Luca borrowed the carpet bowls this week and it was MONUMENTAL!
Click here to view the full Luca Loans series.
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Viewing posts from: November 2000
With the holidays coming it was a perfect time for Luca to borrow one of our projectors.
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It’s a crepe/pancake maker up next as Luca loans from a Library of Things! …Can you guess his favourite filling?
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For his first borrow from SHARE, Luca went for the table football! See how he got on in the vid below…
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This is the first in our new ‘Luca Loans from a Library of Things’ series.
Luca, 10, from Frome will be borrowing items from SHARE:Frome and submitting video reviews. Before he gets the first one in we should introduce you to Luca … and what better way to do so than via his application for a Blue Peter Green Badge:
Hello, my name is Luca and l am 10 years old. I live in Frome, Somerset. I like I.T./gaming, and recycling by making cardboard box forts.
I am applying for a Green Blue Peter Badge because I have been to many SHARE Repair Cafes and I also borrow things from the SHARE Shop instead of buying them.
The SHARE Repair Cafes are events where lots of people come to get their broken things fixed by people with skills. So far, they have inspected over 200 items, weighing nearly 400kg and saving over £9000 if these broken items had to be replaced new!
Its very useful because we don’t have to bin as many things which is good for the planet and you don’t have to go and spend more money than you need. Also you get to learn life skills there and meet new people.
The first Repair Cafe I went to was to fix my domino train (a tiny train that lays dominoes in a trail/line so that you can knock them over).
It had stopped moving and I thought I would have to immediately bin it. Mum told me about the SHARE Repair Cafe and that I could try to fix it, so I said, “yes I would like to go and do that”.
So she took me and Paul fixed it (and I learned some skills). There was a string stuck inside the mechanism and we just unscrewed it and took the string out and the train worked again!
There was some free food there as well. Like cake!
After that, we fixed our Acer laptop. It kept on overheating so the man took it home and the next time we saw it, it was working faultlessly! He told us that he had replaced the thermal paste for us. I learned that computers have thermal paste to stop them from overheating.
2nd Repair Cafe
Then, the next time, was the worse of all times of the broken things. My only working headphones wire had snapped – dun dun DUUUUUN!
So, we took them to the Repair Cafe and a man soldered it together with his soldering equipment and he showed me how to solder. Soldering is like melting a bit of metal to join wires together to make a circuit. It’s practically like making glue out of metal – just stronger.
Afterwards, Aliss showed me how to make a lunch bag for fruit out of recycled tents (that she had scavenged from Glastonbury festival).
The tents would have gone to landfill if Aliss hadn’t saved them. So we were upcycling them.
Also, Aliss showed me how to use a sewing machine. So, I learned a new life skill. Now, I put my snack in the bag I made every day and take it to school.
Aliss also taught my Mum how to fix her dresses on the sewing machine and how to make bunting out of the tents for my den in the garden.
I think that it’s an amazing thing that they have done making a SHARE Repair Cafe and Share Shop because it is going to make everyone’s eco footprint go down. Also people will learn life lessons like how to fix their stuff next time. Also its a good way to meet loads and loads of new people from throughout Frome and you might be surprised and make a new best friend.
Aliss also runs the “Light the Night” lantern parade in Frome which is where everyone parades through town with lanterns in the dark with samba music and the Christmas lights get turned on. Aliss taught us how to make lanterns with willow branches, glue and tissue paper so we can join in.
Aliss also came to our school and I luckily got to help make the massive angel lanterns to be taken along at the front of the parade. I helped to make the head of one, it was difficult because we had to position the willow rings on a template and then tape them together and they got bigger and bigger to make her head.
This year, we also went to a lantern making workshop and I made a little illuminarti lantern to carry in the parade. The parade was noisey and fun. We all parade with lanterns through the streets of Frome and then the mayor turns on the Christmas tree lights (but that’s what they want you to think – there’s really a man with a power box who switches on the lights when the mayor says to! He had a walkie talkie and an earpiece and was up a ladder!)
