Springing forward

Hi all, what an amazing (if not temperamental in terms of the weather), start to the new year. Can you believe that we're already two months down!? I thought it was about time I did a round up of things that I've been working on, and a look ahead to things coming up as we rapidly approach Spring!

Before we commence though, here's an introduction to the newest member of 'team Colbear' - it's Moose! He's proving to be quite popular and, when doing installations of finished projects at customers' properties, I have several times been requested to bring him along... he's certainly never going to go short of treats! From the moment I first brought him to work with me, Moose has fitted in extremely well - only thing he's not liked so far is his new coat (he does feel the cold in the drafty old workshop) - still, he's great company and I'm hoping he can accompany me out and about this year. If you fancy meeting Moose, please do give me a bell and come to the workshop - he's quite happy to show you around!

For those of you that haven't been to the workshop, here's a little tour that I filmed - take a look around and see where the magic happens!

So, to projects I've been working on - here's a gallery of some of the things I've been getting up to from fences and gates to marbles and mosquitos:

In other news, I'm looking forward to the RHS Garden shows that I've got going on this year. Take a look at my calendar to see where you'll find me over the spring/summer. The first show takes places the week after Easter in Cardiff so I'm stockpiling garden orbs - they're always popular and I need to ensure that I don't run out!

I'm excited to get to the first garden show as I've been designing the stand for a while. I'm in the process of seam welding all of the pieces of this giant canopy to create a water tight finish. It's amazing how rigid it is. It's also huge (if you see me on the road to Cardiff, marvel at the fact that the wind hasn't lifted me off the ground!) Once I've seam welded and cleaned the lines and edges I'll create the frame that it'll sit on. This is most likely going to be painted, although I'm undecided as to colour at the moment. The leaf will go off to be galvanized afterwards. Here's the process from start to now:

Spring's on its way and so is Mothers' Day - don't forget it's on 22nd March. If you're a mother, take a look at my online shop and drop some hints; if you need a gift for your mum, you're always welcome to visit and get some present inspiration. You can also order items online - here's a round-up of what's currently in the online shop:

Right, onwards and upwards - I look forward to meeting you all at some point; whether it's at the workshop or out and about. Get in touch if there's a project you're thinking about - I'm always happy to chat and throw ideas around!

All the best

Kev