The importance of tools, new and old

These are some of the museums tool collection. Despite the ancient design
many of these tools have remained the same due to their
practicality and the way they have been engineered.

The skill that has gone into creating the gardening equipment has
been perfected over hundreds of years. These early designs are made
from copper and ceramics. Though many designs are still
made from metal such as galvanised steel it would be very unusual to
come across a ceramic watering can due to its vulnerabilty in the cold climate
and its consuming manufacture time. Many now are cast from plastics.

Hand crafted and painted 1800's wheel barrow.

Lawn mowers for children and adults.
This beautifully manufactured lawn mower was available
in two sizes although now many would see a lawn mower,
containing sharp components to be an inappropriate 'toy'.
Despite this it did allow children to be involved in garden maintenance.

Vintage yates seed display unit.

Seed counter from late 1800's  -  early 1900's

Garden Museum

This small museum is set right in the centre of London, although
it doesn't have the grandeur of Kew Gardens it is the resting place
of two historically recognised plant hunters, collectors and gardeners.
This provided the inspiration for the garden.

The actual garden combines two very different styles of gardening.
The ornate where we can see the small box hedge and the topiary design.
This is a very controlled way of gardening where evergreen planting is used and
stylised using a range of clipping tools.

The other is the growth of herbaceous and perennial.
This is my personal preference in gardening and relies more on the seasons
and the natural diversity and colouring of planting. 

Gardening, a social context

A garden end, Suffolk by Peter Henry Emmerson 1888

These are some postcards I picked up at the Garden museum.
Here we can see that men and women worked to bring food to the
table coming up with innovative ways to help produce veg
working with British soil and weather.

Skelton Tested Tools, Sheffield 1950

Gardening for all cover, 1930

This 1930's image shows gardening bringing
together practicality and leisure, bridging an
age gap as it's an activity people of all ages can enjoy
and benefit from.

Hortico gardening catalogue,  1967
Tulip picking

Making my Sample Book

After cutting out and painting the pieces of wood I began to sew and
hem a cover made from screen printed calico.
I very carefully put eyelets in in order to prevent the holes from fraying as they
slid onto the bolts.
I covered the piece of wood in fabric that acts as a clamp to hold down the
designs without needed to make holes in every piece.  

Of course this work was overseen by Dad and Dog.

Drawings With text

In The Print Room - Textile Screen Printing

Organising some of my Dad's old pattern making tools

Physically creating a creative catalog has been an important step for me.
It has enabled me to observe size, weight, colouring, material and shape.

I hope to draw each tool at an A3 Landscape size to capture the detail and render
of each tool giving it it's own personal identity and treatment.

Grandad's tool box

I loved my Granddad to bits he recently passed away in late 2012.
He was a top engineer for Nestle and Fox's.
He has 2 tool boxes and this is what I found in his less serious day
to day box.

The box was really cool and was similar to a time capsule from the
1960's, untouched for nearly 30 years. 

I like the packaging of this drill head box this packaging is not
a throwaway item. This box kept the bits safe and
the colours and graphics were classic of the 1950's /60's.

Vintage raffle ticket.

Inscribed tools.
Serious tools from the other box I haven't looked through yet.

Letter stamps for metal.