Spring Classes! Sign Up like Now

While the weather is doing whatever it wants at the moment, the warmth will come Soon!

Be that early planner you said you’d be in your New Year’s resolution. Here are some spring classes to take now so your garden will be ready to go.

Cedar Planter Boxes w/ Sineah (@denverdiyworkshop)

Next class is Sunday, February 9th, 11AM

Build your own beautiful planter box for your garden with Sineah! Planter boxes have a large number of advantages including soil control, pest control, ease of maintenance, improved drainage, extended growing season, going easy on your back, and they look great especially when you build them yourself. This class is beginner friendly, woodworking experience not required!

 

Ecological Design & Permaculture w/ Dani

Next class is Friday, April 11th, 1PM

Want to tear out your lawn and ditch the chemicals? Start an urban homestead? Build a more resilient and connected community of neighbors? Grow food, medicine, and your relationship with the ecosystems we all rely on? This course will cover ways of designing with natural and ecological patterns to grow food, habitat, medicine and more.

 

Beekeeping I: Bees, Hives & Honey w/ Alex (@alma_apiary)

Next class is Monday, February 24th, 5:30PM

In this beginner's beekeeping course we will cover the basic anatomy of a honeybee, the different caste systems within the colony, how the colony functions as a super-organism, how to "read" comb, different styles of hives, hive management, and honey harvesting. All of these points are to help introduce and familiarize yourself with the intricacies of becoming a beekeeper.

Hiring! Volunteer Coordinator

HIRING: VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR POSITION

Deadline to Apply: 2/13/25

The Denver Tool Library is hiring a volunteer coordinator! This role involves 5-10 hours per week of recruiting volunteers, scheduling shifts, and occasionally being a Tool Librarian. If you or someone you know likes tools, sharing, and organizing folks - we’d love to hear from you! For more details and to apply, click here.

The Volunteer Coordinator plays a vital role in supporting the Denver Tool Library's mission by recruiting, training, scheduling, and recognizing our dedicated volunteers. This position ensures a positive and productive volunteer experience, maximizing their contributions to the organization. The volunteer Coordinator will also work 2-4 Tool Librarian shifts each month to gain practical experience in our daily operations.

Five Easy Ways to Help Without Getting Up

Short on time and money but want to support us? Here are five easy ways to help without getting up!

We don’t all have time to be a regular volunteer, and we aren’t all rich beyond our wildest dreams, so here are some easy quick ways to help out (if you are rich beyond your wildest dreams, skip this article and click here).


Way ONE: King Soopers

King Soopers has a program where they kick a non-profit of your choice (DTL!) a small percent of all of your purchases. If you get groceries/gas/beer there on the reg, consider putting our name on your account.

  1. Create an account at their website. It's quick - you can skip the little setup wizard that comes second if ya want.

  2. Go to this Community Rewards page of your Account Dashboard and search for Denver Tool Library.

  3. Click enroll. Easy peasy! Now a really mathematically obscure percentage of your spending will be donated to the DTL, but it really does add up. Hoorah!

WAY TWO: LEAVE A 5 STAR REVIEW ON GOOGLE

Not into shoppy choices of how to help? Leave us a nice Google review. It’s super helpful in convincing people who say “Tool Library? Seems like a cool concept, but I’m not sure…” that they should take a chance and try us out.


WAY THREE: TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW THAT WE’RE AWESOME.

Tell your friends about us! Show off what you built and tag us on social media, or Show Us Your Project and we’ll brag for you. When you’re with others IRL, be that annoying "crypto bro" but instead of crypto, talk about what a cool concept we are.


WAY FOUR: GIVE DTL BUCKS AS A GIFT

Already have a tool library membership, taken all of our classes, and spent over 1,000 hours in our community workshop? Get someone else to do the same! Purchase a gift membership, class bucks, or open workshop hours for someone. You’ll be supporting our org and giving your friends & family the gift of tools.


WAY FIVE: SEND us a couple buckS.

And who can’t forget the last easy way to help - donating a few bucks to our Share the Tools Fund! For those who have the means, even a little money can go a long way.


THANK YOU, YAY, GOOD JOB, WOOHOO!!

Member Project! Backyard Tub

Check out this DTL member project by Garrett (@garetcar)

“$30 Craigslist bathtub. Hose hooks up to hot water of basement sink. Adapter connects hose to tub faucet. Dead tree cut up for facade / support. Water stays hot on cold day for about 45 min. ”

Be like Garrett! Become a member for just $150/year. Financial assistance is available for some individuals and organizations (check out our website for more details).

Already a member? SHOW US YOUR PROJECTS! Check out the link in our stories to submit a photo and some info about your recent project and receive FIVE FREE DTL BUCKS!

Meet Tool Library Members!

Meet some of our members and see what they’re working on!

