history

Tool Shed was originally formed (spring 2006) with the mission of supporting the OWNERSHIP of shared shops. We would help people come together to own a communal shop, which would then be in support of that communities work. Individuals might work on products for sale, or hosting classes, or any number of different manufacturing purposes.

This plan worked, with some ups and downs, in the creation of a metal shop and a woodshop project. The ceramics studio and darkroom projects slowly lingered, as no one person was responsible for really bringing them into functionality, and without functionality, they couldn't attract new members.

These shops, though, weren't thriving and spinning off independent ownership fast enough to be considered proper business incubation - in business incubation, one would expect that a business would 'launch' into full independence in a short period of time, and the faces interfacing with the non-profit to change regularly.

In consultation with the IRS, the board voted in October of 2008 to to trim the non-profit's activities to only those directly related to the educational mission. After a few months of re-organization, we began offering blacksmithing, metal fabrication, and sculptural welding.

Now, this fall, armed with a RACC grant to promote our visibility, our 501c3 letter from the IRS, and the hard work of hundreds of volunteer hours, we'll be launching a larger set of class offerings at a variety of shops. Weekend workshops, long intensives, adult and kid classes (partnering with Trackers NW). It's an exciting time for Tool Shed!