2 minute read
Cool tools
DIY enthusiast Imogen Wooley at work in her Liverpool workshop
Cool tools come to town
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By STEPH COLDERICK
Anew DIY initiative has been set up in Liverpool to give everyone affordable access to tools.
Operating just like a book library, Liverpool Tool Library will help aid DIY projects taking place at home by enabling users to look at the tools available online, reserve them and collect them
The idea is the brainchild of DIY fan Imogen Wooley, who explained the thinking behind the new scheme.
She said: “The whole idea is affordable access for DIY tools. We all need tools; we all use tools.”
She began with her own home workshop.
She said: “I had a little workshop at the back of my house and I would have friends and family use the tools and the space here and I thought ‘This should be available to everyone’.”
After visiting Canada and seeing a tool library over there the idea grew and Imogen decided to set up her own in Liverpool.
Now, the city’s first tool library can be found at Unit 5 Aspen Yard, 1 Aspen Grove. There are a handful of other tool libraries in the UK and all gave advice and support as Imogen started her own.
The full focus of the tool library is for affordable access, with Imogen classing tools as a necessity, she said: “It is great for everyone, if they can access tools, they can fix things around the home and start making things.”
As Imogen pointed out, DIY is very beneficial for mental health and wellbeing with the NHS recommending it as an activity to help the mind.
With the ongoing pandemic this has meant that everyone is spending more time at home and tools are needed now more than ever.
Imogen said: “Covid has really shone a light on being stuck at home so I would really like for people to make their houses feel like homes.”
This idea is sustainable as well as beneficial to those who enjoy some home decorating, with many of the tools being donated to the library.
Imogen said: “It has also got quite a sustainable element to it, which I am really excited about as well. We use donated tools as well, so it is a bit like a circular economy.”
Customers can join as a member at a recommended fee of £20 but customers can choose to pay a different amount, depending on their budget. The scheme has been very well received with Imogen gaining more members than she originally expected, she said: “We have had members join and people have been using the service and there is so much positivity online.”
She said: “I have been absorbed into all the community projects that are happening and it really excites me, and it is what people need to combat the tragedies that are happening right now.”
