COOL AS LEICESTER

If you’re interested in music, performing or bargain hunting then this event will be right up your street.

The Shed is holding their own Bar Boot Sale on Saturday 26 September. Just as it sounds, it’s like a car boot sale, but way better. With the venue closed for the foreseeable future, owner, Elisabeth Carley-Leonard, has decided to use the items in the venue that aren’t being used to raise funds to secure their survival.

You can find everything from bottles of booze to a guitar signed by McFly, from Shed branded coffee cups to amps and drum kits. We caught up with Elisabeth to find out more about it all.

What made you set up The Shed bar boot?

We set up the bar boot for two reasons – firstly to have a clear out and an organise we’ve never really had time for before, and also to raise some much needed funds for The Shed

What items can people expect to find on the day?

Items range from guitars, amps, lights, things that are for spares and repairs, books, DVDs, furntiture, lamps, The Shed branded mugs, bar things, clothes, shoes and bric a brac. So all the fun things you’d find at a car boot but BETTER!

Has it been hard deciding to part with some of the items?

It has been hard deciding to part with some of them, but right now my mentality is ‘if it doesn’t spark the joy and it’s not generating an income right now it can be rehomed’. I would rather get ruthless so there’s a venue to go back to after all of this, rather than have no venue but a load of stuff. The Shed is the people & the music within it, not the things. Things can always be replaced.

Did you come across any items that you couldn’t bring yourself to sell?

Certain things like the PA, our screen and things I know we’ll definitely be using again!

What do the coming months hold for The Shed?

We’ve applied for the Cultural Recovery Fund, and we’ll hear the result on that on 15th October. If we get the grant things are looking really positive, if not we’re going to have to get even more creative to ensure the future of the venue is secure. But right now our capacity is down from 200 to 18, so opening really isn’t viable.

What are you most looking forward to about re-opening when you can/do?

I’m most looking forward to having everyone back together again! The staff and the regulars became a bit of a dysfunctional family, and I know a lot of them see The Shed as a second home – and I want them to have that safe space available to them again

Since you opened The Shed what have been your top 3 moments?

Since I opened The Shed, my top three moments have got to be our first anniversary in 2018 when Enter Shikari performed their electronic DJ set to mark the occasion.

The night we launched Ambush (our club night) was pretty insane too. We launched it on a Tuesday night, we took a risk, we went up against Mosh and we succeeded. And that gamble, that risky decision, is what the propelled us into becoming a successful venue and known for more than just where you see your mate’s band.

And finally, I will never forget refreshing the ticket page to watch the last ticket for the launch party to sell in 2017, and the feeling of complete euphoria I got knowing that we’d sold out the opening and the belief that no matter what happened I just knew this was going to work.

Where can people sign up and see what’s for sale?

All of the information can be found on this event page! Slots must be pre booked by emailing me on the address on the event page : https://www.facebook.com/events/812378362834488/