A Shed is a community workspace, like a typical shed in your garden, but bigger and better equipped.
Looe Shedders aim to provide a really big shed, where our male and female members, known as Shedders,
will have space to meet like-minded people and find new friends to enrich their lives.
A space with lots of facilities for making stuff - anything from greeting cards, crochet toys, stained glass ornaments and bird boxes
to community projects such as as the playground bus we built for Looe Primary School.
A space where Shedders can learn new skills, where their previous knowledge can be put to good use,
or where they can just sit and chat in a friendly, social environment.
A space that helps tackle social isolation and loneliness by giving people a new purpose in life, by making them feel useful again, by helping Looe Shedders become an even greater force for good in the community.

At the moment, we meet in St Martin's Community hall, Looe on the second Saturday of the month.
We’re looking for a “new home” - an existing building that we could adapt or a site where we can build a shed.
This would enable us to set up equipment permanently, freeing us up to meet more frequently and undertake messy work inside.
Currently such work has to be conducted outside, at the mercy of poor weather.

There is a need for a place that enables local people to develop new interests and some practical skills, with the added benefit of delivering some tangible benefits to our community.
Satisfying this need will also help to offset the negative impact of loneliness and isolation on individual health and wellbeing.
Looe Shedders was formed to help deliver such benefits and our Shed will provide the necessary facilities.
This new community space will enable lasting friendships to be formed, as new interests and skills are provided by members sharing their know-how in a well equipped workshop.
Local benefits include the following:
Community projects: we have several in the pipeline following the delivery of a playground bus to Looe Primary School.

Partnering other community organisations: Examples include helping the Kernow Health Mental Wellbeing project develop its plot at Looe Allotments, helping Looe Pioneers and Looe Sea Swimmers develop carnival floats, helping marshal Looe’s New Year’s Eve firework display.

Looe Repair Cafe: Mending household items brought in by the public.

Anyone who lives in Looe and surrounding areas are welcome.
Although some Sheds are for Men only, Looe Shed welcomes both men and women
Because of the nature of the activities, you’ll need to be at least 18.

Our activities include a lot of chatting, cups of tea and coffee and occasional social events.
But what makes Shedders different from other social groups in Looe is that we also work together in various ways, including:

Making stuff: Items such as greetings cards, crochet animals, cutlery art and bird and bat boxes that we sell to raise funds to build our shed.
We also build community projects such as the playground bus we made for Looe Primary School.

Learning new skills: Members sharing their knowledge. This covers a wide range of topics - our members come from all walks of life - but a specific example is our training programme for ensuring that people know how to set up and use tools safely.

Housekeeping: Much of this relates to the large amount of tools donated to Looe Shedders.
They need checking, renovating, sorting, and storing so they can be found easily.

Repair Cafe: Members try and mend broken household items brought in by the public.
Much of it is electrical so Shedders with a technology background tend to undertake this work.

Sourcing Materials: We use recycled materials on our projects whenever possible.
Finding it takes some effort, as does re-purposing it.

No, but most of the people that attend are retired.
This is because a life after employment can be difficult and people often feel that they’ve lost their sense of purpose and place in the world.
They can miss the routine and camaraderie between colleagues that often comes with working life.
This can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation which can be dangerous for their health and wellbeing.
However, recognising that age isn’t the only factor in loneliness and isolation, and that there is more to a Shed, for example sharing skills, informal learning and enjoyment, Looe shed welcomes younger members.

You can come to one of our monthly meetings and complete a membership application form.
Or you can fill in the online application form here

Not at all, no need for any particular skills or expertise.
However, if you do have any skills or experience that you would like to share, that would be good too.

Not if you don't want to.
If you enjoy watching or just chatting, that's fine
The Shed is intended to be as much a social space as a workshop.