THE MODERN MINT BLOG
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.
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…
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…)
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.
(If you have a product you think would suit Modern Mint, we would love to hear from you. Contact us with details here.)
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …