Chelsea build update

Day 6 of the build and, at the risk of jinxing it, all is going rather well.  The garden office arrived on day one, a wonderfully warm and dry refuge from the horrible weather we've been having and was positioned into the perfect spot by a very adept hiab-operator.  Instantly we had somewhere to stash tools, sculpture and ourselves, although at the reasonable risk of engendering hatred from our fellow exhibitors who did not have the luxury of underfloor heating and recessed spot lights. 

She (I assume the garden office is a she as she's too pretty and elegant to be a 'he') is fantastic.  We now had perfect 90 degree angles from which to build the walls and paving, set levels and a power source.
 

The path, laid so expertly by men far more skilled and masculine than I, is a pale slate with a honed finish that perfectly matches our brand colours (intentional) and was laid with the unerring precision of Dustin Hofmann in 'Rain Man'.  I have never seen such care put into anything in my life, it was a man version of a birth and the child is frankly beautiful - although I'm prepared to concede that all parents are liable to be a tad biased.

The lighting so kindly donated by Vivid and designed by Chiaroscura went in yesterday, all built to the greenest specifications and casting a warm light from a combniation of spot lights, floods and LED strips.

  The latest sculpture, 2.4m of stunning glass.

The artists started to deliver their work over the build days, each seems a great fit and I cannot wait to get the final pieces later today.  There are moon jars from Pembrokeshire, bronze sculpture from Chester, woodwork from Sussex, every day something new arrives on a truck and I get to place it on our ever-expanding site.  I say 'expanding' as the RHS have allowed us to spread our footprint by around 13 square meters, which is just fantastic.

The other exhibitors have been so helpful, there's a real feeling of 'all in this together', whether it is lending site machinery or donating jumbo bags of Type 1.  We've been offered plants, advice, tools, there is a great sense of family united under pressure which I had not anticipated, it is wonderful to feel part of it.  Even though the hours are extreme our energy levels are not dwindling as the sheer volume of complex projects gives such a sensory overload that it is hard to notice the exhaustion kicking in until I crawl into bed.

Must dash, more to do but thought I'd pause for breath and show you a few snaps of the build in progress.  Hope to see you at the show!

Rick Kirby's 'The Call'

It's shed Jim, but not as we know it...

Being both male and into gardens I am statistically unlikely to be ambivalent on the subject of sheds.  My first shed was quite a moment; a quiet refuge from the cares of the world where I could spill potting compost and vermiculite, store various hazardous chemicals in grossly unsuitable containers or just sit and relax.

Sadly my shed and I have since parted ways, I'm convinced that it was seeing a greenhouse behind my back, and I have not found another to replace it.  However, I recently came across a garden building that, while tough to label 'shed', certainly gave me those long-forgotten butterflies I once knew.  While searching for a way to ensure a dry area for clients at this month's Chelsea Flower Show I came across a company that specialises in exquisite garden buildings, called Pod-space (www.pod-space.co.uk).

These are fully customisable additional rooms, complete with under-floor heating, integrated light and power and every ecological technology that one could ask for.  The internal spaces are clean, modern and efficiently laid out, there is plenty of storage space, they even come with skylights.  Like an awkward teenager shuffling towards the most gorgeous girl in school I looked through their website tentatively, fighting to suppress my feelings of guilt towards the shed that I left behind.  My old shed didn't have a green roof, other than the algae collecting in the guttering.  Nor did it have under-floor heating.  Hmmmm, maybe one's 1st love leaves one blind to the objective truth?

What consoled me was the realisation that I was not comparing like with like, this is more contemporary architecture than simple storage.  Rather than pump time and money into planning permissions and building material, a section of the market are quietly buying these stunning outbuildings, then putting their feet up in luxurious surroundings bathed in natural sunlight.  This assuaged my feelings of guilt and left me free to continue purring at the pod.

What is more, the affection was mutual.  Having contacted the company to discuss using one of their products at Chelsea this year, Pod Space were delighted to offer me us the use of one of their buildings.  Having looked at our brand compatibility, styling and ethos we found it was a very good fit.  Both companies source sustainable products, both emphasise quality and finish, both seek to give you greater reason to be in your garden more often.

Mutual back-slapping concluded Pod-Space then kindly agreed to install one of their Micro Pod Max pieces into our upcoming installation, giving clients a wonderful place to shelter from the highly probable May showers, and collect it too.  We will now be able to set up a large screen to show clients our visualisation offerings, store materials and sculpture, install a small wine fridge to celebrate sales with our new visitors and so on.  All in all this is a wonderful collaboration with a partner company that we are very excited about working with in the future.

Do feel free to pop in and see the pod for yourself at our stand, to be found in the Fresh Exhibition at Chelsea Flower Show 2012.

Chelsea Flower Show build up - intro

"Fortune favours the bold" they say.  Well, by that logic I should be exceptionally fortunate as I have committed this week to putting together a stand for this year's Chelsea Flower Show in a total of 5 weeks. That's 35 days in real money.  To put together something that usually takes months of painstaking preparation, including the build.

