A new community workshop is to open in Kemp Town, providing a new home for a tool library.
The shop will provide workspace for creatives and encourage skill-sharing by hosting classes for the community.
It will house the relaunched tool library, set up in 2021, after its relocation from Revaluit, in Old Steine.
The workshop, in St George’s Road, will be a build-as-you-go community effort, as doors will open on Saturday 12 November while the space is still undergoing decoration.
Pete Ranson, director of Brighton Community Workshop, said: “The whole crux of what we’re trying to achieve is to create a space where we build a community of creative people who want to make stuff and share knowledge and ideas.
“In short, our offer is that you can borrow any tool from the tool library for a week for £10, or you can join for a year and borrow up to 10 items a week for £30 for the whole year.
“At the heart of it is really teaching people about how to save money by learning to do it themselves – and they don’t necessarily have to own the tools because we’ve got a library full of them.”
The project’s volunteers will operate behind the scenes to build the shop’s electrics, plumbing and workbenches while customers and tool library members are welcomed in the shop.
The site, previously Kim’s Launderette, has been completely gutted, leaving the building without even a water supply.
The project is aimed at the values of promoting a circular economy, where tools are reused and shared among the community rather than sitting unused in a cupboard or ending up in landfill.
The inventory of tools in the library is growing through donations and a National Lottery community award.
Mr Ranson said: “There’s lots of built up properties around the area with people who might want to get creative, who won’t necessarily have the space to get creative, or messy or whatever, in small flats.
“What we’re trying to offer is an opportunity for people to, as it says on the window, to make, loan, share and repair.
“The tools have been used by umpteen people and that has saved them hundreds and hundreds of pounds.
“One of our members, Jamie, has fitted out his campervan using our stuff because he knew he was going to be travelling at some point, and he didn’t want to spend all this money on tools he would have to sell later on.”
The project directors want the workshop to grow in response to the community’s needs, leveraging the skills of those who use the markers’ space.
Future plans include tool introduction classes, maker workshops and regular repair shops.
The project emphasises that there is no experience necessary and everyone is welcome to volunteer to make the space their own.
Mr Ranson said: “We’d like to be able to have people in at some point in the future to demonstrate how to do all of those kinds of artisanal things, not just DIY craft stuff, but more esoteric skills that you might not even be aware you’re interested in.
“Ultimately, we want to be able to open right through to night so we can do evening classes, where people can learn how to use a drill, or spirit level or have a repair café to fix things.
“The idea is to have task-specific toolkits, whether it’s plumbing, electrics, or decorating – it’ll have everything anybody is going to need in order to do generic repairs to the house.
“The toolkits will be considered to be one item, with any member able to borrow up to 10 items a week.
“There’s going to be a couple of benches that people can come and rent for a fee.
“We’re really excited to get the doors open to the community.”
The Brighton Community Workshop opening times, subject to volunteers, will be displayed on their website here.
Marvellous idea! I wish them lots of success. Not sure what the MP is doing there, unless he is a director of volunteer.