Last Thursday evening we gathered our team, investors and Mission Guardians for a celebration at Hackney Wick Library of Things (LoT), hosted by our local partner and Mission Guardian, Neil, and his brilliant team at Civic State.
It was the first time we’d brought people together in person for over two years, since we first laid out plans to work with councils and communities across London to bring borrowing to their neighbourhoods. A joyous moment to say, “hey, we did it!” and “thank you” — to those you have invested their time, energy, skills, spaces, networks and money to make it possible.
That morning, LoT’s seventh location had opened for borrowing — with inspiring local partner Greener & Cleaner at their new climate action hub in ‘The Glades’ shopping centre in Bromley, so there was a lot to celebrate.
Amongst the drills and sewing machines, we huddled around the kiosk, each person in turn sharing a celebration and raising their glass to:
LoT has always been more than the sum of its parts, connecting each of us to a bigger purpose and movement. That is especially true for partners like Civic State, running a venue to make all sorts of common assets accessible to the local community.
With a guided tour of the 1930s former bath house, we were shown through the living room and main hall (used by choirs, chess clubs, ecstatic dance groups and filmmakers alike) to the old car park outside — now home to Community Sauna Baths CIC, who’ve installed saunas and ice water plunge pools alongside what will soon be a new community garden.
Stroll further and you’ll find modular plywood buildings, made by the CNC mill that sits inside them — and the same type of machine that’s used to make LoT’s own borrowing kiosks, demonstrated by maker Bruno, who set about printing a 3D LoT logo from plywood offcuts to the wide-eyed crowd.
Two years ago, we only dreamt we could achieve the milestones that we celebrated last week. There were detailed plans, of course, and an expectation that not everything would go smoothly. But nothing would prepare us for those plans being put on hold or flipped on end, whilst we weathered the stormy seas of the pandemic, Brexit and the impact it had on all of us.
Through a potent mix of good fortune, determination and a resilient network of support from every single member of LoT’s community, those plans have become real. We know because we looked each other in the eyes and raised our glasses at least 30 times with a big smile on our faces.
So now the plans are bigger, and thousands more people will be part of it. LoT is growing the culture of borrowing, building on the amazing work and sharing initiatives that are already happening in communities.
Join us! We’re raising money through a crowdfunding campaign to partner with councils and communities around the country to get their neighbourhoods borrowing. Find out more about how to invest over on Ethex: https://www.ethex.org.uk/invest/library-of-things
Photo credits: Alexis Liming, LoT’s Finance Lead and dab hand with a camera