You all saw Joel win Shed of the year 2014 with his excellent Allotment roofed Shed on Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces – now hear from the man himself.
1) So it’s been 6 months since you won Shed of the year 2014, how’s it been
What a 6 months it’s been thanks to you and the amazing spaces team.
I’ve had so many messages from people through my website and on twitter, all positive about the award and the tv series, it’s actually quite hard to reply to them all.
The messages come from all over the world as well, which was surprising.
As well as being in pretty much most of the UK press and on lots of local TV, there’s been a Chinese lifestyle magazine an Australian DIY magazine, bloggers and self builders from America to Japan.
I’ve also had so many requests to build something similar for other people.
2) What’s changed in your shed world since the win
Because of all the requests to build something similar for other people, I’ve basically been doing a lot of this.
I’ve had to take on a couple of carpenters to help me, so in many respects I now have an up and running business and the requests aren’t slowing down, so I have to decide how far I want to take it.
3) What is the best thing in your opinion about your allotment roofed shed
The allotment roof, is probably what makes it different and a little bit special, it’s so nice to sit up there all the year round, it’s like a little countryside in the city of London.
But I’ve always said the best thing ultimately is what the shed does for my life.
I could never have afforded a music studio and art studio in London, so it is the shed which has given me the opportunity to do these things, I’m sure this will resonate with lots of sheddies and as I said in a rather corny fashion on the show.
‘The shed defines my life really!’
4) What future plans do you have for your winning shed
I’ve already had a shed party after the show. I’m going to have a few open days, so people I don’t know can come and visit.
The shed will just function as always and I will always spend most of my time in it. I’ll being working on a new painting collection and a new album next year.
I’m also going to write a little book for people explaining the build because I can’t reply to all the requests.
5) What three bits of advice would you give to a potential sheddie looking to build their own
Most of the time, planning and preparation will be a great help.
Write down what you are hoping to use it for and simple things like what am I going to put in it and how will I get it in, can save you a lot of grief later.
Then when it comes to building, you have to think about structure, you don’t want it to be dangerous.
After that, you can let you imagination go, it doesn’t have to be an extension of your house, it can be what ever you want it to be.
And you can always contact me, I’m happy to give advice if I can, I am proud to be a part of the sheddy community.
6) As a judge* for 2015 what sort of thing will you be looking for in the entrants?
I’m trying not to have any pre conceived ideas about what is good and bad, but I want to get a sense of the person in the shed, I want the personality to show through.
I suppose I will always have a soft spot for the self build, but that doesn’t mean an adapted pre-fab can’t be a special shed.
It’s all about celebrating sheds and the eccentricities of the British public, this is what will make a certain shed shine through.
*last years winner automatically gets to be a judge for the next year.