We also joined the SHARE Shop which is practically a library of stuff that you can borrow.
They say, “The average drill is used for only 13 minutes in its entire lifetime. What if, instead of buying that drill, you could borrow one instead?” (straight from their website). So they decided to put “A Library of Things” and you can rent them out to stop landfill and it’s to stop you from having to buy unnecessary items.
The first item we borrowed was a metal detector and we went to the beach with it to see if we could find any treasure. I thought I could actually make some money out of that. (But we didn’t!)
More recently we have borrowed a crepe maker and we had pancakes every day. My cousins came to visit and we all made crepes.
We also borrowed an electric bike which was a disaster we got lost in the woods and we got stuck in the mud! But we did have pizza when we got to our destination!
We have also borrowed a football table that I beat Mum at basically every time! At the moment, we have borrowed a massage chair and on Monday we are going to get a dehydrator and make fruit crisps. After that, I want to borrow the candy floss machine. But my Mum wants to borrow the inflatable kayak.
There is an indepedent market every month in Frome. Edventure MAKE students make ethical stuff to sell at that market. Last market, I bought a lavender-scented fish made from recycled materials. His name is “Bob.” He is beautiful and really cute. lt is supporting the local economy, like in the Fiver Fest. In the Fiver Fest, local shops that sign up to it sell things for £5, it’s to keep money local. We bought a meal at Nook, which I think is the best food in Frome and it fills every nook and cranny in your stomach!
So please consider me for a green Blue Peter Badge. Thank you
Luca
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This summer 5 university students began volunteering one afternoon a week at SHARE as part of a 10 week resilience placement with Frome Town Council. Not fully knowing what to expect we arrived on day one to learn a little more about what makes the shop unique and what types of customers borrow items. It was inspiring to see first hand the popularity of the shop with customers coming and going in small flurries throughout the day, intrigued to find out what else they could borrow.
Borrowing is an inventive solution to the ongoing problems with waste we as a society face. It was refreshing to see that not only is the shop helping to reduce landfill, but it also unites local business owners and residents to come together and support a common cause. The shop is more than just a borrowing space, it sparks a conversation about the importance of being aware of our consumption habits. In 2019, where advertisements for purported must have goods are aplenty, it can feel like you are never up to date with the latest trends or must have gadgets. However, that is where the SHARE shop steps in to allow you to try out items beforehand and simultaneously lend preloved goods. From parties to weddings to home renovations, the shop caters to a whole host of needs and relieves the burden of having to source storage space to house infrequently used items.
From a volunteer’s experience, working at the SHARE shop has been rewarding, fun and at times challenging. As membership numbers have risen in recent months and donations flow in, there is the task of keeping on top of logging items, coding them and organising them into appropriate categories and locations. With an abundance of musical instruments, DIY tools, garden machinery and camping equipment, there is always something to be getting on with, whether that be assessing the condition of borrowed items or adding sponsorship tags respectively. One of the more challenging aspects of the role involved putting our teamwork skills into practice when setting up tents in a nearby meadow to check they had all their constituent parts intact. On one of the warmest days in the UK, we took to the local field, wheelbarrow in tow and got to work. It was satisfying to see the bell tent holding up and knowing how quick and simple it was to construct makes borrowing equipment even more appealing for special trips away.
It was quickly apparent that many customers value SHARE, not only for its diverse inventory of items but also based on the skills and knowledge it provides to locals. SHARE is predominantly volunteer run and relies on the goodwill of others to offer their skillsets to mend items or sort through stock. Volunteering costs nothing but gives back so much. In the short space of time we have been at SHARE, a fresh insight into this innovative community project has been gained and a newfound desire to share more acquired.
Tess, Claire, Bridie, Poppy and Emma
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We’d like to encourage all borrowers to return items in as good condition as possible.
Bringing back items clean improves the efficiency of SHARE as a community resource.
