‘We decided to convert a spider-ridden shed in the garden’
Mum-of-one Edana Gorham runs a craft and vintage business from her home in Churchtown, Dublin. When the pandemic struck, she converted her garden shed into a much-needed studio.
‘We live in quite a small, two-up, two-down house with very little extra space. During the summer, when there was no creche, my husband and I were both trying to work from home. He was working from my son’s bedroom and I was working downstairs on the couch with a little fold-out table.
My craft and vintage business is based on physical products and the mess was spreading into the family room. Then my three-year-old son’s toys were bursting out the door as well. We were driven half-demented by the lack of space so we decided to convert a spider-ridden shed in the back garden into a studio for me.
We started working on the project towards the end of the summer. We insulated the whole thing with foil bubble wrap, levelled the floor and added chipboard. Then we made the shelves and pegboards from the chipboard that was left over.
We had the locker unit and the chair already and we bought a drawer unit and some other accessories from Ikea. There’s a little heater but I only need to turn it on for 20 minutes, if I need to turn it on at all. It’s like a hothouse in there!
I used to work at the dining table when I was sewing or working with the paper-cutting machine. It isn’t a very productive place to work and if I was working for long hours
I’d really feel it. I now have a work bench that runs the length of the shed and it’s a good height for me to sit at for long stretches of time.
It’s much easier to get into the zone when you’re not looking at a pile of toys in the corner or trying to concentrate as someone makes lunch beside you. And there’s a feeling of separation from the house, even if it’s just to take a phone call.
It’s also great having my art and crafts books nearby if I’m feeling stuck for inspiration instead of having to look for them under a stack of stuff in the house.
We did the whole project on a pretty tight budget. It came in at just under €750. Then, at the end of October, I got my biggest order ever. We often wonder what we would have done if we hadn’t converted the shed.”