In case you missed it, we’ve opened our new community workshop and repair hub in Leith! We’re super excited to be welcoming folk into our new space, where we want to continue breaking down barriers to woodworking and making. A key part of this is upholding our commitment to accessibility, as we want as many people as possible to be able to access what we do. In line with this commitment, some of our staff and volunteers have set up an Access All Areas Working Group, who meet regularly to explore creative ideas for making Edinburgh Tool Library as welcoming as possible.
Our first project? Sunflower seats!
We’re painting sunflowers on stools in the workshop as a wee reminder of invisible disabilities. The charity Scope estimate that 1 in 5 people in the UK live with a disability, and many of these disabilities are hidden, or not visible to others. These conditions can be energy limiting, meaning that folk may have reduced amounts of energy available for daily tasks. In the workshop environment, having a seat available can help those of us with these conditions save our energy for the fun stuff! Whether that’s building, making or just catching up with fellow Tooligans over a cup of tea.
Next time you see a sunflower seat at ETL, please remember our workshop users who may need to sit and rest. And if you have a disability (visible or invisible) or you’re just low on energy that day – this seat is for you!
For more information:
. Hidden Disabilities Sunflower
. “It was hard to get here, rest here if you agree” Benches by Finnegan Shannon
