Our people

Louise Cardani

Trustee

I recently moved to Edinburgh and am really impressed by what goes on at the Tool Library. As soon as I heard about ETL I was sold on the idea, both to reduce our impact on the environment and to promote social inclusion and mobility.

I’ve got a background in Finance with lots of experience in the public and private sectors, having worked at companies ranging from Tesco to where I now work, a start-up with 7 people. I’m used to managing budgets and preparing accounts, and I know my way around a spreadsheet!

In my spare time you can find me with my head in a book (or hanging around a Little Free Library), playing board games or drawing and painting.

Gillian Eunson

Chairperson

I’ve been a Trustee since March 2019 and took up the role of Chair the following year. I’m passionate about looking after our planet and its people, and I’m a huge advocate for nurturing and empowering local communities. I love how ETL has kick-started a sharing movement in the UK, and kept the value of community at its core. I’m really proud to be part of that innovation and drive.

My day-to-day work is with the National Lottery Community Fund where I’ve been employed in learning and User Research roles since 2018.

Before this I spent over 10 years working in and for the third sector– as a fundraiser, a volunteer leader for local and international community initiatives, and I worked for 5 years in anti-racism education. I’ve built up insight within Third Sector funding alongside a broad skillset in leadership, facilitation, learning and research.

The outdoors is also a huge passion of mine, and I’m qualified as a Forest School leader. Forest School promotes a holistic approach to learning and development (taking place in woodlands) focusing on the value of community, creativity, risk associated play and safe tool use. I have to admit though – my tool knowledge is shameful!

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.

Inge Panneels

Trustee

I joined in March 2020, just in time to enjoy remote meetings caused by the pandemic. Chris and I had met at Make Manifesto with a bunch of likeminded people who share a passion for making.

I have been a practicing artist and maker for over twenty years (gulp) when I first set up my glass studio in Edinburgh in 1998 and worked on many public art projects across the UK. I also taught for over twelve years at the Artists Designer Maker course at the University of Sunderland, so I have a passion for the handmade.

However, I am also a firm believer in what digital skills and technology can bring to the creative sector. I now live and work in the Scottish Borders, in close proximity to nature.

My recent work (PhD, Northumbria University) has focussed on the confluence of climate change and creative practice; how can artists help bring about the culture change we need? I am currently working as a Research Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University on the Creative Informatics project and am exploring how the creative sector could make changes towards a more sustainable future.

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.

John Wallace

Treasurer

I became a trustee on the board of the ETL at the 2020 AGM taking on the role of Treasurer. I found the ETL looking to borrow a tool for a home project. Having lived in flats since my student days I had neither the space or money to buy a shed full of tools. However, having become a member, I realised there was much more to the tool library than borrowing tools.

The focus on sustainability and community was really interesting. When I saw the advert for the Treasurer role I wanted to get involved, using my finance skills to help the library, to know new people and learn more about the ETL. I live in Edinburgh and currently work as an accountant for NatWest Group. I have been a member of the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra since 2009 and served on its board between 2015 and 2021 in different roles.