Meet Cate. Cate is a craft working, creative loving person who is all about community living in Melbourne. She runs Green Renters and is all about sustainability too. And this is her Open Shed story.

What inspired you to start using Open Shed?

I have a lot of things I use periodically through craft and creative work. I initially got my badge maker for example because at the time I was doing much more creative work and thought it would be great tool for green activism. Now that we’re running Green Renters, a lot our spare time for creative pursuits has has fallen by the wayside but I thought it didn’t seem right to just have it lie around. Open Shed seemed attractive as it seemed more formal than other sharing options. As it is a business it had the things that gave me peace of mind- like payment for rental and bond, so you know someone else is going to take the rental seriously. I thought my badge maker could be used by small businesses, bands and fellow green activitists and creative people, so that’s why I listed it.

What is it about collaborative consumption that appeals to you?

I am a real fan of collaborative consumption because it helps you to share things with your community, to build friendships and connections through the things you own, it helps in reducing waste and it generally fits your lifestyle and life’s timetable because you can get what you need when you need it. This isn’t just about neighbourhoods either. You can lend things across your work place, community groups, sports clubs, friends and other associations and not have that situation where the book you lend never comes back or you can’t remember who you gave it to because it has a way of tracking things. It’s got the benefit of being taken seriously enough that you know what is required and is less formal than other arrangements which means you have to make less of a commitment financially to participate. And it connects people through a shared ethos.

What I really like about Open Shed and similar sorts of things is it gives people a tangible way to really do something positive for the environment and to support our own environmental ethos. There are a lot of people out there who are really seeking to help the environment and do something positive, to see results and to feel part of the solution. Things like Open Shed and movements like collaborative consumption put that enthusiasm and desire for action into play with truly tangible consequences.

What kinds of things have you listed on Open Shed?

Right now I have only listed my badge maker, but it is already proving quite popular. The next thing I will be listing is my sewing machine and my Green Renters partner Chris will be listing his drum kit. We thought we might be able to offer lessons to go along with it too and see how that goes.

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

At some point it becomes a question of trust and goodwill towards other people. But also Open Shed treats this like a business transaction. You have a level of formality in how things are transacted, that is backed up by Terms and Conditions, a bond and other protections that gives you the freedom from any real major concerns.

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

I would love for my items to go on positive, creative, crafty adventures where they help make things, help bands promote themselves, help with activism and getting messages out there and to protest the bad and help the good. It’d be great to see the things we put on Open Shed in the future help to educate people, help them learn how to play the drums or sew and to create a sense of moving people towards actively participating in sustainability and sharing their creative side.

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

I think they’d fall into two categories. Something really over the top and fun to share with my friends like a hot tub and on the other side, a tool desk to be able to do some really useful and practical things.

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

Firstly, we currently live in a society where the amount of stuff we have accrued denotes our success and I believe this truly needs to be challenged.

Secondly, the modern day renter just doesn’t have the space to have a lot of things lying around not being used, stored away and gathering dust. By sharing these things we own we make them more functional as items and we help other people to avoid clutter and make the best use out of them. We give them more purpose through making use of them better.

Finally, people want ways to live more sustainably. They genuinely care about their impact and doing positive things and sharing stuff with people is another way of giving people a real way to make a change for the better.

Cate and her magical badge maker can be found here. The Green Renters team are considering purchasing another badge maker for Sydney so if you think you would like to see it listed on Open Shed, please let Cate know below. Finally, if you are in Melbourne and you have a hot tub sounds like you should start a conversation with Cate!

Whilst Vinko and his family were living in Brisbane, he was living in one of the big old rambling Queenslander’s with downstairs space. He started making use of his space to create furniture and soon needed a drop saw to get the job done. Rather than buy what he needed Vinko looked for rental alternatives. It was at this time he stumbled across Open Shed.

Little did he know he was about to get the warmest welcome ever- he was both the first QLD member and the 100th to join Open Shed! Here is his story.

What is it about collaborative consumption that appeals to you?

Collaborative consumption allows us to have access to a lifestyle we may not have thought possible. It encourages you to make a bigger investment at the time when you are purchasing something for yourself because you can buy better quality tools and equipment at a higher price with the knowledge you can rent out what you own to others. Here is a way of making money out of what we have. Not only that but it is so much better for the environment to pool these resources across a community. I think collaborative consumption gives us the ability to upgrade our lifestyle, gives us the freedom we need to do things and also the ability to connect with new and different things through people power.

What kinds of things have you listed on Open Shed?

I’ve listed a few things. I’ve listed my DSLR camera, a handsaw and drill, and tried to think about the things I own in terms of what other people might find difficult to track down or just so generic they would get a lot of use because it would be easier to borrow them from a neighbour as opposed to make a trip to the shops. I also saw another member was chasing down some racquets to play tennis via a Wanted Listing and I rented him mine. The best thing to come out of that tennis rental is that I found he was a genuinely nice guy, we found a mutual interest and enjoyment of the sport and so we’ve talked about meeting up and having a game ourselves.

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

I needed to get my pink slip done and at the time had an old Suzuki Sierra. I needed to remove the engine cap to get ready for the inspection and had to go out and buy an entire rubber socket set in order to use just one tool to get the job done. So I have listed that on Open Shed to save someone else from all the running around and the extra expense associated with getting their hands on that one tool.

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

My experience is a little bit different because the damage angle just doesn’t occur to me. I grew up on Croatia and being a Socialist Republic, everything about pooling resources, sharing across the community and working as a community together is the natural way we do things. Even so, I am not worried. The way I see it, it’s actually very rare that your trust could be abused. In fact, I think if you guard yourself, it’s more likely people pick that up and feel as though they cannot trust you. So I follow the line that as I don’t have anything hide or give people any reason not to trust me, they have no reason to abuse that trust. The bottom line is we don’t need to own all these things. We don’t need to think people will do the wrong thing. If you connect with people they are no longer a worry.

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

I wouldn’t mind seeing something of mine go skiing in Queenstown. Would love to hear the stories of the adventure and see the pictures of my stuff in action!

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

I’m in Sydney now and I’m still chasing down that drop saw. I would also love to get my hands on an iPad. I do a lot of demos for work and an iPad I could rent on a casual basis would be really helpful and something I would make a lot of use of.

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

I think we have the power to change the view of the economy and the world view on ownership. It wasn’t always a case where everyone owned everything and didn’t share it. It made sense in the past to own things of better quality and to look after them and share them across a lot of people as opposed to many people owning lots of stuff that would wear out. Things are changing. Access to things is once again starting to trump ownership, which is great.

Now that we have got online communities to connect through, we’re breaking down the barriers we put in place. We can meet up and trust someone with the things we own and build on that trust throughout the community all because we have a reason to get to know each other again.

The environment will thank us for it. Sharing and collaborative consumption is a much more efficient way to do what we need to do. It’ll force companies to get rid of planned obsolesce and go back to building things to last because it means people will buy the high end things. Having the things that last a lifetime will become popular again and we can all enjoy the things we want through sharing the rich tapestry of choices available to use at any given time as opposed to having to scrimp, save or do without doing it on our own.

To rent some of Vinko’s items or help him finally get his hands on that drop saw or iPad, head here .

This blog was brought to you by Unashamedly Creative. Unashamedly Creative is the nom de plume for creative Sydney copywriter and strategic freelance marketer, Rebekah Lambert. Rebekah is passionate about Open Shed- check out her listings!

We’ve held a wee bit of a working bee and spruced up some of the Open Shed features recently. Our aim is to make your Open Shed experience a member friendly and community orientated one, so we’ve done a lot of work around making things easier to use and more flexible for your needs. Here are the major changes in no particular order.

Makeover Time

Whilst Open Shed is still the collaborative consumption site you know and love, we thought it was a great idea to give her a little bit of a Winter Makeover. As part of her fashionable new look, you can now enjoy:

• No more “choose your own” categories: Open Shed now has a set list of categories you can choose to post a Rental and/or Wanted item in.
• Search Listings is the way to go: Whether you want to check what is listed to rent on Open Shed or are checking out to see if you can help with a Wanted Listing, you choose “Search Listings”. We’ve also given the look a bit of a refresh too to make what you are looking for easier to find and nicer to look at.
• Say bye, bye the “$$$” motif: You still rent your items for cash, however your feedback has told us you would like to see more about community, helping each other out, the environment and sharing so we want to reflect your values in how Open Shed looks. We’ve done some light changes to reflect this, and will have some very spunky new messaging appearing soon so stay tuned!

Wanted: Alive and Revamped

Wanted Listings have undergone a few significant changes, all of which is designed to make it easier for people who want an item connect with someone who can help in the simplest way.

• Wanted Listings are no longer on their own page: We found that a lot of people would list Wanted items that were already on the site or that members who may have something listed in the Wanted area don’t necessarily check what is listed. So we have combined Wanted Listings as part of general listings so you can find them easier. You can spot the difference by seeing a green WANTED next to the items that are Wanted Listings.
• Posting photos is now part of Wanted Listings: We understand with some items a picture really does help someone visualise what you are looking for, so now you can post a photo as a guide to what you are looking for as part of your Wanted Listing.
• Other people’s suggestions are now visible: You can now see any suggestions other members have made in response to a Wanted Listing. This helps avoid doubling up suggestions and to help give further insight into what you might be able to offer in their quest to find the right item.

FAQ is always there for you

In addition to the current FAQ page, when you use a particular feature you will get help about that feature on the same page. For example, if you are Listing an Item, you will see FAQ’s like “What kinds of things can you share on Open Shed?” and “What should I include in my item’s description?” on the right hand side. If you click on the blue question, the info you need will expand out so you can read it and work out what to do next without leaving the page you are on. Nifty, huh?

In this for the long haul

Open Shed is all about making a site that works the best for you- so when we had a member/someone ask about hiring a camera for 7 weeks and the owner keen and looking to offer a discount, we knew we’d found two new features that would really help our members.

• Long Rentals: You can now have a standard rental - which is a maximum of 25 days, and a long term rental- which can be as long as you want! This is ideal for anyone who might be looking to have an item for an extended period of time such as travelling looking for a camera/camping or backpacking gear, training for a specific sporting milestone like a marathon or even owner/builders who might need tools for an extended period of time to get the job done.
• Make an Offer: As an owner, you can also Make an Offer on your items. This feature is super simple to use and is a part of Conversations. You can offer a special rental price for a member in private to encourage long rentals, to offer your item to a friend for a reduced rate or a variety of different reasons. This feature always keeps you in control of setting the rental price, it simply offers more flexibility for different circumstances.

Feel free to let us know what you think of the new changes- this is your community after all! We really learn a lot from your use of Open Shed and your ideas and would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Happy shedding!

This blog was brought to you by Unashamedly Creative Unashamedly Creative is the nom de plume for creative Sydney copywriter and strategic freelance marketer, Rebekah Lambert. Rebekah is passionate about Open Shed- check out her listings!

We recently conducted a survey to find out what you loved, liked and weren’t so warm and fuzzy during your Open Shed experience. We were surprised and very grateful for the responses! The passion you showed for collaborative consumption and also how genuinely interested in Open Shed people are was very heart warming- so thank you very much!

We have taken some time to distil all your awesome feedback- and here it is in overview.

How did you first hear about Open Shed?

Friend power is driving the Open Shed word about town with 26% of respondents being friends of co-founders Duncan and Lisa and just over 18% found out through a friend due to the survey, or through general conversation. Couple this with social media like Facebook and Twitter accounting for almost 20% and we can see word of mouth certainly is certainly our ally! Thanks for being so vocal about Open Shed- we really appreciate it! If at any time we can help you spread the word further, just give us a shout!

What sorts of Open Shed services have you made use of over time?

Considering quite a few of you have discovered us via social media, it comes at no surprise that just over 39% of respondents track us through social media. From our sample, 26% of you have taken the plunge and already listing your items- Yay! Interestingly, 26% of people have checked out the Open Shed site but haven’t popped their hand up to join, list or even follow the journey on social media or the blog. Don’t be shy- we’re a pretty friendly bunch! The more the merrier and we’d dearly love to have you join in on our journey in some way!

Have you used any of the following collaborative consumption businesses?

55% of you have not used a collaborative consumption business- whoa Nelly do we feel privileged that you are popping by to check us out! If we have whetted your appetite for collaborative consumption and you haven’t checked them out, please see Lisa’s blog posts on her picks here.

It’s great to see the original re-use artists Reverse Garbage have seen over almost 23% of you finding something to re-use and 18% have been riding the couch surfing travel wave through AirBnB - and that the collaborative consumption message is catching on with car share, LETS and all kinds of great ideas.

Why are you interested in Open Shed? (What is it that interests you about Open Shed?)

We asked you to give us all the reasons you might be interested in Open Shed here. Just under 83% of you like the idea of sharing with other people! This is great news because this is the true heart of collaborative consumption- bringing people together to share what we all have so everyone can benefit!

52% of you want to lessen your environmental impact and 40% are truly passionate about your being active and supportive in your local community.

Contrary to what we had been lead to believe (sometimes by naysayers admittedly), we found 29% of you were interested in the cash side of things, but helping others, not being wasteful, sharing and community were much more important than cold, hard, folding notes. It’s moments like this that make Open Shed even more awesome- because we can now say our members and our Open Shed friends choose us because they care about people, the planet and making their community a positive one in which to exist!

What kinds of items interest you the most?

Attracting the handy, well travelled, rugged outdoorsy type is an Open Shed speciality - or so says our survey results with 65% of you being interested in DIY, a further 40% being interested in gardening, 36% interested in sharing travel and holiday equipment and 33% wanting to pump up the exercise regime. However everyone is willing to share loads and loads- books, cooking stuff, the latest IT, kid’s toys- hell, we even had a request for power boats and sheds! Again, we asked you to give us all the reasons you might be interested in Open Shed here.

What kinds of situations would prompt you to rent an item?

Once again, we asked you to give us all the reasons you might be interested in Open Shed here. Short life tasks around the home and a bit of the old fashioned DIY is what 70% and 69% respectively say interest you the most.

53% closely follow on the heels with their party hats on for those one day hires for one off special events.

You also want to try new things, have cool stuff for your holidays, use things for creative endeavours and try before you buy. Is it safe to say almost anything goes?

Why would you list an item?

We’ve heard a lot of theories about why you might want to list an item, so we wanted to make sure we also captured each motivation for listing in this question too. Getting a bit of extra pocket money tickles 55% of you when it comes to listing an item, 49% of you just want to help other people out and 32% just want to share the joy their things give them with others (you sweet little things), and 42% would just like to feel a little less guilty about how much stuff you have accumulated. All things that are extremely valid and all things we can relate to 100% of the time.

Why haven’t you listed an item/more items?

Topping the list of reasons why you haven’t listed are being unsure what people would rent from you, you haven’t got the time to tackle the task of listing, you don’t know the value of your items in terms of bond and rental and you’ve only just discovered Open Shed and need a little more time. We get it and we are here to help!

Couple of tips for you-

• If you are worried about what you should and shouldn’t rent, check out what other people have listed, check what sorts of things people are looking for in these survey results, share things your friends often borrow from you already, and ask us for help and advice!

• Time is a big thing for most people, but your commitment to Open Shed can be as big or as small as you want it to be. Just try listing one item and see how you go. Or you can get ideas from Bek’s quick and dirty guide to renting.

When working out the value equation behind a listing, follow the calculator on this page. Keep in mind when you are renting from someone else, whilst a price may look expensive compared to retail, you are gaining easy access, not having to worry about extra space for a new item, the ability to find something near you for a short usage and check both the daily and weekly prices as quite a few items are much cheaper for a longer rental period to discourage one day borrowing.

For those of you who have just discovered Open Shed, you take all the time you need- we’re glad to have you! Welcome aboard! Make sure you check out our blog to get the full picture!

Would you travel for a rental?

Admittedly, the Open Shed team have puzzled over this one privately for a while. However thanks to your honesty, we now have an answer. 30% of you want your Open Shed experience to be local, 26% of you would only travel if it was a rare or special item and a further 25% would as long as it wasn’t longer than half an hour.

What could we do to make Open Shed more your kind of thing?

Topping the pops for making Open Shed your kind of thing are having more stuff in your local area, having more variety of items available and concerns about not getting your items back in one piece. We get it, which is why we will be choosing some target areas to focus on to draw more people to Open Shed and looking at partners who may be able to allay those fears about items being returned in not so good condition.

We do want to remind you all though that Open Shed is run on people power. So if you want more items to rent in your local area, help us by promoting us in your community! And if you want more variety, why not lead the charge by listing things you have? Or if you are worried about people not taking care of your items, remember to set an appropriate bond to deter breakage, remember you have the right to decline a rental if you don’t feel right about the person AND if you have insurance, most of the time this will be covered.

Where do we find you and where to next?

Most of our responses came from Sydney and Melbourne - however we crossed the Nullarbor and got a holler or two from WA, ducked into Adelaide, did a small regional tour from QLD before hitting Brisbane, the Riverina and on to regional Victoria. Heck we even gained interest from Germany, Norway and South America from ex-pat Aussies who think the idea is so damn cool!

Please note: We are a national service and we certainly don’t stop people from joining or listing and sometimes there might not be other Open Shed members for you to rent from in your area. YOU can help bring Open Shed to your town or area through spreading the word amongst your friends, social groups, work places, schools and community! Not sure how? Check out here and here

We had some really clever, thoughtful and eye opening suggestions that came through from the survey on where we should advertise - so thank you ever so much! We had over 90 individual suggestions from big scale to small grass roots campaigns and are just amazed at how clever a bunch of people you are! From here, we will be tackling partnerships, editorial opportunities, checking out online directories, looking at the website and our social media and even hitting the pavement as our first ports of call! Watch this space for more details!

