One month ago, on January 6th, 2024, we had the grand opening of the Shoreline Tool Library. This has been in the works for a while, and it continued to be in the works until the very last second before the grand opening. It has been an incredible journey, and we have so many people to thank. Our volunteers, staff, donors, supporters, and the Shoreline community were the foundation of our successful launch.
Even before 9 am, we had several volunteers and staff at the Shoreline Tool Library setting up. There was parking to clarify, materials to price, tables to set up, and so much more. Everyone was buzzing around and positivity was high.
Around 9 am, people started to pour into the tool library. It was encouraging to see everyone's beaming faces as they walked through the doors and took a look around. The tool library began to fill and the noise level increased as conversations among friends, families, and strangers occurred.
At 9:30 am, it was time for the ribbon cutting. If you were there, you know it was more than just a ribbon cutting. We encourage you to check out the video of it below from Bill Selig. You won't be disappointed!
After the ribbon cutting, the crowd started to file back into the tool library for some warmth, conversation, and tools. The Shoreline Tool Library was alive. People were coming in and being greeted by some of our amazing volunteers near the entrance, where they were invited to write their names on the grand opening banner. Along with that, they were invited to a scavenger hunt for tools that would give them a free membership.
Behind this were a couple of informational tables run by more of our astounding volunteers. In hopes of making certain things more accessible, our volunteers were sitting by, ready to walk people through memberships, volunteering, and donations. On top of that, we had laptops for people to sign up for memberships on the spot! If this is something that is preventing you from joining our community, please know that we have laptops at both the NE Seattle and Shoreline locations for your convenience. We also have volunteers who can help with any questions you have.
In the corner was our bike setup. We had a fantastic volunteer (who rode their bike 40 minutes to get there that day) hanging out and telling people about the bike shop that we currently have at the NE Seattle Tool Library and hope to build at the Shoreline Tool Library. He even did a bike fix in the parking lot! He was able to find multiple people who were interested in helping out with the Bike Shack, and if that is you, check out the Bike Shack page on our website.
Now, coming back to the front entrance, there was an array of staff and volunteers that we are incredibly thankful for. Most of them helped folks check out tools and buy reused building materials. If you happened to swing by the left side of the front desk, you might have even seen one of our volunteers playing a game for donations. Was anyone able to beat him??
If you kept going deeper into the tool library on the left side, you would have walked by so many tools and active conversations. It was such a positive experience to see people picking around at tools, and it was funny to see the look of surprise when there were tools that people never knew we would offer. We are so happy that people were excited to check out some tools, but don't forget the toys!
The Abracadabra Toy Library was a favorite among many. We were thrilled to see the excitement on people's faces as they combed through the games and toys we had to offer. This is something that we are grateful to have had the space to do at the Shoreline Tool Library. It is something that we began to expand on at the NE Seattle Tool Library but didn't have the opportunity to do on a bigger scale. We look forward to hearing back from the community on how they have enjoyed the Abracadabra Toy Library!
The entire right side of the tool library was dedicated to our reuse building materials. This is a brand-new addition to our tool libraries and something that can only be found at our Shoreline location! We are ecstatic to report that it did really well. There were a plethora of people buying all sorts of reused materials. Did you happen to catch a deal?
Below is a collection of pictures that were taken from that day. There is also a Google Drive with more photos from the event, so please feel free to use them when referring to the grand opening, It was an incredible event, and we are so thankful for everyone who helped out and for all of the lovely folks who swung by for a visit. We hope to see more of your faces soon!
