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Category: Frenchay

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Frenchay

Boosting Bristol businesses: Share Bristol’s Business Support Programme

Exciting news for budding entrepreneurs and small businesses in Bristol. Share Bristol recently launched its FREE business support programme at the Bedminster Library of Things. It was an inspiring event that brought together a dozen local entrepreneurs and small business owners, all buzzing with fresh ideas and renewed confidence for their ventures.

What’s On Offer?

Share Bristol Bedminster for Business is run in partnership with Bristol Inclusive and Sustainable Business & Enterprise Support (BrisBES). Here’s what you can expect if you sign up:

  • Free Advice: Get guidance tailored to your business needs.
  • Workshops & Courses: Learn essential skills to help your business thrive.
  • Coaching & Training: Receive up to 10 hours of one-on-one support from experienced advisors.
  • Networking Opportunities: Connect with other local businesses and share insights.
  • Grants Available: Explore funding options to kickstart or grow your venture.
  • Free Share Bristol Membership for the first 130 businesses to sign up via Share Bristol.

This exciting programme aims to inspire and support start-ups, as well as help existing businesses expand.   Thanks to funding from the Community Connectors Grant by the West of England Combined Authority and Bristol City Council, it’s all free for you!

Personalised Support for Every Business

At the launch, everyone enjoyed a 30-minute individual session with a BrisBES advisor. Participants discussed a variety of businesses, from acupuncture and yoga to catering, upcycled furniture, and golf accessories.  Moving forward each business can look forward to up to 10 hours of individual support as well as access to all of BrisBES’s other resources.

Beth from South Bristol shared her experience:

“The advice from BrisBES was really helpful – it gave me both useful information and greater confidence about being brave enough to set up my own business. I’ve already signed up for some of the other sessions.”

What’s Next?

The Bedminster for Business programme continues throughout 2025 with a packed schedule of free workshops covering vital topics like:

  • Branding
  • Marketing 
  • Social Media 
  • Work/Life Balance

Mark your calendars for our next session—Free Business Support introduction session on Wednesday September 3rd.  Bookings are open now!

Claim your free Share Bristol Membership and sign up for sessions

The first 130 people to register will enjoy a free one-year membership at Bristol’s three Libraries of Things! To sign up and to book onto sessions, just head to our Share Bristol Bedminster for Business page for more info at Bedminster Business Support – Share Bristol – A Library of Things

If you have a business idea, are considering a side-hustle, or you’re already trading and want to level up your game, we want to hear from you! Either sign up or reach out to Ian Hembrow at 07740 860942 or bedminsterhub@sharebristol.org.uk for more information..

Let’s work together to inspire change and grow our vibrant community!

Categories
Frenchay

4 years of sharing in Bristol

Celebrating the 4 years since Share Bristol opened Bristol’s first Library of Things

Share Bristol opened our Kingswood Library of Things mid 2021. Four years later we have three Library of Things locations, over 1,000 members, over 1,800 Things available to borrow and we’ve had over 10,000 borrows! All this was made possible by our wonderful borrowing community and our dedicated team of volunteers, staff and trustees with over 6,000 hours of volunteer time going into maintaining our Things, looking after our members and generally keeping everything running smoothly.

Key milestones from our first 4 years include becoming a registered charity in November 2023, opening our second location in Bedminster in May 2024 and opening our third on UWE’s Frenchay campus in February 2025.

Why is borrowing so important?

  1. It’s better for the planet. Manufacturing new items has a huge carbon impact and disposing of items can also have a whole host of negative environmental impacts. By borrowing the Things you need from a Library of Things like Share Bristol instead of buying your own, you’re helping to cut down on those emissions.
  2. It saves space in your home. Many of us don’t have lofts, sheds and garages where we can store our own DIY and gardening tools, camping equipment and other occasionally used Things. Borrowing from a Library of Things means you have access to the Things you need when you need them without needing to store them or maintain them in the meantime.
  3. It saves money. A lot of the Things you can borrow from Share Bristol are expensive to buy new. At Share Bristol we have a one off annual membership fee that includes as much borrowing as you like throughout the year with no loan fees. Although our standard membership price is £50 we do also offer a £20 concessionary rate to make sure we’re as accessible as possible. For those that can afford to, we also have an £80 supporter membership to support us to continue doing what we do best.

If you’re a fan of the numbers, take a look at these graphs to see how far we’ve come over the past 4 years…

Categories
Frenchay

Choose to borrow, not buy at the new Share Bristol in Frenchay!

Choose to borrow, not buy at the new Share Bristol in Frenchay!

We’re thrilled to announce that Share Bristol has just opened our third Library of Things on the UWE Bristol Frenchay Campus! This exciting new resource is designed for everyone—whether you’re a student, staff member, or just part of the local community.

In collaboration with UWE Bristol, Share Bristol Frenchay offers a fantastic opportunity to borrow a wide variety of items instead of buying them. That means you can save money while also being kind to our planet. Plus, your membership will also be valid at Share Bristol’s other locations in Bedminster and Kingswood, giving you even more access to a range of useful items.

“Bringing a Library of Things to Frenchay campus is another way we’re giving the UWE community, as well as wider public, a practical alternative to buying new. This sits alongside our regular Repair Cafes and Sustainability Hubs and is an exciting collaboration with a local charity”.

Jo Dainton, Head of Circular Economy, UWE Bristol. 

Standard membership is just £50 per year with no limit how many times you borrow. There is also a £20 concession and an £80 supporter membership which allows us to subsidise one concession membership for someone who cannot afford the £20.

Once you become a member, you can reserve anything from Share Bristol for up to two weeks. It’s super convenient—just head over to things.sharebristol.org.uk to browse our collection and book what you need. When it’s time to pick up your items, simply drop by the site during your chosen collection slot, and our wonderful team will have everything ready for you.

Speaking of our team, why not pop in and meet Emily, our Library of Things Manager? She and our friendly volunteers would love to show you around. You’ll find us in a large green shipping container next to the new Mobility Hub, right by the main bus stops on campus. Use what3words: ///enable.claps.grace to find us easily. Plus, we have parking available. Just reserve what you want and email us on hello@sharebristol.org.uk for details and a code.

Currently, we’re open on Mondays from 18:00 – 20:00 and Wednesdays from 15:00 – 17:00. As we build our volunteer team, we plan to extend these hours even further. If you’re interested in volunteering with us, check out more details at https://www.sharebristol.org.uk/get-involved/volunteering/.

We can’t wait to see you at the new Share Bristol Library of Things, supporting our community in borrowing rather than buying!

Share this news on your social media and tag us!

ShareBristol #LibraryOfThings #SustainableLiving #UWEBristol #BristolCommunity #BorrowDontBuy

Categories
Frenchay

Frenchay Library of Things: location announcement

We are thrilled to announce the future location of our third site, which will be hosted at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Thanks to the support of the community – including many of you! – as well as our match funders, Aviva and the Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation, we have already raised £10,000 (and counting!) through our Crowdfunder, to help us to open this new site in the coming months.

Current and future members of the Library of Things will be able to make use of all three sites, bringing sharing closer to home for those in North Bristol. The site will be accessible by public transport, as it will be located next to the main bus stops at UWE Bristol. There will also be short-term parking available by arrangement for those picking up or returning bulky items, like carpet cleaners, mitre saws, lawnmowers, or gazebos.

More members, more Things!

Alongside a successful Crowdfunder, our membership keeps growing, and so does our library catalogue! We now have more than 700 members of our Library of Things, and more than 1700 items to borrow across our existing sites in Kingswood and Bedminster. Our dedicated volunteers have been sorting, cleaning, testing and adding around 100 new items to the Library of Things catalogue each month. (Why not join them? More info on volunteering for Share Bristol here).

Things that have been added to our Library Catalogue recently include dehumidifiers and soldering kits, as well as exciting new road closure kits to help you get the kids playing out or plan a street party!

Check out our Wishlist!

With a third site in the works, we’re still looking for new Things to fill it with. As the next site will be hosted at UWE Bristol, we’re particularly looking for things like games, sports equipment, and hosting gear – things that might be particularly useful for students. However we’ll still be offering firm favourites like carpet cleaners, DIY tools and gardening equipment, so that all our members in North Bristol have access to what they need. Visit our wishlist to find out more about what we’re looking for and how to donate.

Stay tuned for more news as we progress plans for our Frenchay Library of Thing. In the meantime, consider buying (or renewing) your membership, or making a donation via our Crowdfunder, so your impact can be doubled: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bring-a-library-of-things-to-frenchay

Categories
Frenchay

Help us bring sharing to North Bristol

We are thrilled to announce that Share Bristol is raising funds to open a third site for our Library of Things. Help us bringing sharing to North Bristol, by supporting our Crowdfunder.

Photo credit: Titch Photographic

Last year saw incredible support from Share Bristol community for our Bedminster Library of Things Crowdfunder, which enabled us to open a location on East St in addition to our original site in Kingswood. This summer, we have secured another match funding offer from the Aviva Community Fund. This means that for every pound you donate, Aviva will also donate a pound. But this isn’t just a donation that will help make sure that North Bristol gets access to a Library of Things closer to home. There’s also a clear benefit for you. A reward of one (or more!) year of borrowing awaits, in return for your contribution to our Crowdfunder.

There are now at least 1500 Things available to borrow across the current two sites. Share Bristol’s dedicated volunteers have been sorting, cleaning, testing and adding around 100 new items to the Library of Things catalogue each month over the summer. There’s never been a better time to join – or renew your membership of – Share Bristol’s Library of Things.

Annual membership costs £50 per year (less than a pound a week!) and then everything is free to borrow. A £50 reward, purchased through the Crowdfunder page, gives you a voucher to start your membership whenever you choose and Share Bristol will receive £100 in total! This will make a real difference to our small charity, supporting the continued success of our Library of Things in Kingswood and Bedminster, as well as enabling us to expand our reach further across Bristol, helping more people to borrow rather than buy.

One of the principles behind Share Bristol is that borrowing should be affordable for everyone. So Supporter memberships for those who can afford it are priced at £80, to help subsidise Concession memberships for those who really can’t afford Standard membership. Concession rates are £20 for a year, and every £20 donation will also attract a £20 gift voucher – enough for a year of membership for someone on benefits, or a down payment for a Standard Membership. A pure donation of £30 or more will help us to support our Concession members and ensure that everyone is able to borrow from their local Library of Things.

The takeaway from all of this is: if you’re going to join (or renew your membership to) Share Bristol, or are able to support us with a donation, please do so through the Crowdfunder page, as we will get double the income, thanks to Aviva’s Community Fund.

You can find out more and donate here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bring-a-library-of-things-to-frenchay