Squeak.

Still, the opportunity to show our pieces to 147,000 garden fanatics is too good an opportunity to pass up. The response from the artists has been fantastic, there are some truly wonderful pieces to display on the stand.  We've been offered a great plot right by one of the exits from the Great Pavillion in the new 'Fresh' area, a feature new to Chelsea aimed at showcasing innovation and future trends.  Exactly where we want to be.

The Fresh area features 3 tower installations by Jo Chapman

It is a great chance to talk to a large audience about how we are different from traditional galleries and sculpture gardens, engage with industry and clients alike and showcase some smashing pieces of art.  Still, not to over-dramatise, the volume of work needed over the next few weeks will be herculean.  I'll keep you posted of our progress through this blog, for the highs and lows, stresses & celebrations of assembling a show of this scale just keep reading...

If this blog were a film it would now cut to a montage of phonecalls, meetings and stressed looking people hammering nails into pieces wood.  You'll just have to use your imagination for now.

Visualisation services

Well, the site has been live for just shy of a week (they grow up so fast?!) and the most consistent feedback has been regarding the visualisation options that we offer.  I thought I'd take the opportunity to give you a bit more detail on where and how it might be useful.

The point of visualisation is to offer our clients something that neither a furniture supplier, gallery or a sculpture garden can.  You may see a piece of furniture/ sculpture in any of the above and think it is exactly what you are looking for, then take it home only to realise that it is just not right.  2D images can mislead, gorgeous photography is designed to sell products.  A sculpture park may highlight a piece of work in the most idyllic situation, this same piece may look out of space in your own garden or you may wish to see it in a number of locations before paying to lay footings etc.

We offer three visualisation services; digital editing (photoshop), 3D modelling and Augmented Reality.  For examples please see the embedded video below:

Which one(s) will prove most useful to you depends on what you are looking to visualise.  For furniture
we usually find that a combination of 3D modelling and AR wrk best.  When considering where to put your exterior dining/ seating there are a number of sensible rules to adhere to, e.g. for a dining area of 8-10 people you should allow a 4m2 space, excluding any thoroughfare.  However, you may wish to highlight a particular part of your garden or are concerned that your furniture may look out of place.  3D videos are a great way to get a feel for what the set up would look like.

For an even better idea of how your pieces would look we can offer AR; we would meet you on site with a tablet device, through which you can see your own garden with the furniture/ sculpture in place.  It really is an incredible piece of software.

Finally we offer digital editing, the most straight forward and cost effective way to visualise your piece. We send you some guidelines on what information we would need, you then send us a photo of where you would like the piece to sit, any additional requirements etc, and we send you the edited image(s) via email.  It couldn't be easier and may help you make a different choice or simply confirm your decision.

When looking to invest in sculpture or quality furniture we think it wise to really scrutinise your choice, we would rather lose a sale than sell you a piece that you were not happy.  This is not anti-capitalist altruism, purely a sensible approach for a brand that is based around product quality and excellent customer care.  If you would like to discuss this further then do get in contact and one of our design team will be happy to help.

Launch

'Launch' seems an odd word for the release of a new website out into the big world wide web.  It conjures up nautical images of grandiose ships in dock under bright blue skies, champagne bottles opulently smashing against their hull.  This all seems a very far cry from the late nights I have spent huddled over a flickering screen, checking for defects in the dark and fuelled by coffee.  Still, both have that heady mix of excitement and nerves about setting out on a new journey across unforeseen waters.  I'm tempted to make some nautical puns about pushing 'full steam ahead' or 'choppy waters' etc, but I'll hold off in the interest of good taste.

Yesterday was the first day of Spring, March 20th 2012, a date chosen for its symbolism of fresh starts and optimism about the coming year.  It is that wonderful time when people start to emerge from their winter bolt holes, squinting at the alien sunshine, and begin to consider spending more time in the great outdoors.  Spring is my favourite season, I love the promise it holds and the range of nature's prizes we're given for making it through one more English winter.

Our site has launched with an initial range of furniture and sculpture, though there are a number of designs that we have deliberately held back.  We shall slowly drip feed these out through this blog and our social media sites, seeking feedback and input from you, our loyal readers (well, hopefully one day you'll be loyal readers - I'm aware that this is our first blog entry).

We love feedback, whether regarding the site, our range, our sculptors or our message, so please do get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything with us.  Collaboration is the driver of innovation, nothing gets created in isolation, which is an approach that we apply to everything that we do; from a specific product to our entire way of working.  If you love something we do, tell us.  If you hate something we do, tell us.  Opening a design studio to the online world provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to grow and better ourselves, we want to continually improve and your feedback is an essential part.

For now I'll leave it there and sign off by saying a sincere welcome to this site and blog.  Now, how best to clean the broken shards of champagne bottle off my laptop....?