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We're shining the spotlight on Crafty Gatherer... a family-run business here in NZ, who create & collaborate with other local artisans to bring you useful, intentional garden goods. Each and every product is about connecting with the seasons, and getting back to traditional ways of living. We chatted to Tess (one half of Crafty Gatherer) all about the motivation behind the business, her favourite garden tool, tips for achieving a more sustainable lifestyle, and more. We love the ethos of this awesome Kiwi business, and we're proud to stock a selection of their highly regarded range. We know you'll enjoy these useful insights! What was the motivation behind Crafty Gatherer? Crafty Gatherer is our business where we make tools to help people live efficiently both in their home and garden; we teach workshops and love to share our skills and everyday living. Our motivation behind Crafty Gatherer is being in tune to gather and harvest to provide for ourselves with what is around us, and the primal and innate feeling that brings. We express this motivation through traditional ways of living including growing our own food, living locally, being in tune with the seasons, living lighter, more thoughtfully and with intention. What are three practices anyone could implement today for a more sustainable lifestyle? Compost, so simple but huge impact! There is a lot of information out there and different ways to do it; there really is a way even for people living in apartments! Eat seasonally, either by growing some yourself or finding it locally. By living more thoughtfully we can reduce our impact in many ways, knowing where your "stuff" comes from, who made it? where will it end up when you are finished with it? It is thinking about: where is our food coming from? What businesses are we supporting? and what are we sharing with our community to contribute to a more beautiful place. How has your garden coped with the (so far) very wet summer we’ve had? Any tips? It has coped OK as we have created a lot of shelter around our garden with native trees and wild spaces, but it has been the worst year for tomatoes and our sunflowers were looking very sad thinking where is the sun? We also have a greenhouse, so that helps. With all this rain I would say creating shelter from strong winds is one of the most important things and also digging any channels you need around the garden so that there are no rivers running through your garden. Go-to garden tool you couldn’t live without? Our Crafty Gatherer Forksta, sounds biased, but it really is such a versatile tool! Favourite Autumn crops / veggies you’re planning to plant this year? We will be planting the things we love to eat (i.e. what our children will actually eat) . We all love brassicas, so lots of broccoli, cauliflower and kale, also spinach, chard, carrots, leeks and celery. And of course peas! Any tips for getting kids involved in the garden? Just let them be kids, to play, imagine and create around you while being in the garden and their natural curiosity normally wants to come and help plant a seed or smell a flower. Our kiddies get really involved when they see their particular seed they planted start to grow and then they are always checking in on it, watering it and wanting to harvest, we find it is pretty microfocus when they are kids. Your go-to recipe in 2022? Buckwheat noodles with whatever seasonal veggies come in from the garden was a go-to, home kill sausages over the fire are also a big hit around here. Meals are very simple as we just eat with the children. Favourite flower? Fire Circle Poppy or any kind of dahlia! Favourite crop? I love growing root crops! Favourite season? Spring Current favourite Instagram account to follow? Love @compostable.kate so many simple easy to adopt tips. Top book recommendation? Gardening: The Edible Backyard by Kath Irvine and The Abundant Garden by Niva and Yotam Kay Not gardening: Loving what Is by Byron Katie
Have you tried out a Sneeboer garden tool? As founder Arie Sneeboer used to say; “One who once has held a Sneeboer tool in his hands never wants anything else”. It really is buy once, buy well with these premium, hand-forged garden tools. But be warned - once you have one Sneeboer tool, you’ll be tempted to expand your collection!Over 100 Years of HistorySneeboer’s history dates all the way back to 1913, when Arie Sneeboer established a forging workshop in Bovenkarspel, a small town in the Netherlands. Arie’s forge began in a humble garden shed - but he was confident local growers and market gardeners were in need of quality tools that would last the distance. He was right, and the demand for Sneeboer garden tools soon spread!Thus Sneeboer was born and is still going strong over 100 years later. The company is currently run by the 3rd generation of the Sneeboer family (with the 4th generation preparing to take the reins soon!). The Sneeboer brand has become internationally renowned for their quality craftsmanship, with gardeners around the globe swearing by their wide range of stainless steel garden tools.The ProcessThe modern Sneeboer factory operates two forges. Coal is still used to power each of the four fires, with the family maintaining that this is the most effective method for forging. Their skilled master craftsmen use anvils to traditionally craft tools, and sledgehammers to shape the molten steel. The oldest of these hammers was made back in 1920, and is still in use today! Overall, the same techniques that were developed more than 100 years ago are still used now - contributing to the enduring quality and impressive reputation Sneeboer has maintained. Interestingly, Sneeboer personally trains each new member of staff; this is a detailed and lengthy process that can take up to 3 years. This is because instruction in the trade of traditional blacksmith is no longer widely available. It’s special to think of how Sneeboer is helping to keep the art of traditional hand-forging alive!The ToolsWe carry a wide range of Sneeboer’s quality stainless steel tools; there’s something for almost every task in the garden. Each one is forged by hand from quality stainless steel and paired with ash or cherry wood handles. Truly ready to “last a lifetime, and for generations to come!”. Learn more about a few of our top-selling Sneeboer tools below…Royal Dutch HoeSo useful is this garden hoe, it won an award at the 2013 RHS Chelsea Flower Show for Garden Product of the Year - a very impressive accolade! Sneeboer teamed up with English rose breeder John Scarman to create the Royal Dutch Hoe - a completely new tool at the time, which allows you to work and walk backwards. This leaves a fine tilth without footprints, reducing the chance of replanting weeds with your feet.Planting Trowel - Old Dutch StyleThis trowel will become your go-to tool for all planting tasks. Its sharp, rounded sides and pointed tip makes cutting through soil unbelievably easy. Perfect for planting bulbs, seedlings or small plants, for breaking up or turning soil, or for separating smaller perennials. Beloved British gardener Monty Don has proclaimed this as his favourite tool!WrotterThis traditional Dutch tool’s precisely angled head allows easy weeding around established plants. Easily push into the soil to remove the roots of deep and tap rooted weeds! Fun fact: "Wrotter" is an old Dutch word which means “Tough Worker”. We think this describes this useful tool perfectly.We have over 50 Sneeboer tools to check out - take a look! And next time you reach for your favourite Sneeboer, remember the years of history behind each and every design.
Skaza is a design and manufacturing company based in Slovenia, specialising in the creation of sustainable, eco-friendly home & garden products. Sustainability is at the core of their vision and mission - they are striving to set a new trend for the plastic industry. We are so pleased to be bringing Skaza’s range of Organko bokashi bins to NZ shores for the first time! Skaza began by identifying some of the biggest challenges our society and planet are facing, and started to develop unique solutions to help address these issues. One pressing problem is poor waste management. The amount of waste currently going to landfill is unsustainable for our planet - methane released from landfill is a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change, causing untold damage to our environment. In light of this distressing issue, we’d all like to strive towards a zero-waste lifestyle! Skaza’s Organko bokashi bins are designed to help us do just that. Bokashi bins are a convenient, effective way to reduce your waste output. