Open Shed

What’s the most unusual Open Shed item?

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:49:33 +1000

When the Open Shed team are out and about, we often get the question “what’s the most unusual item you’ve ever had on Open Shed?” We’ve never really had anything super strange (no dungeon shackles, dinosaur bones or dodge ‘em cars we’re afraid!) but we have some things you won’t find easily in other rental hire situations.

So here they are, in no particular order. The little bit of cool, kooky and the unusual you can discover on Open Shed!

A pair of Medical Astrology text books

These books are used in astrology to diagnose illness and provide counselling services through doing a complete birth chart. Expensive, and only for those who know how to do a complete astrology chart, both books are hard to find and extremely useful for students of astrology who want to take their studies to the next level.

Doggy Trekking Equipment

Any keen outdoor enthusiast who loves their dog will appreciate these two items. Fido can help carry things when you’re trekking through the bush with his very own dog backpack (his packed lunch maybe? Spare tennis ball?) and we also have a dog life jacket for doggy’s that might be a little too adventurous or need that extra helping paw when having a swim.

Animal Costume Onesie

Is the office suit getting you a little down? Looking for a cool way to spice things up a little? Then have we got the listing for you! Why not go dressed as a flying fox, cow or frog? Perfect for parties or simply freaking out the neighbours, you can’t go past the joy an animal costume onesie can bring. Available in 12 funky animal flavours.

Laser Cutter Machine

Perfect for those nights where playing Bond villain is the only option, we have a laser cutting machine available for hire. Actually, on a more serious note, this is an extremely helpful device for cutting all kinds of materials quickly and easily- and it comes with the assistance of a fully qualified assistant. For the fraction of the cost of some rental companies, this laser cutting machine is a real gem.

Badge Maker

Support the band, sell that feminism or keep the kids amused- the choice is yours with a badge maker. One of our most popular items, the badge maker creates beautiful badges for all kinds of needs quickly and easily.

Dancing up a Storm

Dancing materials are starting to pop up quite a lot on Open Shed. Forget tummy tucks, you can boogie your way to belly happiness with a belly dancing DVD.

Or if bringing a little bit of tapper, tapper into your day, why not try these tap shoes? Great for the dance floor, awesome at the bus stop.

A DJ Console

Beyond air guitar, there is probably nothing cooler than being a DJ, which is why having an actual DJ console on Open Shed is so very awesome! “Hey DJ, keep playing that song” could be what the crowd yells to you at your very next party.

Marlena the Mannequin

She was once used as an eBay model, attracted the affections of a confused young man and now lives out her days as part of a lounge room art installation. She is available for hire for dress making or eBay clothing shoots, or if you feel like hanging out with someone a little ‘armless.

Wind up Gramophone

What’s that you say? Need an awesome music player for a 1920’s costume party? Then baby, have we got something for you! We have an awesome wind up gramophone on the site, ready and waiting to break out the tunes at your next Great Gatsby party.

Beer keg Fridge

All of these words alone are awesome- together, they are simply amazing. Hire this now and be your own Beer Baron!

These would be the items we would class as the most unusual out of the almost 500 items available on Open Shed. Have you got something in your shed or cupboard that could top these? Why not list it today?

How to make Mother’s Day rock with Open Shed

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:39:38 +1000

Want to do something cool, green and oh so mum friendly this Mother’s Day? Great! Open Shed have the right stuff for you!

Say bye, bye to the DIY list

Are there little things about the house and garden that could really do with some attention? Or are there nice things like a bird feeder or new home-made planters that would get your Mum suitably pleased?

You can avoid the headache (and the wallet rinsing) associated with a trip to the hardware store with Open Shed. We’ve got lots of tools available for rent including what appears to be a whole shed’s worth with Paul in Pascoe Vale.

Keep the kids entertained

Sometimes the best present you can give any Mum is a day of kids entertained and playing happily together. Nothing stops bored, fighting and plain cranky kids in their tracks like a new activity. That’s why renting this super sized collection of Leggo or a collection of board games could be just the ticket!

Fun for all ages, playing together as a family for the afternoon is bound to put a smile on Mum’s face.

Host a Family BBQ

Bringing the family together for a bit of fresh air and renting a BBQ is a lovely idea. Not only does Mum not have to worry about dinner, it’s a great excuse to get everyone together to have a proper family chat. Nice!

Have a dance

Dancing with the whole family? Why not! Imagine the fun of popping on a belly dancing DVD, or learning to dance a couple of styles, and getting everyone together for a bit of a giggle as you learn how to get your groove on?

The great thing too is that no matter the weather outside, Mum is sure to have a great time- and may even rekindle or discover a new hobby in the process!

Capture Memories

Mum’s have a great memory for the many milestones of their kids lives. Why not enjoy that trip down memory lane as you make a family photo collage?

You can scan those precious photos to make new, digital versions while also making sure they are preserved for all times.

It’s a great way to get both Mum and Dad remembering the fun times the kids may not while creating something together to keep.

When it comes to Mother’s Day, the thought truly does count. Don’t forget too, if you have big plans and need something special to make it happen, you can post a Wanted on Open Shed.

What are you planning to do with your Mum this Mother’s Day?

We are so excited to part of Stockland’s Collaborative...

Sun, 05 May 2013 08:00:00 +1000

We are so excited to part of Stockland’s Collaborative Consumption Experiment.

We are partnering with Stockland to pilot Open Shed in 5 of their residential communities around Australia. These 5 Open Shed / Stockland communities (2 QLD, 2 VIC and 1 WA) were softly launched last week.

So what do this mean for our fabulous, existing Open Shedders?

Your Open Shed experience is going to get better! Our goal has always been for Open Shed to be a sustaiable social business, and with this partnership we believe we are now on the path to achieving this. This is a fantastic opportunity for our team to work with a partner focused on building community connections and sustainablility. Together we are looking forward to introducing more people to collaborative consumption behaviors, and increasing community connections.

ideashoist: Over the last couple of months we’ve been working...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 07:39:00 +1100

ideashoist:

Over the last couple of months we’ve been working hard on a brand new digital magazine format for Ideas Hoist which we think you’re going to love.

It’s almost ready so if you’d like to be one of the first to get access just click the picture above or go to http://hello.ideashoist.com.au.

Of course we’d love it if you shared with friends and helped spread the word about Australians making ideas happen!

Did you catch Lisa chatting to Ideas Hoist?

February 2013 Think Act Change: Consuming Less in Times of Excess

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:01:00 +1100

[View the story “February 2013 Think Act Change: Consuming Less in Times of Excess” on Storify]

Declutter and help others...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:53:00 +1100

One of the best ways to get organised for the year ahead is to do a bit of decluttering and it seems many of you have been busy in January doing just that! I’ve noticed on Facebook and LinkedIn a number of requests for ideas about how to make sure that your no longer needed stuff is going to someone who needs it, or at the very least not to landfill.

So I thought I would share a couple of sites that I know and I hope you will add, in the comments, any services or sites that you can recommend.

Givit: an online matching service that connects you with trusted charities. Charities let Givit know what they need. Givit places it on the Givit List and you can easily see what is needed and by whom.

Dressed for Success: provides free clothing, styling and presentation skills to women wanting to enter or return to the workforce; or needing good clothes to present themselves well at an important life event. Donate your preloved workwear and make a real difference to another woman’s life.

Mattresses, they’re one of those really annoying things to dispose of. I guess that’s why they are the most common item put out for Council collection and why almost 1.25 million end up in Australian landfill each year. So I was really excited to learn about Soft Landing at the NSW Green Globes (they were a finalist) last year. It’s a Mission Australia mattress recycling and refurbishment social enterprise. I can’t help but think its cool that an old mattress could become a boxing bag!

Our friends at Ziilch also do a great job of helping you get your no longer needed stuff to people that have use for it.

If you are in Sydney The Bower also offers a fantastic Reuse Referral Service. They keep a database of over 1000 organisations, charities and institutions who will repair, reuse and resell your unwanted goods, keeping them out of landfill. You can call 9568 6280 Monday - Friday and The Bower staff will help you find a new home for all your no longer needed stuff. Awesome!

And with floods and fires sweeping Australia today its seems a good time to quickly comment on disaster giving. From all that I read donating money is the best way to help out, as the storing and transporting of donated goods is just an added expense for the charities involved. One exception to this that I have found is the Givit Flood Appeal. They are currently running a flood relief program, so you can donate practical items such as sunscreen/repellant, supermarket gift cards, new underwear/socks….

Do you know of a great site or service that distributes or is looking for second hand items? Please share it below.

2012 in review

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 22:09:00 +1100

2012 was a big year for Open Shed. With lots of highs and lows we certainly were on the startup rollercoster

Before 2012 fades away to be replaced by what is going to be an even bigger and busier 2013 for Open Shed, I thought it would useful to do a little recap…

January / February / March We started to the year house sitting in Hervey Bay. Lovely location to worry about the very sloooow start to the year.

On the bright side it was awesome to be the February edition of Choice AND Voyeur (the Virgin inflight Magazine)!

April / May Six weeks housesitting in Melbourne saw us catching up a heap of Melbourne collaborative consumption businesses. Great to meet face to face after so much online interaction.

Lisa headed up to Sydney for The Garage Sale Trail on the village green at the City Quarter complex in Camperdown

And we got to learn so much from our first survey!

June / July

We were very lucky to snag a 6 months house sit in Sydney!

Duncan was kept busy with a major upgrade to the home page and you helped us come up with the new Open Shed tagline - Why buy when you can share?

And we commenced our hectic 3 month incubation with Ignition Labs!

August Lisa maintained her goal of writing a weekly post about Ignition Labs for two weeks! (Week 3 and 4)

The Open Shed team takes a Sunday off to do the City to Surf!

Lisa headed to the CBA Women in Focus Conference in Noosa with 120 awesome business women and shared the Open Shed story as part of the start up panel!

September Open Shed is the WINNER of the Business- Small category at the first Green Lifestyle Magazine’s Green Awards!

Two days before we head off to the US (yes, I am crazy!) Lisa organises the first Australian gathering of Collaborative Consumption businesses and organisations. It was an awesome turn out to hear Rachel Botsman speak and have the opportunity to meet and mingle with so many likeminded people.

October The first two weeks were a blur of activity in the US!

We then needed the rest of the of the month to recover…

November Lisa spoke at her first conference - Thriving Neighbourhoods

We introduced one click listings to help our busy Open Shedders get their stuff listed quickly and easily.

December Honestly it is already a blur of parties, events and catching up with family. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Most popular rental item of the year: Cate’s Badge Maker in Melbourne

*A big thank you to talented ladies at LifeTyped for our...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:14:22 +1100

*A big thank you to talented ladies at LifeTyped for our gorgeous Christmas image and message

At the recent Thriving Neighbourhoods conference in Melbourne...

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:22:00 +1100

At the recent Thriving Neighbourhoods conference in Melbourne one of the speakers on the the final panel commented that planners of future thriving neighbourhoods need to ensure that they create opportunities for “small moments of personal contact” between neighbours and community members.

For the speaker these small moments happen now when he goes walking along a bush track near his home. Each person he passes acknowledges him in some way - be it a “Good Morning”, a nod of the head or a smile.

Do these small moments happen in your neighbourhood? Where? At the local dog park? Or playground? Your community garden?

*Photo: great sign at the Altona doggy beach!

Introducing 1 click listings

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 22:17:51 +1100

Got one of the items below? No need to worry about taking photos or writing a description. Simply list in one click!

Work - Lawn mower, Trailer, Pressure cleaner, Chainsaw, Whipper snipper

Play - Tent, Bike, Kayak, Surfboard, Golf clubs

Live - iPad, Sewing machine, Stroller, Roof box, Trestle table

We know that our Open Shedders are busy people, so we wanted to make listing your idle stuff on Open Shed as quick and easy as possible.

We’ve also done our research and know that these are popular rental items that are regularly searched for. So what are you waiting for, get quick listing now!!

Collaborative consumption and thriving neighbourhoods

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:36:28 +1100

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at the Thriving Neighbourhood Conference in Melbourne about collaborative consumption, and why I think it has a role to play in our future thriving neighbourhoods and communities. Here is a little of what I had to say…

As a business model, Collaborative Consumption has the potential to change the way we consume. It represents a fundamental challenge to the prevailing top-down consumption model - there is no merchant or middle man and individual private ownership is no longer the end goal, rather “access” is.

In regards to online peer-to-peer marketplaces the platform does not itself have an inventory, rather its primary role is to optimise what YOU as a member have - be that time, space, skills or tools. If a marketplace is working effectively it can match online what you have, with someone that needs it offline.

