Handy But Bereft? Check Out The Vancouver Tool Library, A Thrift House Of DIY Solutions

Spring! Time to get cleaning, building and planting. The do-it-yourself approach is awesome, but can stall if you run up against a task requiring a specific tool that isn’t in your shed. It doesn’t have to be that way. While you could run out and buy that rototiller that you’re only going to need for an hour and a half or call around to all of your pals until you find someone who knows someone who might have something that approximates what you’re looking for, you could skip all that tedium by just scooting over to the Vancouver Tool Library. There, you can borrow what you need and then take it back, saving both coin and clutter. Awesome, eh?This week, we put a bunch of questions to their Communications Coordinator, Caitlin Dorward, to learn more….

Three things about the Cedar Cottage area that made you want to set up shop there: Our interest in the neighbourhood was pretty home grown – most of the founding Board Members lived in the area. We also recognized that there are a lot of young families, new homeowners, apartment dwellers, and renters in the area – these are all groups who we thought the tool library would most benefit as it has the potential to save them money and space. We were really excited to find our shop space on Commercial Street specifically because it’s turning into a nice little hub of new, small businesses that is just far enough off the beaten track to feel neighbourly but not so far that it’s hard to find!

What will Vancouverites find at the Vancouver Tool Library? Our shop is full of power and hand tools for construction and DIY projects, bike maintenance, and gardening. Other than tools, you’ll find at least two volunteers running the shop at any time you stop by. We have about twenty volunteers who help keep the shop running smoothly and staff all our open hours. Many of them are really knowledgeable about using tools and happy to provide project advice or help you choose the right tool for the job.

What inspires you? Lately, seeing people’s confidence and excitement grow after going through our Intro-to-Tools workshops has been very inspiring. One of the participant’s in March’s workshop recently got in touch with us and said: “I wanted to email and thank you so much for the awesome workshop! I already planted up my planter and am scheming other projects: walls for my garage! benches for my deck! a playhouse! more planter boxes! We will definitely be joining the library and are looking forward to taking more workshops and trying out the tools.” Seeing that our services have the potential to create this kind of positive impact is what motivates us to improve and expand the VTL’s presence in the community.

Latest novelty tool added to your collection: Our garden tools saw little use over the winter months, but with spring in the air they’re finally getting their day in the sun. We recently acquired a rototiller to add to our garden tool collection, and we’re hoping it might be used to turn a few lawns into food gardens this summer!

One tool that you are dying to use in a project: I have a beautiful road bike frame that I’ve been trying to find the time to build up for a while now. We have a full set of bike tools at the shop that I will be making use of soon to tackle this project.

What sort of music does The Tool Library like to play? The CBC! That’s what we usually have playing on our shop radio. Unless Chris is working the shop shift, in which case he’s most definitely streaming Jazz.FM

What are some of the cooler projects that you know your tools have played a role in creating? At our volunteer meet-up last month, we worked together on an Adirondack chair that is going to be raffled off in a VTL fundraiser at our upcoming Spring Garage Sale (see below). Our members recently used our saws and sanders to build a beautiful bar in his kitchen out of cedar that he rescued from a demolition site, and another was in and out of the tool library almost every day we were open over the winter as he worked through a complete renovation of a Vancouver Special he’d just purchased – pretty dedicated! We’ve been pulling together other stories and photos of the projects our members have completed with VTL tools, and you can check them out on our blog.

Three websites you visit every day: For news, ideas, and inspiration about the growing international movement towards the sharing of resources: Collaborative Consumption. We’re excited to be contributing to Vancouver’s Greenest City goals in the zero-waste area. For Greenest City updates and reports: Vancouver Greenest City. For the best deals on used tools: Craigslist

What, outside of Vancouver, is on the VTL’s radar: Last year a few of our Board Members travelled down to Portland, Oregon to participate in the Village Building Convergence, a ten-day event put on annually by an amazing organization called City Repair. During the convergence, communities across Portland come together to create benches, community kiosks, gardens, street paintings, tile mosaics, and more. We had an awesome time working on these projects with Portland residents while we were down there, and learned a lot about bringing people together to improve public space. It’s our goal to put some of these lessons to work this summer in public projects organized by the Tool Library!

