THE MODERN MINT BLOG
A Magazine Rack? Or Something Else?
We are rapidly expanding the products we offer on the Modern Mint Shop – you may have noticed the new trug/carriers go up this week? But we are finding that we don’t just want to sit here letting someone else do all the hard work of designing and making a product… we want to do this ourselves!
Enter our new designer (he’s Italian, so surely he must have style?) who has started developing new product ideas with us.
As ever, we start from a broad canvas and try and discover what it is we want to make, what it is you want to buy, what style we can bring to the piece and how it can be designed in a way that reduces waste.
We find out the rules to design by as we go along, and when we find these rules, we can use them to inspire new products. This is what we have so far…
A) Minimal design, maximal effect.
B) Closed loop material usage (to reduce waste.)
C) Can the packaging hold as much value as the item itself?
It is an exciting journey, with no guaranteed reward – perhaps we design a load of rubbish, or never find the funding to make anything, or the products just don’t thrill people the way a new mobile phone does… who knows? But that is what is lovely, and spurs us on – who knows? We are in this to unearth treasure!
Here are the first designs for a magazine rack. A magazine rack may sound a little dull, but we are forever needing somewhere to put all the post that comes in, so that is why we have started here. We think this could be made of green oak, or maybe cork…
What do you think?
Below is a take on our logo here at Modern Mint, using wood. It could be the basis for a wine rack, a shoe rack, a letterbox, a cutlery tray, a toothbrush holder… you get the idea right? We are exploring…
We have a few designs up our sleeves for ashtrays, letterboxes and cantilevered pergolas (this one is incredibly exciting!) and would also like to make a dog house and a spice tin. We have just been to India, which is why we think we need a spice tin.
If you have any products you are in need of at home or in the garden, want them to be funky, a piece of art, while also being practical… get in touch with us here at Modern Mint!
Look forward to this design journey from magazine racks to… who knows what?!?
Why I Wrote The Book Modern Topiary
I have written this book, Modern Topiary, because I wanted a collation of useful information that would give people access to everything they need to know in order to start making topiary. Topiary is an amazing (and niche) line of work to follow – amazing because it offers up opportunities to travel all over the world, making gardens, meeting people… but also, the work is intensely physical, hands-on, yet requires creative thinking in order to solve the puzzle of how to make the shapes you want. This mixture of the craft and the art is what I love the most …
Buxus the Norfolk Terrier In Modern Topiary Book
This is Buxus, our Norfolk Terrier, who I acknowledge in the acknowledgments of the book of Modern Topiary. The book of Modern Topiary can be read, for free, here. There you go. Buxus the dog on ‘doorstep duty’ at a friend’s house in Edinburgh. For those asking what he looked like!
What People Think Of Modern Topiary, The Book
Yesterday I put out the book – Modern Topiary – that I have spent the last six years writing. Download for free a pdf of Modern Topiary here. And what seems amazing to me, is that not only have people actually been reading it, but then responding to it. So below are a number of comments I have been sent from those who read it last night, and this morning…. “Brilliant read, exactly the right amount of info to take in and digest.” Rachel, a gardener “I love your book, the advice is so straightforward and your writing is so …