Retrofit & Tool Renovation: Meet ETL volunteer Richard Wright!
Meet Richard Wright – cherished volunteer at Edinburgh Tool Libraryās Portobello branch, who is a tool sharpening guru and founder of the Retrofixers! Hello Richard! Tell us how you first got involved with Edinburgh Tool Library? In summer 2018 Porty Tool Library had an opening event and I went along out of curiosity. The place…
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From toy trains to board games, the endless possibilities of sharing libraries
Hello Jess! You’ve been volunteering with us for a few years now! How did it all start? Back in 2018 or so, I had some free time (what a feeling!) and was looking for a volunteering opportunity. As a keen maker and craftsperson (though primarily with textiles rather than wood) Iād been a member of…
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A Scottish Network for Share and Repair: What does it all mean?
A Scottish Network for Share and Repair: What does it all mean? Last year, during COP26, the Scottish Government made a very exciting announcement. They, alongside Zero Waste Scotland, were funding a national network to support the expansion of the number of sharing libraries (tool libraries, but also other things like musical instruments, toys, games,…
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Writing our Manifesto
We are very proud to finally share our brand new ETL manifesto with you; a joint effort between ETLās volunteers and staff. Weāre delighted with the end result, but even prouder of the journey we went on to get there. In the last 9 months volunteers and staff have come together over zooms to discuss…
Alice? Alice? Who the heck is Alice?
Hey Alice, welcome to the Edinburgh Tool Library. Saying as the pandemic has kept you away from all our lovely members and volunteers, we wanted to get to know you and thought we could fire a few questions your way. Tell us about your journey that brought you to the ETL. Whatās been going on…
Tooligan sustainable gift guide
Here to inspire you: the 10 best sustainable gifting ideas of the Tooligan community! At the Tool Library we champion creative ideas that reuse old materials, that encourage a culture of sharing experiences and one that brings smiles on everyone’s faces. Giving something special doesnāt have to cost you much, and when gifting something unique…
Mask making reflections
The end of October marks the end of our collaboration with Edinburgh Mask Makers, and we will be collecting in the collection boxes in Leith, Newington and Granton. It’s prompted me to reflect on the project, and think about the amazing things achieved in the darkest of times. March 2020 saw The Edinburgh Tool Library…
Fiddler on the Roof
Another Edinburgh Tool Library member Anna, tells us about the pride she got from her van rebuild, the help she got from out Tooligans, and how her van allows her to be “in the landscape”. What do you love about being a van owner? The sense of freedom and independence it gives you is wonderful,…
A Van After My Own Heart
In the last year or two, we have noticed more and more members using ETL tools to complete van refurbishments, escaping the city for trips across Scotland and beyond, so our intrepid volunteer, Lorenzo, decided to document some of the fantastic vans rebuild by our members. The results are pretty special places, and the doorway…
The Never Failing Spring
By Dave Clancy These are strange times, even for the strange times we have all gotten used to living in. As I write, a significant proportion of the world is still under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated 2.6 billion people living with some sort of restrictions to their daily lives. A…
Tzipporah Johnston: Mask Crusader
Tzipporah Johnston is an embroiderer and mixed media textile artist based in Edinburgh, whose work explores aspects of her identity as an autistic woman and her fascination with the natural world. Her hand embroidery practice is slow and painstaking, and informed by meticulous research, with each carefully considered piece taking weeks or months to complete.…
Alice in Farmland
Our third interview is with Alice Roettgen, one of our technicians at Custom Lane, who is using enforced downtime to connect with her new community in Gorgie, by helping out at the farm. Alice has been with us since before Christmas, and quickly made a really positive difference with her infectious enthusiasm and willingness to…
Neighbours, Everybody Needs Creative Neighbours
As residents of Custom Lane, The Edinburgh Tool Library is lucky to have some very creative and supportive neighbours. We caught up with one of them, Juli Bolanos-Durman, who is putting her creativity to wonderful use to help others during the lockdown. Hey Juli, tell us a bit about yourself, your practice, and your connection…
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Designs on Volunteering
I want us all to appreciate and love nature and our planet more. To understand that slow living is good for the soul.
Where volunteers become tooligans
Itās Volunteersā Week; a time to celebrate and say thank you to all volunteers around the UK, and here in the Edinburgh Tool Library (ETL) we didnāt want to miss this chance to share with everyone how amazing our volunteers are. Or as we like to call them, our Tooligans. To get an idea of…
A vision of sharing in Scotland
Thereās a lot happened at the Edinburgh Tool Library over the past couple years and thanks to our growing team, I am finally able to take a moment and get my thoughts together. First and foremost, I am incredibly proud of what ETL has become, and is continuing to be. Three years ago, my spare…
Connecting more people to the tools they need
Introducing the Edinburgh Tool Network Weāre pleased to announce the launch of our new Portobello workshop, our next step in creating an Edinburgh Tool Network that will broaden our reach and accessibility across Edinburgh, and making it possible for more people to borrow and share our tools. The launch of the workshop enables us to…
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Bench Mark
We have a new addition to the tool library. Something that has a practical use to us, but also has great personal significance to me. Itās easy to think of tool donations as useful objects, given in aid of a good cause. But what we often forget is that every one of these objects comes…
Interview with Mo, member #69
Hi Mo, first of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself Hello. Iām a self-employed joiner. I worked on sites previously but now trying to set up my ownĀ business. Iām born and raised in Edinburgh and live in Leith. ā¦like all the best things in the city, youāre in Leith? Ayeā¦! How…
Interview with Helen, member #65
on International Womenās Day Wonder Woman Helen has been a member of ETL since September 2015. She is a huge supporter of the tool library, and one of our greatest advocates, so we thought it might be interesting to do an interview with her to find out her story, what she is making, and what…
Dads Totally Rock
Forgive me reader, for I have sinned.Ā Itās been (many) months since my last post.Ā Iāve been doing all this awesome stuff with the Edinburgh Tool Library and I just havenāt had time to write to you.Ā I hope I still get through the Tooly Gatesā¦ What has finally driven me to dust off the…
Planet Tool Library
One of the wonderful things about establishing the Edinburgh Tool Library has been speaking to the people of Edinburgh about all their hopes and aspirations for the tool library. Ā Something that I didn’t envisage was the support from overseas. In October last year I visited friends in Toronto, where I used to live. Ā Part of…
Past, Present, Future
Over the last couple of weeks, through various channels, I have bumped into a lot of people who have been asking how the tool library is going and what the latest is. Ā I thought it was probably a good time to update the website to fill you all in on what has been happening, and…
ESFMMF!!! – Bless you
On Sunday the 20th of April 2014 the Edinburgh Tool Library made itās public debut to the creative hordes of Edinburgh (hordes in the nicest possible way ā you were all lovely) at the Edinburgh Science Festival Mini Maker Faire (ESFMMF). Between our stall and a talk I gave in the Anatomy Room (ā¦ think…
Edinburgh International Science Festival
Ever since my first experience of the festival, when I saw Professor James Lovelock (bit of a hero of mine) get his Edinburgh medal in the 2006, it has occurred to me that it would be a wonderful thing to be involved in.Ā Well it seems my daydreaming and wishing has come to fruition as…
A night on the red carpetā¦ almost
I never thought I could say this but I now have something in common with Matthew McConaughey, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leonardo DiCaprio. Wellā¦ sort of! This February, while they were nervously awaiting the result of Best Male category at the Oscars, I had been nervously awaiting news from OSCR (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator).…
