THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Nose Tickler
What the hell is a nose tickler??!!??!!
Don’t panic. Let Modern Mint explain….
A nose tickler is a brand new product we are now showcasing at Modern Mint. It is hand made in the UK and each and every single one is different – different woods are used, as well as different finishes (some are with bark, some are without.)
The only part that stays the same is that the tickling part of the nose tickler is made of pure bristle. All natural baby…
We found out about the nose tickler a little while ago, when we did a fair at a school. We had laid them out on the table, right at the front, presented beautifully like a real shop and all that… we put a big sign next to them saying LAPTOP BRUSH.
We thought – laptop brush? Could even be a pastry brush. And we were happy with that, it was all we thought…
Then, halfway through the fair at this school, a child walks up to the table we were presenting our wares from. She stopped right in front of the brush, tilted her head to the side, paused, then said…
“You have a nose tickler. I love them.”
Oh my.
Oh my oh my oh my.
We thought – this girl is a genius – of course it is! Our laptop brush (or pastry brush) has so many more uses than we could ever imagine. And this one, this one idea, is the use we love the most – a nose tickler.
Do take a closer look at our genuinely beautiful and favourite product at Modern Mint. Each one is unique and when they are gone, they will be gone…
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …
Aesthetic Pruners Association – New Talk In December
An organisation I love and have been learning lots from in the last two years is the Aesthetic Pruners Association based in the USA. Sharing knowledge with them about clipping and the overlap – and differences! – in style is something worth exploring, so I recommend a visit to their website and to join onto their events and talks, which are all on Zoom meaning you can access them from anywhere in the world. No excuse not to learn! The next event will be led by Jocelyn Cohen and be about ancient trees in the British Landscape. This is such …
The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus
Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …