Class Spotlight! Cedar Planter Boxes w/ Sineah of @DenverDIYWorkshop. Next class is this Saturday, February 22nd at 4pm.
It may not seem like it, but spring will come! Get those gardens ready and learn woodworking skills at the same time. 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 - all skill levels welcome, woodworking experience not required!
About Your Teacher: Sineah will encourage you to creatively problem solve and by the end of class, will send you home with a project intended to impress your friends and yourself. Check out Sineah’s work at facebook.com/denverdiyworkshop or on Instagram @DenverDIYWorkshop
New! Women & LGBTQ+ Shop Safety Certification
The Denver Tool Library now offers women & LGBTQ+ versions of our foundational woodworking classes and more!
Our newest addition to our Woman & LGBTQ+ classes is Ladies & Gentlethems: Shop Safety Certification. This class will certify folks to bring in your own project to work on during Ladies & Gentlethems: Open Workshop Sessions or our Open Workshop Hours.
Space for women & LGBTQ+ folks
The DTL provides classes for women and LGBTQ+ individuals in effort to create a welcoming environment that acknowledges the unique challenges they face in trades and maker spaces. This initiative aims to cultivate a community where individuals can work alongside others who may share similar experiences and perspectives in a comfortable atmosphere. While we hope for a future where all our spaces naturally feel inclusive to all, we’re excited to provide this meaningful step toward that goal right now.
Woodworking Classes w/ Sineah! (Video)
Take a woodworking class with Sineah of @denverdiyworkshop !
Sineah teaches different woodworking project classes. Make a piece to bring home while also learning the skills to make more stuff out of wood in the future. No experience required for her classes.
Saturday, February 22nd 4pm: Cedar Planter Boxes
Friday, March 21st 11am: Step Stools & Plant Stands
New Member Zines w/ Zach! (Video)
Tool Librarian Zach made a cute vid about our new member zines!
Want a zine but you’re not a member yet? It’s only $150/y and the zine comes with an almost unlimited amount of tools! Learn about and sign up for Tool Library Lending.
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.
Create an account at their website. It's quick - you can skip the little setup wizard that comes second if ya want.
Go to this Community Rewards page of your Account Dashboard and search for Denver Tool Library.
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:
Denver's ecological context and background.
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.
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/