One more thing before we go. We want to open the Open Shed door to you if you wish to give us any further feedback, or if you need help with anything from your listing to promoting Open Shed in your local area, please feel free to contact us! You can call on 1300 953 534 or email – thank you for being so much a part of what makes Open Shed great - we appreciate your support so very much!

About the author The fabulous Bek from Unashamedly Creative is working with Duncan and I to make Open Shed the best it can be! Bek took the survey in hand and has helped us distill the results into some exciting practical actions. You can get to know Bek via twitter and Facebook.

Duncan and I really enjoy getting to know all you Open Shed members, and as more and more rentals occur it is great to hear about the connections that are being made. Regularly we will be doing a bit of a Q & A with members here. A big thank you to Nicole from South Australia for being the first!

We are really hoping to help Nicole with “her wanted ad for an electric cement mixer”:wanted so she can build an earth bag cubby house over Easter, if you’ve got one list it - how cool would it be to say the Open Shed community helped to build a cubby house!!

How did you first hear about Open Shed?

On Facebook, I think. I saw an article about collaborative consumption a few years ago in the AFR randomly on a plane (I rarely fly and never buy it but was reading over someone’s shoulder :-) and then asked him if he would share - which he grudgingly did - LOL! Must have been when Rachel (Botsmans) book came out. It listed a few startups. I was interested in car share initially. So it has been on my radar. I’m involved in permaculture and the transition movement and interested in the sharing economy.

Why are you on the hunt for a cement mixer?

For a building project we are doing. Its a cool thing building a structure with what is available where we live - the earth under our feet - which is essentially sand. But we do need to mix it with some clay and make a render for the outside - thus the mixer. Basically you mix sand and 20% clay, fill bags with it and build a dome like that. Then you cover it with an earth render. Then voila - a building with almost zero inputs - cool in summer, warm in winter!

So thats why we need the mixer - I don’t want to buy one - even second hand and have it clog up our shed. There is enough there already. I already feel bogged down by too much stuff…. And I know that there are possibly several sitting unused in sheds around here - though how to get them listed on Open Shed is another thing!

Why is the cubby an important project to complete?

Because there is a big hole in my backyard and piles of sand disrupting our lives :-)

What happens if you don’t find the cement mixer?

I actually have since put a call out through my personal networks and a friend has a friend who might be able to lend one. I will follow that up and try and get them to put it on open shed for next time! It’s a fine line though of having human generated genuine contact networks and the convenience of online searching.

Had you heard of collaborative consumption before you found Open Shed?

I think I answered above - also I signed up for the Sharehood and listed some things there but I have never had any requests for my stuff from there. Adelaide is also a different market - very conservative - still plenty of space so most can store their own gear, no financial need… Yet… :-)

The other thing I’d really love access to is a data projector….

If you would like to be part of our “hello member” series, please email me at “lisa@openshed.com.au”:contact. I can email you some questions or we can have a quick chat!

Last month Open Shed members Sonja and Bern met to do their first rental. Bern had posted a wanted ad looking for a water gurney to help her clean her windows, so Sonja added to her ever growing Open Shed inventory a Karcher Jet Washer.

We just love the description of the “exchange” that they left on our facebook page!

Sonja: Met Bern in a side street in Seaforth, popped the boot, showed her the goods and she gave me the code word and we exchanged. Felt like we were doing a drug deal!

Bern: It was a bit like undercover sting and we had a giggle - felt great to rent from such a nice gal and because I chose to travel a little further to rent - we now get to go on a bush walk recommended by Sonja- somewhere different to go when returning the Karcher! All that and I have clean paths and windows!

The pick up or exchange of the rental item is obviously a really important step of the Open Shed process and we needed a way for the Open Shed system to know it had occurred, so we introduced the “secret code”.

The Renter is emailed the secret code (which will be a randomly selected girls name) once the Owner has accepted their rental request. At the agreed pick up point the exchange of this Secret Code becomes the modern day equivalent of a handshake. It confirms that both parties are happy to proceed with the rental at the same time.

Here’s the exchange steps from the owners perspective:

1. The Renter gives you the code once they have looked at your item and is happy it matches the description in your rental listing.
2. You enter the code via the Open Shed website or mobile app.
3. The code is verified and if it is correct it triggers the removal of the Rental Fee and Service Fee from the Renter’s account.
4. For your own peace of mind, you should wait until you have received notification the code has been verified before giving the item to the Renter.

Our secret code process also plays an important part in our overall focus on trust and security for our community. We have just recently updated our trust and security page to better explain what we provide, so please check it out.