As much as we’d love to provide the service of cleaning items that have been brought back dirty, we sadly don’t have the resources. i.e. When a lawn mower comes back with grass still in it we have no courtyard out back to empty it (we don’t even have our own wheelie bin!) Similarly, we don’t have hot water in the shop so can’t easily clean kitchen items that come back messy.
So please do make every effort to bring items back in a similar state to how you borrowed them.
Despite other members loving the concept of sharing, it doesn’t extend to sharing mess left by a previous borrower. If things are brought back in a particularly bad state we may have to ask you take the item back and bring it back clean, or even ask for a fee. But don’t worry, this will only happen in extreme cases. So long as you’ve done what you can to clean any mess you’ve made and brought the item back in a similar state to how you borrowed it then that’s fine by us.
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SHARE wouldn’t be the community resource it is without our amazing volunteers. So let us introduce them to you…
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Exciting news: We’ve partnered with 20th Century Flicks in Bristol to provide a movie rental service in Frome!
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The SHARE Christmas Window Display
Around 5 million tonnes of waste – both recyclable and not – is created around Christmas in the UK every year, equivalent to 450,000 double decker buses. At SHARE we want to do our small part in reducing this number by encouraging borrowing from our growing selection of Christmas items.
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Sports & Games is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have over 40 items in the Sports & Games category including cricket and badminton sets, scooters, a trampette, a snakeboard, various other indoor and outdoor games plus juggling clubs and a big hula hoop!
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Music/Media/Audio-Visual is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have over 40 items in the Music/Media/Audio-Visual category. We’ve got various musical instruments, recording devices, amps, pedals, tuners & PA systems, projectors and screens and more.
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Leisure & Camping is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 118 items in the Leisure & Camping category. Everything you need for camping trips (tents, beds, lights, sleeping bags, folding chairs, stoves etc.) plus a barbecue, cool boxes, wet suits, buckets & spades, hammocks, portable modems and much more.
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Kitchen Equipment is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 65 items in the Kitchen Equipment category, including Bread Makers, Juicers, Dehydrators, Ice Cream Makers, Electric Hobs, Blenders, pots, pans, tins and tea urns, crockery and cutlery, and a Preserving Kit and a Popcorn Maker!
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Household & Garden is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 85 items in the Household & Garden category from carpet cleaners to car polishers, heaters to hoovers, dog cages to drain unblockers, log makers to lights, massage tables to metal detectors … you get the idea!
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Gardening Tools is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 77 items in the Gardening Tools category, including all of the standard tools you’d expect to in a garden shed plus items such as a leaf blower, garden fence sprayer, hedge trimmers, strimmers, garden shredders and, of course, lawn mowers! Oh, and did I mention the wheelbarrow?
So if you’re getting green fingered or sprucing up your outdoors, let SHARE be the source of those items that can help your outdoor space flourish!
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Events is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 118 items in the Events category from sound systems to bunting, disco lights to projectors, crockery to drinks dispensors … and even a smoke machine!
So if you’re throwing a party or planning a bash, be sure to use SHARE to save you money whilst putting on a great show!
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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DIY is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 231 items in the DIY category. As well as all of the hand tools, power tools and DIY accessories you could think of, the category also includes things such as ladders, cables and more obscure items such as a floor nailer and a high pressure washer.
Working with pipes? This section includes a pipe cutter, a pipe blocker and a pipe bender!
A sack truck, a plastering kit and wallpaper steamers are further examples of the wide array of items in this section.
Most of the hand items in the DIY category are free for 2 day borrows to standard and subscriber members.
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Baby & Children is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 53 items in the Baby & Children category from Reusable Nappies, High Chairs and Bed Guards through to Scooters and Roller Blades via toys including a Mini Trampoline!
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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Arts & Crafts is one of our ten categories of items here at SHARE:Frome Library of Things.
At the time of writing we have 36 items in the Art and Craft category from Badge Makers to Peg Looms and Oil Painting Kits via Glue Guns and Guillotines.
To view all 10 categories browse our inventory.
If you’d like to sponsor this category and have your business advertised with every item borrowed from within it, as well as inside the shop and on our window, please get in touch with us.
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