Writer Seeks 20-second Commute

The fine folk at Colorado-based Studio Shed put out a regular e-newsletter thing which is well worth subscribing to. In their most recent one, they focus on Marco and Kayla Morelli who together run a graphic design firm, both work at home, and both dislike commuting. Here's a snippet:

“But once our daughter needed a room of her own, there went my office,” said Marco. He quickly realized that, while Kayla was comfortable working anywhere in the house, what he needed wasn’t just a new “space to work” – he needed a space-all-his-own offering privacy, flexible hours, few interruptions and, most of all, quiet.

The Morellis then considered converting their attic into living space but decided that the cost and disruption involved in a major home renovation were not optimal. Finally they turned their gaze towards the untapped space in their own backyard. Bingo, they thought: this is it. With this we get everything we want, with minimal pain involved.

So they went for a Studio Shed backyard office, facing south for warmth in winter and shade in summer, with radiant-heated Brazilian slate floors which sound rather nice. The commute is 20 seconds.
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Beccy Smart: wagonworker

Photographer Beccy Smart has recently become a wagonworker. "The one I bought is based on the design of a Victorian bathing hut, crossed with a shepherd's hut," she explains. "I use it as a photography studio and keep it in a small yard in east London. The idea started with finding a quiet space where I could 'escape'... I was looking at beach huts, which didn't quite fit what I needed, and then suddenly I found this... The chap who built it did so to a high spec (he used to build boats) and it is beautifully finished, with a double bunk, a fold out desk, and even a mini wood burning stove."

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Jardiburo: French shedworking

The concept of shedworking continues to take off around the world. Here's our latest find, Jardiburo, based in Tours. As they say:

"Face aux problématiques liées au travail depuis son domicile, JardiBuro a développé une gamme complète de bureaux de jardin. Destinée à tous les propriétaires de maisons individuelles disposant d’un jardin ou d’un terrain qui leur est propre, l’offre de JardiBuro vise à améliorer les conditions de travail des télétravailleurs et des indépendants."

There is an intriguing catalogue here. Options include douche, kitchenette, chauffage au sol, panneau solaire, assurance, and système d'alarm.

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Shed Sunday

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"Granny pods"

"A US company has a new suggestion for where to put the nation’s booming elderly population: “Granny pods.” The number of Americans over the age of 65 is expected to more than double over the next 40 years, to 88 million. If N2Care, a company being started in Virginia, proves successful, many of the baby-boomers could see out their twilight years in high-tech sheds in their children’s gardens. The official name for the new type of dwelling is a MEDCottage. The units, which measure 12 ft by 24 ft, are self-contained miniature houses."

More at The Times(£)

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Beach hut advent calendars open their doors tomorrow

As in previous years (and reported on in these pages), those in the Brighton and Bridlington areas can enjoy their very own beach hut advent calendar openings.

Tomorrow at 5.30pm sees the launch of the fifth annual Brighton Beach Hut Advent Calendar. From the 1st to the 24th December a different hut along Hove seafront will open each night with some surprising festive art. The launch will feature hut 311 with art created by St Christopher's School Hove based on the carol I Saw Three Ships and will include the school choir and decoration created by the children themselves. Other huts will include recreations of the stable complete with smell, all female morris dancers, local poets, various choirs and mathematical art. You can get details of each hut opening by going to www.beyondchurch.co.uk
 

In Bridlington (click here for more information) doors also open again on 1st December, then on the 8th and 15th, and then everyday until Christmas Eve. Organiser Martin Hutchinson says: "We will be retelling the famous story of the Nativity in the lead up to Christmas in new fresh, fun and interactive ways, using the gifts and talents of local people to delve into the issues that this timeless story tells."
We'll be bringing occasiopnal updates over the next month but do please go along and support these events. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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Link between sheds and early British electronic music charted in new book

Devon-based author, musician and shedworker Mark Brend has a new book out today about early electronic music called The Sound of Tomorrow. Of particular interest to Shedworking's readers will be the role that sheds played in early British electronic music. Tristram Cary, the first British composer to experiment with electronic music, worked in a corrugated iron shed/studio in Fressingfield, Suffolk for many years. In the late 1960s he formed EMS, which produced the first British synthesizers, with Peter Zinovieff. Zinovieff too was a shedworker, operating a garden studio in Putney which backed onto the river. Click the video below from British Pathé to see Peter Zinovieff walk to his shed at the bottom of the garden, go inside and reveal his shedworking setup...
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