…what I see as the ‘secret sauce’ of collaborative consumption businesses, and why I believe they have the potential to play a transformational roles in our communities, is that their very basis is people. And the primary purpose of these platforms (and the hallmark of whether they are a successful business or not) is to connect people so that their needs can be meet in an efficient way. I believe this flows directly into some of the elements that I think are crucial to a thriving community - connectedness and collaboration. …

As a social movement I believe collaborative consumption has the potential to change the way we live offering us greater flexibility, a greater sense of empowerment over our own lives and far more daily connections.

Our US trip

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:24:00 +1100

Duncan and I have just returned from two weeks in the US. The trip was part of the Ignition Labs accelerator program that we have been part of since mid July.

We headed over with the four other Ignition Lab businesses and a couple of the mentors. In the first week we headed down to Silicon Valley for a pitching event and lunch with a couple of investors. Then it was off to Austin, Texas for SxSw Eco. You can check out a number of the sessions here. A highlight for me was hearing the keynote by Anne Leonard (from The Story of Stuff) talking about their new movie The Story of Change.

On day 2 of SxSw Eco Duncan and Nic Lowe (one of Ignition Labs mentors and co founder of Go Get) combined forces in the 24 hour hackathon. Check out what they created…Danger Zone!!

Then it was back to SF where Duncan and I took the opportunity to catch up with the SF Collaborative Consumption consumption community:

Monday we grabbed a coffee with Jeremy from Legit and chatted about the reputation economy.
Tuesday we headed into the Zimride / Lyft office and caught up with Emily Castor, Community Manager of Lyft and the co founder of Collabchats. It was fantastic to hear all about Lyft and how far its come in just a few short months. We absolutely loved the on demand ride sharing service and highly recommend you give it a go if you are ever in SF. An easy to use app, fist bump on pick up and a pink moustashe - what’s not to love!
Wednesday night I was super excited to have the opportunity to head to a Collabchats at Wheelz HQ. I had watch all previous chats online, so it was great to be in the audience for this one. The theme for this chat was “Sharing Economy Power Users” and sitting on the panel were 4 power users of Lyft, Taskrabbit, Sidecar, Zimride, Threadflip and Urbansitter. Check out Shareable’s summary of the evening here.
On Thursday it was fantastic to have lunch at Getable HQ and traded start up stories with Tim and the team. Then on our way to the airport we stopped into HUB SF and caught up with Neal Gorenflo, Co founder and publisher of Shareable and chatted about how the San Francisco Sharing Working Group came about and picked up some tips to help with encouraging collaboration between collcons businesses and government.

Throughout our US stay Duncan and I stayed with three fab AirBnB hosts. If you are visiting SF or Austin we highly recommend - Eva (SF- Oakland), Megan (Austin), Kermit (SF -Mission)

Have you heard about the New Joneses?

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:23:40 +1100

Open Shed is super proud of our fab friend Tamara DiMattina who has put together “The New Joneses” this week in FedSquare.

On Monday an architecturally designed, sustainably built apartment was craned onto FedSquare and all week The New Joneses have lived there. They arrived in undies and bathrobes, bringing only the essentials and a scavenger list. In the spirit of ‘new consumption’, they had to borrow, rent, swap or source everything they’ll need second hand.

If you are in Melbourne today, it is your last chance to head down and check it out in person. For everyone else we highly recommend you check out all the awesomeness of the week at www.facebook.com/TheNewJoneses.

Green Me Up, Scotty!

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:24:08 +1100

Wow- super psyched to see so many self challenges on the sustainability front and the connections forming through our recommendations on both the people to go for help and also the items front.

It really is a testament to community action and what we can do.

For those of you who have been keen on up-cycling, community gardening, greening your living and so on, feel free to check out:

Green Renters, the place to learn about how to green your renting experience Reverse Garbage, a supersized warehouse of things of all kinds just waiting to be reused

Transition Bondi, a passionate group of people looking to create change in food security, waste processing, localised economies and more

And if you need any more connections, by all means let us know!

The lucky winners for this week are:

Living Greener with green dream of “I dream of greening by helping people to take practical low cost actions at home”

Mustbethrifty with green dream of “I dream of greening by erecting a food hedge between me and the multiple lanes of traffic in front of my house.”

Gotta love the green dream! CONGRATULATIONS! And

It’s the final week of our competition and this time around it’s all about self promotion baby!

