THE MODERN MINT BLOG

Jul06

Why we Love the Nordeck Chair

Looking for products for our shop is a fascinating job – the important questions are:

What is it made of?

Where has it come from?

How long will it last?

We don’t ask about cost or who is going to buy it – tastes change, so if you believe a product or producer is suitable – why not support them loudly? The world turns and the greatest and most useful products find their places…

When we first saw the Nordeck chair we were stunned – several different lengths of wood, three bits of rope – and that is it. Everything you need for a comfy chair.

Nordeck Chair OakGallery Image

Classed as a deckchair, it has a contemporary feel (who wants a deckchair with fabric? Not us, not anymore…) and looks equally at home on your patio in summer, in your conservatory in the winter, or at the end of your garden when friends come over for a glass of wine.

Sitting on a Nordeck chair by the sea is just a wonderful bonus…

Nordeck Chair Lifestyle Gallery Image 2

It wasn’t just the look we loved though – the wood comes from managed woodland in Finland. This is an important point – in Finland, you can stop illegal logging, while in the rainforests of the world you can’t.

By buying a Nordeck chair you are supporting the use of European wood – birch, pine, oak, alder, larch – and helping to stop the promotion and transportation of exotic woods from the Southern Hemisphere. We have wonderful woods that we can use in our products in Europe, that last a long time with just the minimum care (a little bit of oil from time to time is all the treatment they need.)

It was this that thrilled us and made the offering of Nordeck chairs a must-have on the Modern Mint shop.

We have been at a number of markets this year with the Nordeck chair, and had lots of feedback.

One lady in Cambridge, a yoga teacher for 35 years, tried out the chair and told us it was the perfect position for your body – it sits you straight, the core of the body in line, which in turn helps ease pressure on your back (compare this to the way you twist and turn your spine when sat in the car…)

Nordeck Chair Lifestyle Gallery Image

Another lady told us how easy it was to put together. Of course! It is simple design, for maximum effect!

At Modern Mint we have fallen in love with this chair – it has become our ‘go to’ present for friends as a wedding gift, for birthdays, for ‘moving in to first homes with a garden’ – and we have seen nothing else on the garden furniture market that looks this cool and is such great value.

Allay all of this positivity and class to the fact the Nordeck Chair supports the use of European wood, that it supports a woodland that is growing (they have the space to plant in Finland!) and it makes the Nordeck chair the perfect partner for Modern Mint.

Take a closer look at the Nordeck chair here.

Nordeck Chair Lifestyle Gallery Image 1

(If you have a product you think would suit Modern Mint, we would love to hear from you. Contact us with details here.)

Apr14

Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson

The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …

READ MORE

Apr14

ClipFest 2025

On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…

Feb27

Secateur Holders

A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!