Shedding Convention

Journalist Alex Johnson has a thing about sheds. So much so that, on any given day, you’re likely to find him sitting in his shed, writing about sheds for the benefit of people who, er, work in sheds. It’s an obsession, but the thing is – even if you think you’re indifferent to the small buildings in your back garden – you’re almost certain to find Alex’s blog Shedworking a lively and compelling read. And even if you don’t, he’s staked out a bit of the web that’s devoted to bookshelves, so there’s no excuse not to take a look at his stuff.

North Meadow Media’s Ben Locker asks Alex whether a life spent in sheds has the foundations for a successful career.

Why a shed? Why not a tree house, an Anderson shelter, a loft conversion or another space in or near your home?
To be a shedworker you have to have a garden office, and in that respect I’d argue that a tree house and Anderson shelter are ’sheds’ – I regard ’shed’ as a flexible concept rather than a concrete architecturality (i.e. if you think it’s a shed, then it’s a shed). While shedworking bears strong comparison to loftroomworking, spareroomworking and kitchentableworking, there are some key advantages:

• physically, it’s easier to prevent – or at least restrict – your children, spouses and pets invading your work space if you’re based in a garden office (although admittedly I get more bees in here than I did when I worked in the dining room).
• there’s no need to double up on spaces. With a shed, your third bedroom remains modem free and your dining room table is not deluged by paper.
• a shed keeps you away from the fridge so the temptation to nibble and grow obese is more remote
• financially, it adds value to your property: up to 5% according to some reports,
• it’s also a great place to meet clients. I’ve had several meetings in my garden office and every single visitor has been at the very least intrigued by the arrangements and most are positively impressed.
• psychologically, shedworking marks a clear difference between where you live and where you work – there’s no taint of work attached to any part of your home. Instead all the taint is in the shed.

I’d add that shedworking is as much a statement of intent as it is a piece of architecture: John Ruskin argued that our buildings must mean something to their inhabitants, that their spiritual concerns are as important as the material ones. Shedworking is just plain more fun, adding a certain pizzazz to your working life.

Do you miss working in the same room as your colleagues?
No, although I do miss the option of nipping out for a swift half sometimes. I spend time with people I actually like now rather than those whose paths accidentally intersect with mine

What’s the story behind Shedworking?
When we moved to our current home six years ago, it became apparent after a while that we simply didn’t have enough room for us all to live in and a dedicated spot for me to work in. So we bought a garden office. As I gradually came across other people in the same boat, I felt that some kind of publication keeping us all in touch would be both pleasant and useful. Originally I’d intended to start a hard copy title, but luckily this was at the start of the digital revolution so instead I started producing a bimonthly pdf magazine (now an online emagazine) and blog. It’s still a one man band.

How do you manage to keep finding fresh and interesting content about such a niche interest?
Having just said that it’s a one man band, actually it isn’t. Most of the content is sourced by me simply ambling around the interweb, but increasingly people now send me suggestions (and even write articles) which is marvellous and a perfect example of democratic citizen journalism in practice (well, perhaps not democratic, more benevolently despotic, but still). I’d agree it is niche interest to an extent but Shedworking actually covers a wide range of subjects – there’s the strong working from home element of course, but also the architectural side; and there are many examples of intriguing small scale buildings which, while not strictly garden offices, show the flexibility of the concept. Today, for example, I’ve just posted about a small, oval alpine hut made out of reflective glass that would never be a daily place for work, but which indicates the many possibilities out there. And we also include book and music reviews, news about flexible working arrangements, co-working, third place working, fashion, beach huts, outhouses, green lifestyles, competitions, and so on – all of which are related to the central concept.

You’ve got a book coming out. How did that project get started, and when’s it going to hit the shelves?
Originally I wrote to Clare Christian at The Friday Project (herself a shedworker) who loved the idea and commissioned it. The book – Shedworking: the alternative workplace revolution, which is inspired by the blog and magazine rather than being a straight cut and paste job, should have come out summer 2008; but TFP was taken over by HarperCollins about six months ago and they politely decided it wasn’t their cup of tea. So it’s slightly in limbo at the moment – currently a literary agent (who came to me via a reader of Shedworking) is doing her best to get it taken up as quickly as possible.

Do you manage to pay the bills writing about sheds, or do you get up to other things?
I pay some small, shedshaped bills but I’m not retiring yet (until the book makes me a millionaire of course). In real life I am a freelance journalist – I work on a regular basis for The Independent’s web site and blogs/forums, helping to develop their online reach as well as being the Webmaster for Designer Breakfasts’ website. Elsewhere I act as an editorial consultant for various national charities, including campaigning publications for Age Concern and members’ magazines for the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s. I am also a half-decent snooker player but make no money from that. Yet. I also run a satellite blog, Bookshelf, which is all about bookshelves, bookcases and things that look like them. That pays no bills at all but is extremely good fun to produce.

We’re always interested in learning more about good design and copywriting. In these respects, what’s the best shed advert you’ve ever seen?
The best I think is Ecospace’s series of ads designed by Amp a couple of years ago [see below]: most importantly, not only did Ecospace get some good media coverage and attract more visitors to the web site, Amp say that a direct result of the campaign was an increased number of garden offices sold. Can I make a plea for the worst? The one below from B&Q which quite rightly featured on the Photoshop Disasters Blog.

Author: Ben Locker
Posted: 18th November, 2008 at 3:32 pm in Blog, The North Meadow Interview.
Tags: age concern, alex johnson, designer breakfasts, interviews, journalism, national association for colitis and crohn's, sheds, shedworking, the bookshelf blog
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