker who is also a shedworker (pictured top). As he told Shedworking: "I do love a shed." Above is his recent shedwork, The Seaweeds of Devils Point, here on show at Mills Bakery at Royal William Yard as part of the Plymouth Art Weekender and Atlantic Project opening weekend. You can see lots more of his marvellous artwork at http://duncantheartist.tumblr.com and https://www.instagram.com/brokensharkcage/
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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

The Garden Shed pub


As reported in Bradford's Telegraph & Argus, the city now has a new shed-themed pub called, appropriately, The Garden Shed. The new look hostelry was formerly the Wibsey Sport and Social Club but was refurbished and upmarketed by owners Kelly Shaw and Mark Lawn, a former chairman of Bradford City FC. There have been a few issues with vandalism which have slowed down the project but now customers can enjoy a selection of real ales, pizzas fresh from the overn and features including chandeliers.

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Monday, December 17, 2018

The Cosmic Shed (and advent calendar)


The Cosmic Shed is a shed-based podcast about the delights of science and storytelling (books, theatre, films, music, television, radio, etc) which is written and presented by Andrew, Laura and Ben from a garden shed in Bristol. Here's what they say about it:
The shed has been enhanced with some homemade weather-proofing, a lick of celestial black paint, three otherworldly armchairs, and a Japanese DIY star projector. Oh, and fitted with microphones to record our babble. We don’t have the budget for a device to control the weather, so any atmospheric sounds you hear are from the garden just beyond the shed’s thin wooden walls.
They are running a special Cosmic Shed Advent Calendar this month which is marvellous. Today's guest is Jessica Fox, writer and former resident storyteller at NASA which is well worth a lesson. -------------------------------------------------
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Sunday, December 16, 2018

Advent calendar beach hut final week





A few of our favourites from the first two weeks of the beach hut advent calendar (more here). More details about the last week, perhaps ever, of this marvellous event.


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Friday, December 14, 2018

How to make a folk rock album in a garden studio


Fresh from touring with Robert Plant, folk legend Seth Lakeman has just released his latest album The Well Worn Path which was recorded in his garden studio on Dartmoor in January 2018 and he talks about how it all came together in an audio clip from Janice Long's BBC show (click here). -------------------------------------------------------
Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Jimmy McGovern: shedworker


Dramatist Jimmy McGovern, whose one-off drama Care recently aired on the BBC, is also a shedworker. In several interviews he has waxed lyrical about his space although also commenting that he spent £30,000 on it without realising some of the tax implications (always check with your accountant if you're intending to claim) and now thinks he might have been better putting it on wheels.


He talks about his garden office at length with Stephen Phelan in The Sunday Herald:
He invites me inside the workroom in his garden, which he calls “the big hut”. He thought he could claim back the cost of its construction as a tax break – only afterwards did his accountant tell him that the requisite clause does not apply to buildings. “I should have put it on bloody wheels,” he says, having written it off as a funny story instead. The big hut is carpeted, kitted out with a bookshelf and soft chairs, and heated to a soporific temperature. It doesn’t seem the sort of room where a working-class man writes working-class dramas, but that must be what happens in here, although McGovern does admit that prosperity and comfort have made him less productive.
In a recent interview with Big Issue North he added: "At 69, “I’m slowing down,” but as for retirement, “I’ve got a hut in the garden and I can’t see me not going over to that hut”."

And in the video below he discusses his writing methods including why he likes his garden office birdfeeder and the amount of time he spends watching the birds, weeding, and admiring his chestnut tree blowing in the wind. As he says: "If I can't work there, I can't work anywhere." He starts talking about shedworking from around the 4.28 mark.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Garden office build beats bomb shelter



This garden office build from eDEN Garden Rooms did not start smoothly - when the team started the groundworks to put in their screw pile foundations they found an old 3m x 3m bomb shelter, filled with old gas cannisters, rubble, and old tyres which was all news to the client too. Rather than abandon the project eDEN contracted a specialist groundworks company to clear the hole with fill it with compacted type 1 sub-base. A replacement slab was placed on top and the project continued. The final build measures 6.6m x 3.8m has an integrated store to the side and triple bi-fold doors.

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Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Garden office as moveable piece of art is for sale


This lovely pavilion by architect Anders Hermansen is described by him as "a movable piece of art" which as he says "regardless of wind and weather - whether it's used as a workstation, gallery or just a free space, it's only the imagination that sets limits."

It measures 3.6m x 2.5m x 3.4m and has one fixed wall with built-in cupboards, large double door doors plus a floor-to-ceiling window. There are adjustable feet to help with uneven terrain. It is aimed, says Anders, "at the creative, experimental, imaginative or just those who want an inspiring architect-designed scenario that can create many good memories and bring you closer to nature and beautiful surroundings with the opportunity to experience all the beautiful from this picturesque pavilion."

It's also available for sale, price around the £30,000 mark. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Monday, December 10, 2018

How to build a garden office: Part 4 (video)


Continuing the excellent series by Richard Fearon which started last month here.

If this is whetting your appetite for building your own garden office, then keep a look out for more updates on the Haynes Shed Manual which I've been working on this year with John Coupe. The latest position is that it's been delivered to the publishers, gone through the first copy edit successfully, and is now at the final design stage. We hope to bring you at least the cover by the end of this year before it's out in the shops next spring.

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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Sunday, December 09, 2018

Garden office for pilot trainer






We've always said that you can run pretty much any kind of business from a garden office (within reason) and this latest example from eDEN Garden Rooms underlines that motto. It belongs to a client who runs a pilot training business from his 7m x 3mgarden office in Whitstable, Kent. As well as clearing the site, removing an existing shed, installing screw pile foundations and then building a boundary-to-boundary garden office, the key element was plenty of hidden electric sockets in the floor, required to run various screens and other electronic items simultaneously (and reliably). ------------------------------------
Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style

Friday, December 07, 2018

Garden office safety and insurance


The AA is encouraging people to consider their shed and garden office safety with a new video (see below). One particularly interesting point they make is that if you ensure that you lock up your shedlike atmosphere then you’re covered by your home insurance.

Highlights from their report include:

  • the contents of the average UK shed are worth around £2,000
  • when keeping expensive items in your shed/garden office, if the cost is more than £1,500 then they need to be declared as a specified item
  • Granny flats/annexes are also covered under home insurance unless the building is self-sustained or shares a separate postcode to the main house
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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, December 06, 2018

Joanne Harris: Shedvent


One of the most famous current shedworkers, novelist Joanne Harris, is running an excellent daily series on Twitter this month which she's calling Shedvent. Do click along and see what's behind each door. Here's today's:
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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Wednesday, December 05, 2018

How to build a garden office - part 3 (video)


Continuing the series by Richard Fearon which started last week here.

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Tuesday, December 04, 2018

Arron Banks and the garden office/writing room debate


Those of you not on Twitter may have missed the current garden office/writing room debate kicked off by Brexit campaigner Arron Banks (although now he's kind of changed his tune) who criticised JK Rowling for having a writing room. As everything always does on Twitter, it's all kicking off and as you will not be surprised to learn, entirely against Mr Banks's position. Here are a few comments (warning, there is some poor language in the following tweets):





You can catch up on the whole sorry spectacle on Twitter here.

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Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Monday, December 03, 2018

Noel Edmonds: shedworker


Noel Edmonds, most recently seen on our screens in the I'm A Celebrity jungle, is also something of a shedworker, basking in his lovely build from Arctic Cabins - there's a nice shot of it, top, and you can just see it peeping out in the image below too. MSN has more shots of the interior and exterior of his home if you're really keen. -------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Sunday, December 02, 2018

Beach hut advent calendar opens its doors


Maybe for the last time, the Beyond Church beach hut advent calendar in Brighton and Hove opened its first doors this weekend. Here's Hut 17 owned by Sarah Sutherland-Rowe (more images of it here) created in collaboration with children from All Saints Hove - it featured an angel with wings made from the children's handprints, and a modern day dress Mary and Joseph. If you can make it to the daily openings for the rest of Advent, the organisers would be delighted to see you and offer you a warming drink and a mince pie. You can also follow for pictures.
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Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style