We know that a lot of people join the Open Shed community and have a hard time making their first listing (or their listing pop) whether that is for a Wanted or something you wish to rent to others so this is what we are going to do.

Our marketer Rebekah will be online on Twitter to review your listings personally and give you feedback on how to make the most of your listing, give you advice and generally get you started. She’ll also take your personal feedback on your Open Shed experience, ideas you might have- heck even crazy Wanteds.

That’s right- you will get one on one advice from someone who knows a thing or two about words and marketing so you can make the most out of your Open Shed experience!

Rebekah will be online from 10am to midday and again from 2pm to 4pm on Tuesday the 16th October to give you personal advice on how you can make the most out of Open Shed- and at the end the of the day will give 3 subscriptions away of the Green Lifestyle magazine to the person with the most creative, sustainable and/or helpful Listing, Wanted or profile!

All you need to do is:

Hit Rebekah up on Twitter via www.twitter.com/openshed and use the tag #openshedme so she can spot you OR
Hit Rebekah up on Facebook and reply to the day’s status with your questions

Nice!

This is a ONE day event from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm AEST on Tuesday 16th October via Twitter and Facebook. Get your advice and your last chance at a Green Lifestyle Magazine subscription!

Renters Can Be Green Too! The Green Renters Story

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:01:30 +1000

Green Renters is a not for profit charity that helps renters in Australia gain much needed information, education and assistance with sustainability in rental accommodation. The brain child of Cate Lawrence and Chris Ward, Green Renters works with people in all rental markets including standard rental, social housing and rooming houses through practical solutions and support.

Focusing on empowering the renter through workshops, campaigns, information and advice, Green Renters takes ownership away from body corporate and owners and gives renters the tools they need to help green their rental experience. The idea for Green Renters came from a very simple yet common place occurrence- personal need.

“We were renting a 120 year old property and we became very aware we needed to do something to save money on our energy bills as well as our energy consumption for the planet. We went to a green living expo and there was nothing for renters. No one cared if you couldn’t buy the big, permanent products and solutions associated with home ownership. We looked around and couldn’t see anyone else doing anything so we started a blog. We got a huge amount of interest. So much interest we were amazed at just how many people wanted the same things we did. People were asking for workshops, for help and solutions and facing the same problems we were. So we got incorporated, we set up a board and started doing the first real research into the needs of green renters and devising ways we could give them tangible solutions and support their green renting journey,” explains Cate.

Green Renters comes from a place of understanding the frustrations attached to budget, the delicate balance between respecting the owners wishes in regards to property and the desire for the renter to live sustainability. From teaching people how to insulate their rentals through sealing cracks and gaps, helping with advice on what home heating and cooling products to buy, how to save money on utilities and even helping with practical ways to reduce food wastage in the home, Green Renters has come a long way from their early blog days. They’ve run countless workshops, shown people how to preserve food, make their own green house cleaning products and run an expo for social housing to help people with practical advice on how to save money and truly enjoy and have fun with their homes by adding their own personal stamp. They’ve also run an Green Renters International Student Sustainability challenge and projects within a range of inner city rooming houses. Such dedication has seen them become a national programme and the recipient of the 2011 WWF Earth Hour Education Award.

Operating on small grants, a percentage of the workshop fees and through public donation and membership, Green Renters is very much a people power organisation that does a lot with very little. Volunteers help carry the Green Renters message across the country and the team make use of every day tools such as Skype and file sharing clouds to stay connected and social media to stay in contact with members. Still the interest keeps coming as people from the USA, UK and Europe seek out Green Renters for advice, leadership and a way to make their rental lives sustainable.

“30% of people in Australia rent, with 70% of our major cities being made up by renters. Yet renters often feel unwelcome in green building culture and home sustainability, and feel as though they are on the outside looking in. It’s an area where cost matters because making major improvements to a rental property just isn’t feasible financially or due to the permanent nature of most solutions. Or they worry about push back from the property owners or real estate and so on. Our aim is to skill people up so they can make a change for themselves in a low cost, effective, tangible and positive way. We want to give people tangible outcomes, practical ways to take action and tempt those who have not considered green renting before to consider it as a viable option,” said Cate.

To find out how you can green up your renting experience, or if you would like to support Green Renters through a donation of time, money or resources, head to http://www.greenrenters.org

Help to Make Your Green Dream Come True

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:08:27 +1000

What an awesome selection of entries we received last week!

