Walden manuscript leaf comes up for sale

The father of shedworking, Henry David Thoreau, is responsible for perhaps the Ur text of the whole garden office movement, Walden. On March 13, RR Auction in Boston, US, will put up for sale a rare handwritten manuscript leaf from the work, an extensive passage from the chapter 'Sounds' in which Thoreau contemplates the unchanging nature of human disposition, part of a larger section where Thoreau discusses how the railroad on the other side of Walden Pond connects him to a larger world, commenting on the commerce supported by the train tracks. It has passages in both ink and pencil including this: "When I have learned a man's real disposition and character, I have no hopes of changing them for the better or worse in this state of existence."

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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.

Tool shed inspired by Studio Ghibli film

Here's an incredible timber build by Daniele de Paola which I would suggest will be a hot contender for the upcoming annual Shed of the Year competition (sponsors Cuprinol will be delighted too that the walls are painted with its White Daisy range).

Built in his Hertfordshire garden (so not too far from Shedworking HQ), it is a homage to the multi-awardwinning animated film My Neighbour Totoro from Studio Ghibli which follows the story of two young sisters in Japan and their discovery of friendly forest spirits. The shed is a scale replica of the house which features in the film and is used to house garden tools, although it also features an attractive window to allow inconspicuous observation of wildlife in the field which backs onto the garden.

The video below is a charming look at how it was made. 

 

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

London garden office

An intriguing garden office from architects Martins Camisuli in London's Camden area (lots more excellent photos via the link) in a slightly odd-shaped garden. Features include exposed raw timbers, oversized stud work wall clad in larch, and a bespoke shelving system, vaulted roof with skylight, and green roof.

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Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

  

Friday Finery: Bristol garden office

A lovely garden studio from Build Bristol Group in the city's Henleaze suburb which combines a home office and a dedicated area for teenagers. Designed by Bristol-based architect Alison Turner, features include Siberian Larch cladding, a cedar chippings roof, and plenty of storage. More images at the Build Bristol Group here.

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Hartley Botanic previews plans for its 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show stand

Hartley Botanic, the glasshouse and greenhouse manufacturer, will again be bringing its tradestand to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this May. This year, the manufacturer has chosen Landscape Architect Rachel Sampson as the designer to bring its greenhouses to life, with Stewart Landscape Construction returning for build and planting.
 
Tom Barry, CEO of Hartley Botanic said: “The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is always the highlight of our year. It provides a fantastic opportunity to show our greenhouses in all their glory. This year we will be drawing inspiration from our gardening past, while combining this with exciting trends and developments.”

Pictured, its bronze Magnum Opus model on its 2022 tradestand.

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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.

Colin Steed: shedworker (video)

Enjoy this short video of artist Colin Steed showing us around his garden studio shed at his home in Essex. Do explore his videos on YouTube where he runs a free watercolour tutorial.

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Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

Friday Finery: Sunny garden office

A lovely relaxing shot of a sunny 4.6m x 3.5m Proline Garden Office from Garden Affairs to ease you into the weekend.

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Buy a new house, get a free garden office

A good offer this from Jones Homes if you're looking to buy a new house. They are offering what they describe as a "purpose-built cabin-style home office" to the person who buys the last houses at their Folders Grove development in Burgess Hill. The properties are four-bedroom detached homes.

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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.

Working from home cuts burglary levels, claims new report

A new report from global independent research network CESifo indicates that as well as chopping out your commute, shedworking from a garden office and working from home in general reduces levels of burglary.

In their study 'Do Remote Workers Deter Neighborhood Crime? Evidence from the Rise of Working from Home', authors Jesse Matheson, Brendon McConnell, James Rockey, and Argyris Sakalis show that WFH (as the Shedworking staff hate to call it) is responsible for about half of the 30% drop in burglarization since 2019 in England and Wales. More specifically, in an area where there's about a 10% rise in homeworking, there's a correspondeing 4% fall in burglaries.

On the downside, what seems to happen is that the problem gets pushed into neighbouring areas where there is less working from home.

