Our good friends at the London Bike Kitchen (LBK) have launched a Crowdfunder to raise money to open up a second workshop.
The social enterprise, set up by Jenni Gwiazdowski, offers people the training and tools required to maintain their own bikes and the new workshop will be just a few doors down from the existing space on the New Era Estate in Hoxton, London.
The Crowdfunder campaign launched today, coinciding with the LBK’s fourth birthday. The funder will be open for one month, the LBK need to raise £15k towards their new premises. They’re offering a selection of incentives, such as bandanas, water bottles and tickets to a celebration party.
Director Jenni Gwiazdowski created the workshop when she realised there were few opportunities for people to learn how to keep their bikes in good condition, and explained: “Our social landlord has offered us a once in a lifetime opportunity to expand into a second workshop. LBK is celebrating its fourth birthday in March, so we’ve been doing something right! But this past winter season hit us hard so we’re crowdfunding to get the workshop set up.
“Our current space is small but mighty a second space means we can teach more people and become a more sustainable business.”
The second space will be a huge help in the summer when there’s more demand on classes and dropin sessions. Currently LBK’s popular Build Your Own Bike (BYOB) class is sold out months in advance, and a new classroom will allow them to accommodate more students. It will also introduce capacity to carry out repairs for people who don’t have time to do it themselves.
LBK instructor and mechanic Seb Achaibou said: “It’s difficult teaching our BYOB class alongside drop-in sessions. The second workshop will let us teach more one-on-one classes in a separate workshop, rather than simultaneously teaching drop-in students.”
Volunteers have already been contributing to the cause - an architect, electrician, and designer are already on board, and there are a number of people signed up to help with the cleanup and painting of the new workshop, which does need some work. More volunteers are welcome, and can get in touch with LBK to offer help.
Check out the rewards available via the LBK Crowdfunder here, and check out their video below…