But there can be only one… (sorry Highlander!) <drum roll please>

The winner is:

aeyrton on Twitter!

@openshed @GreenLifestyleM I like Open Shed because it leads to reduced consumption, and a greener happier and more sustainable world.

Congratulations! We will be in touch to tell you how to claim your prize.

AND THE GOOD NEWS, WE STILL HAVE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO GIVE AWAY!

As we continue our competition we’re sharing the green dream. Yes folks, it’s time to get out your organic hippie beads and talk about what you do for sustainability.

How to enter:

We want you to tell us what you would like to do to be more sustainable. Want a worm farm? To grow your own veggies? Remember to turn the lights off more? Weave your entire wardrobe out of recycled plastic bags?

Dream your green dream and let us know what you want by hitting Twitter or this blog with your green idea.

Start it off with “I dream of greening by…” and the most celebrated and inventive answer will win you one of 2 Green Lifestyle Magazine subscriptions-

AND for any answer, we’ll use our green network of friends, followers, businesses and organisations to see if we can get you the right advice and support to follow your green dream

PLUS if you need tools or equipment, books or anything to help you start it up, we’ll help you get it off the ground via our Wanted List.

So what are you waiting for? Share your green dream today!

Listing Q and A

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:09:00 +1000

As the Open Shed team go out and about, we often find people who are really enthusiastic about the idea of sharing their stuff or collaborative consumption but are really nervous when it comes to listing itself. So we’d like to take some time out to answer some common questions and concerns.

“I don’t know what to list!”

You first listing will be your hardest in a lot of ways because it means you’re new to Open Shed, listing and writing a description. The trick is not to over think the process.

Start with something super useful that only gets a look in on a semi-regular basis (or even once in a blue moon basis).

An example of this would be a drill or a lawn mower.

Both these items usually spend a lot of their life hanging around waiting for something to do, make life a lot easier than their manual alternatives and are not something everyone owns.

But beyond this…

“I don’t think people would want my stuff!”

If you are really unsure, check the things people have posted as Wanted items because with the Wanted Listings you know someone somewhere needs that item.

As Vinko mentioned he was able to rent his tennis racquet, an item he hadn’t considered before he saw the Wanted listing.

An example of an extremely hot ticket item members want are iPads- especially in Sydney. And as extra proof, the iPad in Melbourne is proving to be a hot rental item.

Being a startup, Open Shed is constantly talking to other businesses who would also like to use Open Shed to rent iPads for testing, demos or seeing if they will work well for business.

So armed with this knowledge the last hurdle remaining is…

“I don’t know what to say in the listing!”

Our best advice is break it down and don’t worry about super long descriptions or awesome photography. In a description, the main things people want to know are:

a) The condition of your item

b) Its features (if applicable)

c) What you use it for

You can even use the headings to break it down to cover all bases. And feel free to use a stock photo if you don’t feel fantastic about your photography skills.

A perfect example is Tania’s ladder in South Perth, WA. http://www.openshed.com.au/listings/290-rent-awsome-ladder-south-perth

Tania has included a few photos of her ladder, included a line on the near new condition of the ladder and its positioning in 20 different ways as its features. And Tania seems keen, warm and friendly- even though the listing is really fairly simple.

Any owners who have ladders would know how handy they are for changing light bulbs, cleaning cobwebs and gutters and so on. Anyone who needs one but doesn’t have room for a ladder knows how frustrating it can be.

To help you get over the listing jitters, Open Shed is also considering offering workshops, personalised help or even listing day events so we’d love to hear your thoughts- and your tips- on how we can make listing rentals and/or wanted items easier for you. Feel free to hit us up on T witter, Facebook or in the comments below this blog.

Open Shed for Small Business: The Beetlebox Story

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:35:00 +1000

Anyone who has ever scurried around the neighbourhood looking for boxes to help with the move then felt the guilt of shoving all the cardboard into the bin afterwards, listen on. There’s a new friend in town called BeetleBox and they are helping you move your stuff safely, directly and via Open Shed! We got the skinny from Glen at Beetlebox as to why he’s a fan of collaborative consumption and has chosen Open Shed as a way to reach customers for his business.

What inspired you to start using Open Shed?

I came across Open Shed when reading some articles about collaborative consumption. I thought it would be a great match for BeetleBox.