We would love to visit is the Berkeley Tool Lending Library in Berkeley, California. It’s the only tool library we’ve heard of that is actually a branch of the municipal public library rather than an entity in and of itself. With annual funding from the public library’s operating budget, the BTLL has amassed a collection of over 2,500 tools and employs four part-time staff. It sounds like a pretty impressive shop, and we would love to go see first hand how this very unique organizational model works on the ground!

The three most often borrowed tools at the VTL? This changes from month to month, but in March our most popular tools were sliding compound mitre saws, cordless drills, and routers. The pressure washer and the wet tile saw are other tools that often make it onto the most-borrowed list.

Don’t miss the Vancouver Tool Library Garage Sale this weekend. Pick up a tool you might need or drop off a whack of stuff no longer being used and have it go in to the Library system for others to use. Full details after the jump… Read more

SCOUT LIST: The 12 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

SCOUT LIST: The 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

HONOUR BOUND: Feeling Creative? Be A Part Of The 2012 Vancouver Mini Maker Faire

Do you make stuff? Planters? Robots? Books? Bacon? Leg warmers? Whatever turns you on, maybe it’s time you shared your skill and passion with the community at large. Think about jumping on the Mini Maker Faire train.

A ‘maker’ can be any person or group who invents, designs, creates, and/or builds objects or information systems with the goal of learning, teaching, inspiring, or improving the state of the world. Makers are re-imagining how our world operates; from manufacturing and production, to farming and agriculture [...] Vancouver Mini Maker Faire is a community-run event aimed at bringing Vancouver’s Makers, Doers, and Creatives together for a weekend of sharing knowledge, inspiring each other, exhibiting projects, and community building.

The 2012 Faire will be held June 23 + 24 at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). If you want to get in on the fun, skip over to the Maker Faire website and complete an application form. We want to see what you can do!

Honour Bound details the many cool things that we feel honour bound to check out because they either represent Vancouver exceptionally well or are inherently super awesome in one way or another 

SCOUT LIST: The 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

SCOUT LIST: The 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

Spring has finally arrived. The Vernal Equinox (March 20 at 12:14am) signals the beginning of longer days and warmer weather. And not a minute too soon, am I right? Enough with the cold dark business. It’s time to turn soil, gaze at cherry blossoms and wear dresses. You with me?  Get gardening, pack away the toques and gloves. This is reason to celebrate.

PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM | Festival Cinemas is marking the 70th anniversary of Casablanca this week. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II – what’s not to dig? One show only – don’t miss out.
Wednesday, March 21 | 7pm | Fifth Avenue Cinemas | $8 | Details

BUFFET | On Thursday night there’s something cool called Buffet going on. It’s a smorgasbord of art, if you will, is a collaborative showcase that aims to demonstrate “the contrasts, collaboration and common processes between two closely related disciplines – design and art.” Organizers have invited a pretty impressive line-up of creatives to work with the theme of food. They are “Alex Rhek from Sea Monster Sushi, Boneta and Save On, Danny Fazio for the Waldorf Hotel and Nuba, and Janice Wu for Industry Food Blogs and Publications, Melanie Kwan from Space/Time Magazine, Dylan Rekert for Chambar Resturant — the list goes on.” We can’t wait to see the results.
Thursday, March 22 | 7-10pm | Alsoknownas Studio Gallery, 220 – 314 W Cordova | Free | Details

STRUT | PolyEra Spring Masquerade and Strut-Off is going down at the Rickshaw on Saturday. Six vintage clothing stores (each representing a different era) will take a turn at sending models down the runway in a friendly competition to be judged by the audience. Moka Only and Prisoners play. “This event is hosted by the newly formed Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association (HxBIA) and Our Social Fabric, a DTES Social Enterprise, the event aims to celebrate the rich diversity of textiles, colours, styles and fabrics that have graced the city’s fashion eras from the early 20th to early 21st century while also raising awareness of the work the two non-profits are doing to support the social fabric of the DTES.” Stores showcasing their themed collections this year include Delux Junk, Starfish and Rose, The Fair, Erin Templeton, F as in Frank, Temple of the Modern Girl.
Saturday, March 24 | Rickshaw Theatre | Doors 7pm, show 8pm | $20 | Details