 

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

Shou Sugi Bangers music studio

This is the tremendous exterior to the Shou Sugi Bangers music studio designed by Unknown Works, a charred and scalloped accoya music recording studio in Peckham, London, for a major London-based producer. As you know, we are suckers for anything remotely underground and this is semi-sunken. Here's what Unknown Works say about it:⁠

The building utilises a carefully designed set of CNC-milled larch panels, textured at both a macro and micro level, to create a variety of soundscapes across its facade; a reflection of the hyper controlled acoustic environment on the inside. A gradient of concave to smooth surfaces help either augment or mitigate the collection of sounds from the surrounding garden. ⁠
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Built as a 'room within a room', the interior of the studio is designed as a meditative space, naturally lit by a singular, acoustically attenuated oculus above. The room is 'tuned' by a series of acoustic baffles and bass traps that eliminate reverb and ensure a perfectly balanced audio environment. ⁠

Head over to dezeen for lots more marvellous photos of it by Lorenzo Zandri.

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Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

 

Off the Grid by Dominic Bradbury

A new addition for your shedworking bookshelf, Off the Grid: Houses for Escape Across North America by Dominic Bradbury is the latest beautifully produced book about building small from Thames & Hudson [disclaimer: they have published several of my books, Bookshelf, Improbable Libraries, and Art Day by Day]. It follows his earlier global look at the same subject, covered on Shedworking. This one showcases more than 40 intriguing off-grid homes in North America, in pretty wild and remote spots. Here's what the publishers say about it:

Living off the grid has become increasingly desirable in recent years. Escaping the city to be immersed in nature is ever more appealing as the pressures of everyday life increase. The need to reduce our carbon footprints as the effects of climate change become a reality has brought sustainable living, particularly in off-grid and net-zero houses, to the forefront.

In Off the Grid: Houses for Escape Across North America, Dominic Bradbury turns to North America to showcase how architects are making living in the wilderness a more affordable and attainable dream. From cabins deep in the forest to desert homes and stunning coastal retreats, this collection of the most innovative off-grid homes reveals how clever design is redefining the possibilities for living in some of the most extraordinary natural environments on Earth.

Friday Finery: I Love Sheds merchandise

Uncle Wilco of readersheds.co.uk fame has a fine range of shed-based merchandise at Redbubble including t-shirts, mugs, aprons, and postcards. And at the moment all clothing is 20% off. 

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.
 

 

Sally Lindsay: shedworker

The current issue of prima magazine includes an interview with actor and author of The Madame Blanc Mysteries Sally Lindsay in which she talks about her garden office and shedworking lifestyle (indeed, it's trailed as the main coverline 'I love writing about murder in my garden shed'). Here's what she says:

I have a shed at the bottom of the garden, which I love. It's massive – like a gentlemen's club, with cushions and rugs and a fire. It's all mine and no one else is allowed in – I've even got an alarm. I'll go in there and stare out of the window while I'm plotting in my head and all of a sudden it comes out, like a stream of consciousness.

In an interview with Chris Evans on his Virgin Radio breakfast show she revealed that it’s painted in teal and has thick velvet curtains as well as a sofa. Here she is talking about it from around the 5.10 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.

Secondhand garden annexe for sale

Secondhand garden annexes/offices are not as rare as hens teeth but nor do they pop up every day. Here's one available from a Booths Garden Studios customer near Ipswich, an 18-month-old, 24' x 8' with a 12' x 8' add-on to make an L shape. Price is around £26,950 plus relocation services of around £15,000, but everything is up for discussion. Click the link if you're interested for more details and how to get in touch with the current owner.

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Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

 

How do garden office suppliers get their names?

Well, here's one answer, from Richard Lee of shepherd's hut specialists Plankbridge, explaining why Plankbridge is called Plankbridge and talking us through the inspiration and decision-making process behind it.

Friday finery: Valentine's garden office door knocker

How about treating yourself to an early Valentine's Day present? Here's something that caught the eye of the Shedworking interns from Dreamair who have this to say about it: "Our heart door knockers are available in six finishes and would grace a garden office, a shed or even your front door. And, they can be fixed onto composite as well as wooden doors."

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.
 

 

Rural Suffolk bothy

A marvellous case study from Bothy Stores focuses on a couple's new shelter in rural Suffolk, replacing a derelict shed in their own managed woodland. Features include Corten steel cladding, and ground-screw foundations to reduce environmental impact. Although it has cabling and plumbing, at the moment it's entirely off-grid.

According to the new owners: "We positioned the windows very carefully to exploit the different outlooks, adding a really large opening in one elevation that frames a view through the nearby chestnut trees. Some of the windows have views where the trees give a real sense of enclosure and intimacy, while others look out towards the open countryside. It feels like an honest fit for this rugged, outdoor working environment."

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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.