Shoreline Tool Library: Building Community, One Tool at a Time
More Than Just Tools—It’s a Movement of Sharing, Self-Reliance, and Sustainability
Since opening its doors in January 2024, the Shoreline Tool Library has quickly become one of the most inspiring and resourceful additions to the community. Operated by Seattle REconomy (formerly Sustainable NE Seattle), the Shoreline branch extends far beyond lending hammers and drills, it’s about climate resilience, skill sharing, self-empowerment, and creating a space where everyone belongs.
With pay-what-you-can memberships, passionate volunteers, and growing partnerships, this community-powered nonprofit is proving that you don’t need to own everything to build anything.
Q&A With the Shoreline Tool Library
Q: How long have you been in business?
Seattle REconomy, formally known as Sustainable NE Seattle, came together in 2009. Our first project was the NE Seattle Tool Library, which has been open for 12 years. With funding from the WA Department of Ecology, King County Solid Waste, and the Cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, we were able to open the Shoreline Tool Library on January 6th, 2024!
Q: What inspired you to start your business?
We were a group of dedicated community members inspired to connect with the people around us and create more climate resilience. We saw a need for people to be able to save money, save space, and strengthen relationships while helping to protect our planet. The already existing tool libraries in Phinney Ridge and West Seattle inspired us to adapt their model to fit the Seattle and Shoreline communities.
Q: What service does your business provide for our community?
We offer a range of services to the community through our various resources. The tool library, our biggest focus, is like a library, but instead of books, we have tools. With this, we want to help the community save money, space, and the environment. Our inventory includes a range of helpful items, including categories relating to home maintenance, cleaning, events, crafts, and more! We have a lot of items folks wouldn’t expect, which allow us to be there for you when you’re building your home, maintaining it, and living in it.
While we call ourselves tool libraries, The Shoreline Tool Library is more than just a tool library. We also have a game library, seed library, Bike Shack, Reuse Materials Store, 3D printers, classes, and events. Our most popular event is our Fix-It Night, where our lovely team of Fixers invites the community to bring in their broken household items so they can be fixed. This happens on the third Wednesday of every month. Community Threads is a newer monthly event, which occurs on the second Saturday of every month, and it gives a space for textile fanatics to chat and work on personal projects in a shared space.
Our Bike Shack is also an asset to the resources we have to offer. It is a space set up in a corner of the Shoreline Tool Library where we fix bikes, teach bike-related classes, and sell used bikes.
Something we also do is accept donations. A lot of folks come to us when they’re cleaning out their garage or no longer want to store tools they rarely use. For the most part, we accept working, non-gas-powered tools. With our Reuse Materials Store, we have widened the scope of what we accept. It is still focused on working goods, but there are more home goods and miscellaneous items that we may accept. You can learn more about donations on our website here. Our recent partnerships with Seattle ReCreative, KidVantage, and Furniture Repair Bank also allow us to accept a limited selection of art supplies, children's goods, and small furniture on their behalf. You can learn more about our redistribution partnerships and what we accept for them here. If you have any questions about donations, please fill out this form.
Q: What do you love the most about the Shoreline?
The community has been incredibly welcoming and enthusiastic. We are so appreciative of the community members who have donated their time to volunteer with us. Not only do we have dozens and dozens of volunteers helping out as tool librarians, but we have seen so many passionate volunteers ask how they can help in ways we haven’t even listed. Now we have folks filling roles as strategic planners and financiers, which is unbelievably helpful. The City of Shoreline has also been extremely supportive in helping us with ownership and finding funding. We feel at home in Shoreline, and the positivity surrounding our presence is greatly appreciated.
Q: Why is your business based in Shoreline?
Because Shoreline showed up. The City of Shoreline saw the value of bringing a tool library to its residents and stepped up with funding, support, and enthusiasm. From location scouting to grant backing, Shoreline has been a true partner in making this happen.
Q: What’s one thing you wish your customers knew about you but never ask?
Although we dub ourselves a “tool library”, our inventory has so much more to offer. The best thing someone could do is ask us, “What if I already have tools?”. Our answer would be, “Even if you think you have everything and even if you’re not working on a project right now, we have stuff you want that you could even use on a weekly basis. We have champagne flutes, cement mixers, board games, toys, carpet cleaners, and seed libraries. Our definition of a tool library extends beyond tools like hammers, table saws, pressure washers, and lawn mowers!”
Q: What inspires you each day?
The people. While it might sound cheesy, it’s completely true. When we’re serving our community, we’re able to see people become self-empowered because they have access to our tools. Our coordinators, especially, get to chat with people who come in, help them find tools, and experience the joy and sense of community that our volunteers get.
Q: What has been your proudest moment in business so far?
There was a woman who came in and was nervous to use the tool library because she thought she didn’t have the money for it. She explained that she had just gotten out of an abusive relationship, and she needed tools to do repairs on her home. After she found out that she had the resources and community for free, she began to cry with joy and appreciation. Moments like these remind us of the impact we can make on our community.
Q: How does your business support or give back to the local community?
We believe that people should have the resources to take care of themselves and each other, and we want people to have access to our resources. While we have recommended donation options, our memberships are available on a pay-what-you-can basis, and we do not deny anyone based on income, nor do we ask for proof. Folks from anywhere can become members and utilize our resources.
On another note, we want to give people a place to have community. We do this through some of our events, but our biggest opportunity is volunteering. We have a variety of volunteer positions to invite folks with varying interests and backgrounds, and we do not require previous experience or knowledge. We love meeting new learners and giving everyone a space to create autonomy in the tool libraries.
Q: What future plans or goals do you have for your business?
A central goal of ours is to purchase a larger space so that we can expand our offerings. This could house a larger Reuse Materials Store, community workshop, bigger Bike Shack, and a metalworking space. Of course, this would also mean more tools, which could go in two different directions. We could have a more expansive inventory of items that people can check out, and add more of each tool to our inventory, so there could be smaller wait times for more popular items. With our recent partnerships with KidVantage, Seattle ReCreative, and Furniture Repair Bank, it would be amazing to increase our ability to accept more items on their behalf and expand our relationships with other organizations.
Q: What’s your next upcoming event?
Our Tool Sale is coming up on Saturday, May 31st from 9am to 3pm. We're expecting this to be our biggest Tool Sale yet. Categories of tools available include power tools, landscaping, hand tools, electrical, painting, plumbing, kitchen, building materials, and so much more available for ANY price!
We’ll also have several bikes, a bake sale, and art supplies from Seattle REcreative.
There will also be a special offer for new members of our tool libraries (NE Seattle Tool Library & Shoreline Tool Library): a 15% off coupon for our ReUse Building Materials Shop at the Shoreline Tool Library! On top of that, new and renewing members will get one free year of Homebodiy, an all-in-one home management app designed to simplify home maintenance, improvement, and management for homeowners.
This is a nonprofit fundraising event. All proceeds support the Seattle REconomy community and our tool libraries in NE Seattle and Shoreline. Please tell everyone you know!
Discover. Borrow. Build. Belong.
Whether you’re fixing a faucet, learning to sew, organizing a community project, or hosting a game night—Shoreline Tool Library is here to support you with the tools, space, and encouragement you need.
📍 Shoreline Tool Library – 16610 Aurora Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133
📞 (206) 524-6062
🌐 seattlereconomy.org
📧 info@seattlereconomy.org
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🔧 Come borrow, connect, and build something amazing.
