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!

Taking a quick look at Australian TV screens and book stores and you can see Australians have a bit of an obsession with cooking, or at least reading about and watching other people cook.

I almost fell off my chair when I read that we apparently spent about $90m on cookbooks in 2010. If that’s just the expenditure on the books I can’t even imagine what we forked out on cooking equipment!

I’m just imaging Australian kitchen cupboards bursting at the hinges with bamboo steamers, breadmakers, slow cookers, fish poachers, waffle makers, cake tins, muffin trays and friand pans.

I’m sure many of us have had the experience where we have bought something that the new recipe we are giving a whirl tells us that we need. It really is hard to give away or sell that type of stuff. If you didn’t completely hate the recipe there is always the “possibility” that you might actually make it again.

So why don’t you list some of your kitchen equipment, accessories and cookbooks on Open Shed and help someone else get creative in the kitchen! Perhaps you can help them with a try before they buy decision or just give them the option to rent something that they already know they will only use once.

We already have some great cooking related stuff of the site - check them out:

• cookbooks
• tagine
• pasta maker
• bread maker
• cake tins
• cake stands
• ice cream / sorbet maker
• waffle maker
• hot dog maker

As part of your listing why don’t share some of your cooking knowledge and skill - perhaps your favourite recipe or a yummy photo of your food creation!

Looking for new ways to explore Sydney? At Open Shed our members can help you out with that! Here’s my top 5 activities:

• Get out on Sydney’s waterways and go Kayaking! View the Harbour Bridge and Opera House from a completely different perspective and visit all little bays around the harbour. Or perhaps head down South to the stunning Royal National Park and paddle out of Bundeena.

• Or if you want to hit the Sydney waters in a different way, why don’t you head over to beautiful Manly and go surfing. From Manly you can explore the 20+ surfing beaches and reefs on the North Beaches.

• Sydney is a city made for exploring on foot, with amazing bush scenery right on its doorstep. The harbour foreshore alone is home to at least 16 bush walks.

• Visit inner Sydney’s green oasis, Centennial Park and have fun cruising the 189 hectares on a tandem bike.

• For a little more adventure head out overnight camping and experience the Sydney bush at night. Did you know you can even camp on cockatoo island? How’s this for a view to wake up to!

Check out Open Shed for everything you need and get exploring!

Are the kids already sick of their chrissy presents? Looking for some ideas to keep them entertained for the rest of the school holidays?

Renting through Open Shed can be a really great way to add some variety to the school holiday activities without spending a fortune buying things new!

Vice versa its the perfect time to help another family out and list the stuff that has fallen out of current favour with your child.

We just took a quick browse through Open Shed and here are a few child friendly renting ideas for the holidays:

• What about a short camping trip or even recreate the adventure of camping in your own backyard with Cheryl’s tent?
• The perfect kind of school holiday lunch - hot dogs - easy and fun!
• Take the kids bikes away with you on your family holiday with a bike carrier and even rent another Mountain Bike if you need one.
• Give kayaking a go! We have listings in Melbourne and Sydney.
• For those rainy days -how about a good old fashion [board game][game marathon]? Or a spot of [Foosball][foosebal]l?
• Been thinking about buying the kids a Wii Fit or iPad? Why don’t you let them try before you buy, and see if it will be a fad or not.
• Are they showing a musical bent? Same deal- encourage them to try the guitar, drums, ukelee or xylophone before you outlay the cash!

Whatever you get up to, we hope you and the family have a fabulous summer holidays!!

It’s that time of year, you’ve just finished the leftovers from Christmas Day and waved the last of family guests off and now its time to start thinking about New Years eve!

Whether you are planning a BIG party that you already know you will regret on 1 January, or a low key catch up with friends, here’s a selection of Open Shed listings that can only improve the last night of 2011.

Neck and neck for the most awesome party listing on Open Shed is Sean’s Kegerator and Beth’s Disco Karaoke Party kit. The Kegerator comes complete with gas, 250 plastic beer tumblers and refrigerated unit for the keg so your beer is icy cold for the party - all you need to supply is the keg!

Beth’s Karaoke kit has everything you need to turn your average house party into an awesome one! Complete with a smoke machine and rotating disco ball (that’s my favourite!!)

I also think Anna’s wind up gramophone could add that extra bit of style to your NYE party! Or if you are heading to a dress up party you should check out her very fun clown costume.

But if you are planning a more low key gathering friends, what about turning it into a poker or [board game][board night]? Or how about a wii competition?

Whatever you are up to, Duncan and I hope you have a fabulous night!

Its been a very exciting week at Open Shed HQ - it started with featuring in a Herald Sun article and has finished with Open Shed going LIVE!

So head on over, join the Open Shed community and start making the most out of all that stuff you have!

Not sure what to list? Take a look around your home. Look in your shed, spare room, storage cage, under your bed for all those items that you only use occasionally and are just gathering dust.

Some of our listings so far (a big thanks to our super supporters!) are large tools, Kayaks, camping gear, indoor bike trainer and board games.

Help us grow the Open Shed Community (and your renting prospects!) by spreading the word about Open Shed. One easy way to do this is to “advertise” your rental listing to your Facebook friends. Just click “like” once your listing is complete.

We have launched Open Shed in Beta. Open Shed is fully operational, but as it is early days we would really appreciate your feedback on any teething issues. And of course site development work doesn’t suddenly stop! We plan to continue to add features and we would love for you to tell us what else you would like to see / do via the site.

We really appreciate all your support and look forward to building an awesome Open Shed community with you,

Lisa and Duncan