diff --git a/plugins/the-workshop/README.md b/plugins/the-workshop/README.md
index 5dadb901..0e3fda42 100644
--- a/plugins/the-workshop/README.md
+++ b/plugins/the-workshop/README.md
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ A **desk** isn't a sub-agent — it's a peer with a history. Sub-agents inherit
 | Type | Name | Description |
 |------|------|-------------|
 | Agent | [Workshop TA](../../agents/workshop-ta.agent.md) | Room coordinator — sees all desks, routes work, tracks state, emits signals |
+| Skill | [Workshop Create](../../skills/workshop-create/) | Create a new workshop — the root where desks live — locally or backed by a new private GitHub repo |
 | Skill | [Desk Open](../../skills/desk-open/) | Create a new desk with journal and folder structure |
 | Skill | [Desk Journal](../../skills/desk-journal/) | Read/write persistent memory across sessions — the cairn trail |
 | Skill | [Signal Write](../../skills/signal-write/) | Emit structured signals: hands-up, blocked, done, checkpoint |
diff --git a/skills/bench-read/SKILL.md b/skills/bench-read/SKILL.md
index 683a628f..665a3a99 100644
--- a/skills/bench-read/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/bench-read/SKILL.md
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@ leave work products for each other.
 
 ## What the bench is
 
-The bench is the shared filesystem of the workshop. It's not a
+The bench is `<workshop>/bench/` — the shared workspace directory
+that `workshop-create` establishes for cross-desk work. It's not a
 message queue or a chat channel — it's files. When Desk A produces
 a finding and Desk B needs to review it, the finding is a file
-on the bench. When the operator asks "what did the scanning desk
+in `bench/`. When the operator asks "what did the scanning desk
 find?" — you read the bench.
 
 Typical bench artifacts:
@@ -31,15 +32,19 @@ Typical bench artifacts:
 
 ## Where to look
 
-The bench is the workshop directory itself and its subdirectories.
-Common patterns:
+The primary shared location is the `bench/` directory at the
+workshop root — the designated cross-desk workspace. Desk-local
+artifacts under `desks/<desk-name>/` are a secondary source: read
+them when you need a specific desk's own work, but shared artifacts
+belong in `bench/`.
 
 ```
-desks/<desk-name>/           # each desk's own workspace
-  journal.md                  # the desk's memory
-  <artifacts>                 # work products from this desk
-
-<shared files at root>        # cross-desk artifacts
+<workshop>/
+  bench/                      # PRIMARY — shared cross-desk artifacts
+    <findings, verdicts, drafts, reports>
+  desks/<desk-name>/          # secondary — a desk's own workspace
+    journal.md                #   the desk's memory
+    <artifacts>               #   work still local to this desk
 ```
 
 ## How to read
diff --git a/skills/workshop-create/SKILL.md b/skills/workshop-create/SKILL.md
index b427cc61..0f12c8cb 100644
--- a/skills/workshop-create/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/workshop-create/SKILL.md
@@ -41,19 +41,32 @@ they cloned, maybe it's a local project folder.
 The operator wants a fresh workshop backed by a GitHub repo.
 
 1. **Get the workshop name.** Short, no spaces, kebab-case preferred.
-2. **Create the repo:** `gh repo create <owner>/<name> --private --clone`
-   - Use the operator's signed-in GitHub account as `<owner>`
-   - Clone it to a sensible location (ask the operator where, or use
-     their configured workshops directory)
-3. **Scaffold the workshop structure** inside the cloned repo:
+2. **Pick and validate a clone parent.** `gh repo create --clone` clones
+   into the **current working directory**, so choose an explicit parent
+   directory first (ask the operator, or use their configured workshops
+   directory) and confirm it is **not** already inside a git repo:
+   ```bash
+   git -C <parent-dir> rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree
+   ```
+   If that prints `true`, pick a different parent — otherwise the new
+   repo nests inside the existing one. Create the parent if needed.
+3. **Create and clone the repo from that parent:**
+   ```bash
+   cd <parent-dir>
+   gh repo create <owner>/<name> --private --clone
+   ```
+   Use the operator's signed-in GitHub account as `<owner>`.
+4. **Scaffold the workshop structure** inside the cloned repo. Git does
+   not track empty directories, so add a placeholder in each otherwise
+   empty folder or the scaffold will not survive the next clone:
    ```
    <name>/
-     desks/
-     bench/
+     desks/.gitkeep
+     bench/.gitkeep
      CAIRN.md
      README.md
    ```
-4. **Commit and push** the scaffold.
+5. **Commit and push** the scaffold, including the `.gitkeep` placeholders.
 
 ### Critical: Never nest repos