My She Shed
Early this year, a year in which I’m desperately seeking out opportunities and joy, I was approached by a journalist who was interested in potentially featuring my cabin in an article all about She Sheds. I was so excited, partly because of the publication (The Observer no less) but also because I am more than a little in love with my cabin and I know other people would love to see it and learn about its back story. So you can imagine my disappointment when they decided to feature someone else, who is equally as worthy of the feature but who isn’t me! Of course, I sulked for a few hours and finally dealt with my emotions by accepting them and recognising that it just wasn’t meant to be. And then I decided to write my own piece about my cabin, because I believe it is so worthy of some written words and I want to share them and it with you.
How it all began
My old studio sat inside our house, in fact it was never meant to be a studio, rather a sun room or somewhere to hide from the kids. But as my business grew it was clear I needed a designated area to try to contain all the dried flowers and floating seedheads. So when we decided to move last year, high up on the list of “wishes” for our new place was somewhere I could work from, and preferably not in the house (this for the sake of my marriage).
When we found the house we are now living in, I knew there was some potential in the potting shed at the far end of the garden. My husband took some convincing and instead took to sending me adverts for ready made garden studio pods for thousands of pounds to consider. I didn’t take one look at them, I had a feeling about the potting shed deep in my gut. Besides after the uncertainty of 2020 and the future there was no way I could feel confident spending money on something new, lets be honest new just isn’t me, I work with dead things for goodness sake.
Getting to know the space
When our moving in date finally came around and our boxes were unloaded to the garage, one of the first things I did was to open up the potting shed to explore it further. The previous owners kept their gardening equipment in the shed along with their lawn mower and wood chipper. The damp, earthy smell tinged with petrolium fumes reminded me so much of my Opi. The space had three wide windows framing the garden to the one side and the neighbouring field to the other. Curtains and light bulbs hung from the ceiling and walls, eluding to the fact that this space had been used for something other than garden storage in the past. I remember the previous owner telling me that workers from the estate, which our land once belonged too, had historically slept in the cabin although I have no evidence of this being true. Nestled amongst a gathering of mature trees including an oak and hornbeam, the potting shed felt like it was part of the landscape. The tin roof, sounding loudly as the rain fell in bucket loads from the sky.
I wish I had taken photos of the space before we started working on it so I can show you the improvements we made as well as for prosperity. I did take a few videos along the way and this one which I Iove shows all hands on deck with my boys fixing it up.
Settling in
Once we had cleared the space of all its innards, we stripped and varnished the wooden floors which revealed beautiful pine panels, stained with memories of the past and now a rich golden brown. We lined the walls with plasterboard, whilst I had wanted to keep them as they were (I love a bit of grime and the woodchip appealed to my inner texture loving self) we needed to insulate the space as damp was proving to be a potential issue. Ed fitted a stained glass window where there once was a vent and I opted for a wall of plywood at the darker end from which to hang my art and other inspirational pieces. It was the moment below, captured on my camera, that made my heart sing with joy, the light and the feelings of the space moved me.
The final touches
Last year saw the cabin getting proper electricity as well as wifi and I was able to invest in a portable radiator to keep me warm and a dehumidifier, which is on constantly due to the damp air that surrounds us up here on the hill in East Devon. And for the past few weeks, in snatched moments between homeschooling, I’ve set about putting the final touches to my space. Repainting the walls in the softest natural plaster colour from Atelier Ellis which gives the cabin a really warm feeling and hanging my flowers in a sensible way so that I can see what I have and easily access what I need. Storage of dried flowers has always been a bit of a problem for me as they require a lot of space and space which has to be dry and damp free, I hope the way I have devised will work!
She’s been here before
We recently discovered that my cabin has been used as a creative space before. Many years ago it was a working potters shed from which the previous owners mother used to sell her pottery. We found this out on the local planning portal and when my husband told me about it wasn’t at all surprised, I felt that this cabin had a story to tell beyond that of the tools that hung from her walls. I feel deeply honoured to be utilising the space in the way I am.
I’m yet to witness a full year of seasons from within the cabin. To notice how the light falls as the days lengthen or which animals will fill the fields that surround it, so far we’ve had belted Galloway cows and very wooly sheep, or the plants that will grow up around it, slowly engulfing it in a sea of green by the time mid summer arrives. I can feel my creativity and confidence grow with every day that I’m in this space and I am beyond grateful for what it is giving me (also to my husband for doing all the leg work in getting it set up in those early days).
So there she is, my She Shed, worthy of these words and so much more. I hope one day, in the not too distant future I can open the doors to my creative space and welcome you in for workshops and creative sessions. Cultivating the hope that I have deep down in my belly!
