Our people

John Sinclair

Secretary

I have been a trustee of the Edinburgh Tool Library since its formation back in 2014 and I’m immensely proud of what Chris and all the staff and volunteers have achieved since then. The breadth and impact of their work, and the panache and good humour that they deliver it with is a real inspiration.

My background is in photography, and currently I’m self-employed in Edinburgh shooting architecture, weddings and making videos for third sector organisations. In the fairly recent past I’ve also worked for the National Trust for Scotland and Prospect Trade Union, with a focus on photography and membership recruitment respectively.

Things that are definitely my bag: social justice; treating the planet and wildlife with respect; supporting new ideas which lessen and repair the damage we have already caused to our environment.

Chris Hellawell

Trustee

I started ETL in 2015 after visiting similar projects in Canada and being frustrated that such a thing didn’t exist in the UK. I could see the potential of marrying an environmental angle with one that promotes positive social values and wanted to be part of something that made a lasting difference in my community.

My educational background is in environmental science and forestry, and professionally, I have worked in the third sector for the last decade, so the Tool Library has been a great way to use my knowledge and my passion to promote sharing as a way of social mobility as well as reducing environmental impact.

Since beginning the tool library, my interest in social enterprise has grown, and I was delighted to be asked to join the board of Firstport (Scotland’s largest provider of business support and funding to social enterprise) in 2018, and its sister company First Impact in 2019.

Gillian Eunson

Chairperson

I became a trustee of the ETL board in March 2019.

I’m currently a Knowledge and Learning Officer with the National Lottery Community Fund. Prior to this I built up over 10 years of experience working in and for the third sector; this began as a face-to-face fundraiser, before I got involved in various local and international volunteering grassroots community initiatives, and I more recently spent 5 years working in anti-racism education work for the charity Show Racism the Red Card. On top of that I’ve spent a lot of time working with young people, and am a qualified Forest School Leader – an approach to learning and development which takes place entirely in a woodland! I’ve a broad skillset in leadership, management, facilitation, and a knowledge of funding and national policy areas.

I’m passionate about looking after our planet and its people, and well know the power that can be harnessed within our communities. Having experienced this through my own career development, I now see it every day in my current work – great ideas turned into movements, connections, action and results – all brought together by the innovation and the drive that groups such as the Edinburgh Tool Library harness.

Inge Panneels

Trustee

Inge is the newest member of our board, having joined in March 2020, just in time to enjoy remote meetings caused by the corona virus pandemic.

An artist and academic whose creative practice engages with space and place, Inge established her studio in Edinburgh in 1998 working extensively on public art projects across the UK and has exhibited internationally.

Her practice is informed by data collection, mapping, and digital making techniques developed over twelve years teaching at the Artists Designer Maker course at the University of Sunderland. This experience of the creative sector, and PhD research (AHRC) at Northumbria University into the creative mapping practices of artists, with a specific interest of how artists are charting climate change, informs her role as Research Fellow.