TUNAGE | Hot damn! Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sharon Von Etten is playing a gig at the Biltmore this Saturday night. And she’s not alone. Co-headlining with Sharon will be indie rockers from Philadelphia, War On Drugs. I can’t think of anything I would rather do this weekend than settle in to one of those beautiful velvet-soft Biltmore booths with a cold Steamwhistle to enjoy a few hours of fine music of the calibre that these two bands are likely to produce.
Saturday March 24 | Doors 7pm, Show “8″ | Biltmore Cabaret | $15 | Details

WALK | The season of The Walking Tour has begun, so kick things off with galavant around the Mountain View Cemetery. Choose between following Lorraine Irving (BC Genealogical Society) as she educates you on the details surrounding the murder of Janet Smith – still unsolved after 90 years – or tag along with Civic Historian John Atkin as he swings you by the final resting spots of the Director of the Australian Geological Survey, the captain of a former Maharajah’s Yacht and a leading architect. It’s a unique way to get to know the history of the city. Can’t argue that. Tours go rain or shine so dress appropriate like.
Sunday, March 25 | 10am | Vancouver Mountain View Cemetery (5445 Fraser) |$10 | Details

DUDS | Check out the latest from up-and-coming local designers as well as award-winning talent from around the world at Vancouver Fashion Week. This year, VFW takes place at the Chinese Cultural Centre and there’s something pretty great about sitting in a crowded room watching models strut the runway with flashes going off that just can’t be explained. Grab a drink at the Keefer, Bao Bei or The Union before or after and make a night of it.
March 20-25 | Various times | Chinese Cultural Centre (50 E. Pender) | Details

CHEESE | On Wedndesday night, Allison Spurrell of Les Ami Du Fromage will introduce you to some of her favourite BC cheeses (paired with BC wines, Strathcona quince preserves, local honey and Okanagan dried fruits).  This will be a fantastic event. First of all, Allison is super awesome. Second of all, I’ve had the quince preserve, and it’s super awesome too. Add to that the predictably outstanding cheese selection and a bit of wine and I’d say that is a solid Wednesday night.
Wednesday, March 21 | 6:30-8:30pm | Les Amis du Fromage – 843 East Hastings | $75

GREEN THUMBS | Learn a little more about Guerrilla Gardening and Seed Bomb-making at a workshop with local garden guru Andrea Bellamy this week. Andrea is prepped to teach technique necessary to create and execute an effective seed bomb campaign that could contribute to the city becoming greener and more delicious, if you sign up and get learning. Get your hands dirty. Get involved. Change the landscape. Participants take home a seed bomb and a signed copy of Andrea’s latest book, Sugar Snaps & Strawberries. Hooray for Guerrilla Gardening!
Sunday, March 25 | 10-11am | Aloe Designs Studio (1443 E. Pender) | $35 | Details

BLIMMERY | It’s time for Blim’s Monthly Community Market. Hook yourself up with all kinds of good. There will be clothing, accessories, vintage trinkets, vinyl and hand made jewellery as well as live music, hot food, cold drinks and the occasional cupcake. What more do you want from an early spring Sunday afternoon? Seriously? Pretty perfect.
Sunday, March 25 | 12-5 pm | Heritage Hall (3102 Main) | Free

YOGA | There’s a yoga workshop going on at the Contemporary Art Gallrey this weekend. Imagine it: big beautiful rooms, tall white walls, big art. There’s something inherently calming about a gallery, so why not throw yoga into he mix? When’s the next time you’ll be free to practice yoga in an art gallery without getting funny looks? The class provides full-spectrum practice for all levels. Check it out.
Sunday, March 25 | 10:30am | Contemporary Art Gallery (555 Nelson) | $35

——————————————————————————————-

Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended Bond University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

——————————————————————————————–

FIELD TRIP #592: On A Food Porn Safari To The City Of Angels With Several Wildebeests

We recently returned from an R&R trip down to Los Angeles. We were down there at the same time as Josh Pape, James Iranzad, and David Gunawan who were in town doing R&D for their upcoming Wildebeest restaurant on Hastings. We tagged along for several of their meals and got up to many other things besides, the delicious gists of which you can see from the 200 or so shots below…

—————————————————————

MORE FIELD TRIPS

Cool Thing We Want #335: Reclaimed Wood ‘Rock’ Necklace By Vancouverite Adea Chung

Reclaimed zebrawood ’Rock’ pendant by Adea Chung of Billy Would Designs | $48 on Cargoh

EVERY COOL THING WE WANT

SCOUT LIST: The 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

SCOUT LIST: The 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »