London Bike Kitchen looking for funding to expand into second workshop

A London not-for-profit DIY bike workshop has launched a fundraising campaign as it looks to open a second classroom. London Bike Kitchen (LBK) needs to raise £15,000 via Crowdfunder to secure the additional workshop.

Situated in Hackney, LBK teaches people how to look after and repair their bikes. "We believe that the more you understand about how your bike works, the more likely you are to ride it," Jenni Gwiazdowski told BikeBiz.

Gwiazdowski says that having a landlord who doesn’t charge extortionate rent allows LBK to pay its mechanics a living wage and reinvest profits back into the organisation. “We’re bike mechanics, not bankers,” she points out.

She says that, as usual, winter was a difficult time and this has drained the group’s savings. However, their landlord has offered them a second workshop – an opportunity she feels they can’t pass up.

The current workshop is small and can get pretty crowded. A second workshop would allow LBK to teach more students, provide repairs and sell more bike parts. There are also plans to add parent and child and OAP sessions to what is already on offer.

LBK is looking to raise £15,000, which will pay for tools, equipment, a rent deposit, legal fees, a shop refit and project management. At the time of writing, around £4,000 had been raised with 26 days to go.

As ever with funding campaigns, rewards are on offer. These include water bottles, cycling caps and T-shirts as well as invitations to LBK’s fourth birthday party later this month.