They may be smiling and bright-eyed now, but just wait until they’re half way through their project, covered in drywall mud, and they realize they’re missing a tool they need.

Oh wait! That’s no big deal. Why? Because they’re Denver Tool Library Members! They can just stroll on back to the shop and pickup whatever tool they need for no additional fee.

New Class! Ecological Design & Permaculture

Our yard & permaculture class is back with a new teacher and new info! Ecological Design & Permaculture w/ Dani. The first class will be Friday, February 14th at 1pm.

Want to tear out your lawn and ditch the chemicals? Start an urban homestead? Build a more resilient and connected community of neighbors? Grow food, medicine, and your relationship with the ecosystems we all rely on?

This course will cover ways of designing with natural and ecological patterns to grow food, habitat, medicine and more. The course will cover an overview of:

  1. Denver's ecological context and background.

  2. The 3 permaculture ethics and 12 permaculture principles that ground permaculture practice in not just land-based as well as social, cultural and economic areas.

  3. Ecological stewardship fundamentals including:

    • Building soil health

    • Regenerative water management strategies: stormwater and rainwater harvesting + greywater re-use

    • Tree anatomy and tree care basics

    • Tips and resources for starting a regenerative ecological garden

Beginners are welcome to join this course — no prior experience needed. Connect with like-minded individuals who share a passion for social and environmental justice, community food systems, and more. Learn the practical skills and strategic shifts necessary to make meaningful positive changes in your world!

About your Teacher: Dani (they/them or she/her) holds a masters in Landscape Architecture and a PhD in Urban Planning and Design, and has completed a 72 hour Permaculture Design Course. They have worked on social and ecological regeneration efforts with a leading watershed restoration design/build firm, state agencies, academic institutions, and as a design/build contractor for close to a decade. By incorporating aspects of systems thinking, community organizing, critical studies, and permaculture into their personal and professional work Dani works toward bringing about a just and regenerative world. You can learn more about Dani's work here: https://danimarieportfolio.wordpress.com/

DTL 2024 Impact Report!

Another year has passed, which means we’ve exported the .CSV files and have done the questionable math so we can tell you the highlights of our Impact in 2024!

Thanks to all of you who have supported the Denver Tool Library in any way big or small. The impact we make can only happen because you’re spending some bucks, donating some tools, or just DMing us to tell us what a cool concept we are (it keeps morale high). Because of YOU we’ve managed to break all of our records (again) this year in terms of financial assistance given, classes taught by local expert makers / artists, and the sheer volume of tools that has gone in and out of our door.

Next year with your help we’ll break all of our records again, so be sure to pick yourself up a membership, take some classes, make a donation, or drop off a six-pack of your fav beverage during open shop hours.

Three Brand New Metalsmithing & Jewelry Classes!

Our metalsmithing instructor Liz of @covertmetals just released three brand new classes! Click the links to sign up.

LGBTQ+ Couples Band Rings

Sunday, February 9th at 3:30 PM & Sunday, March 30th at 3:30 PM.

Join this sterling silver band ring workshop for LGBTQ+ couples and allies to have fun and create unique rings with your partner, spouse, bestie or favorite human! Bring home a special memory and one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry made by you and your loved one. We’ll cover hammer textures, ring sizing, and soldering basics for expressing your unique creative style. Beginners welcome!

Silver Infinity Cuffs

Sunday, March 16th at 3:30 PM

Experience the joy and art of silversmithing in this perfect for the beginner class. Discover the fun of forging, creating textures, hammer forming, and basic soldering techniques. Design a unique sterling silver infinity cuff that will become a cherished addition to your me made collection. Beginners welcome!

Mountain Pendants

Sunday, April 6th at 3:30 PM

Unleash your creativity and learn to make a stunning mountain pendant. Perfect for the nature enthusiast and jewelry lovers alike. You’ll be guided through step-by-step hands-on instruction to fabricate your very own sterling silver and copper mountain pendant. Beginners welcome!

Happy New Year & Thank You So Much!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR AN AMAZING 2024! Thanks to all y’all who bought memberships, took classes, used the workshop, donated for Colorado Gives, donated tools, came by the shop to drop off a six-pack, and did anything else to support us big or small. This past year we had the privilege to introduce amazing new volunteers, employees, and teachers to the team who make the DTL what it is through new outreach programs, keeping your tools running smoothly, or just a familiar friendly face helping you battle to load the string on your string trimmer. Between all of y’all, we were able to lend out TONS of tools and save people a BUNCH of money and fix A LOT of leaky sinks.

We have some exciting plans for 2025, and we're stoked to share them with you (we’re not just saying that - we really, really do!). Stay tuned for more news, updates, and opportunities to get involved. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube to see what we’re up to.

!!!❤️❤️❤️TRIPLE HEART TRIPLE EXCLAMATION POINT❤️❤️❤️!!!

-Denver Tool Library Team