What is it about collaborative consumption that appeals to you?

The idea of using things that would otherwise be idle or under used really resonated with me. Environmentally, re-using things makes much more sense. Like Beetlebox, collaborative consumption is another way to keep things out of landfill.

What kinds of things have you listed on Open Shed?

I’ve put some beetle boxes, a moving trolley and a package called the studio package which includes boxes and bubble wrap and all kinds of things people need when they move.

Tell us about a time one of the items you have listed on Open Shed has saved your bacon.

Not necessarily me but there was an Open Shed member who was packing up to leave the country and had packed everything into suitcases and so on but still had stuff left. They found I had listed 1 to 100 boxes as a multiple item and he needed 5 boxes to get the job done. We used the conversation feature to figure out the finer details, worked out a delivery and pick up situation that was flexible enough to suit us and we got the job done.

What do you say to people that worry about things like stuff being damaged?

There is always a risk of that but there are a couple of safeguards in place on Open Shed that really help. Using the conversation feature you can communicate and get to know another person, develop a rapport and can choose not to go ahead if you don’t feel right about it. You’re always on control. Like eBay you can also look for the people with feedback too. For me, the most important part is having the conversation and using the social networking aspect of it to get a sense of a person before you commit to sharing.

What kinds of adventures would you like to see your items go on?

I’m in the early stages of marketing so it would be great to see my boxes take a drive up the coast to Queensland. Sending them on a backpacking journey up to the Gold Coast when I am ready to expand would be great.

If you could hire anything in the world off Open Shed, what would it be and why?

I am still looking for the lawn mower. In the future, considering I do run a small business and some days are slow and others are very busy so it would be great to borrow some expertise, assistance- a person basically!

Why do you think it’s better to share then buy?

You are able to save money. In the past you were forced to go out and buy an item and now you have greater freedom of choice. You can find elegant solutions to small, common problems.

If you are on the move and want your stuff to reach the new place safe and sound get in touch with Glen!

A (green) lifestyle of love...our first competition!

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:59:00 +1000

Open Shed are so pleased with winning the Small Business category in the recent Green Lifestyle Magazine inaugural Green Awards for 2012 AND how much love you have all poured into Open Shed since we started, that we have a competition for you!

We’re giving away 2 x full year subscriptions to Green Lifestyle Magazine (formerly G Magazine) to lucky Open Shed members each week for the next four weeks!

That’s right - you can catch up with all that is green and awesome all year round as our thankyou to you.

Considering we are getting a bit of a buzz off the love fest, we want to tie it in with sharing even more love and community spirit, so each week we will announce here and via Twitter a new way to win.

What do you need to do to enter?

Stay tuned via here and Twitter each week for the question
Respond to the question asked
You’re in the running!

Yep, it’s that simple.

Kicking things off - we want you to finish this sentence “I like Open Shed because…” and the two best answers as voted by RT’s, blog comments and us will walk away with a subscription.

Ready? Go!

You can tweet to us via @openshed and/or here on the blog.

You are welcome to make use of all the options (so Twitter and the blog) to increase your chance of winning and by all means, have fun, be inventive and get creative!

Winners for each competition round will be announced each Thursday along with a new question round.

So tell us “I like Open Shed because…” today!

**Please note this post was amended on 22 September to ensure we were not in breach of the Facebook rules. Apologies for any confusion

You could have blown us over with a single feather on Wednesday...

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 20:00:53 +1000

You could have blown us over with a single feather on Wednesday night at the Green Lifestyle Magazine’s first ever Green Awards. Why?

Because Open Shed took out the WINNER of the Business- Small category!

In these kinds of situations you can get a bit of a “we didn’t think we’d win, here is my acceptance speech I prepared earlier” sort of vibe but we honestly had no idea we would be the ones to take away the winner’s framed certificate and the honour of saying we won. We were just happy to be nominated and have a nice evening with some really great, sustainable and interesting people. To win was just awesome!

Highlights:

Meeting and being photographed with Bob Brown
Chatting to the people behind some really cool new green businesses and ideas including: - Silo by Joost - Grow it Local - Smart Garden Program.
And catching up with our fabulous friend, Tamara DiMattina from Buy Nothing New Month.

We’d like to thank each and every one of you who nominated us and continue to make Open Shed great. Our community is what makes Open Shed truly viable and the awesome little travelling startup it is- so thank you!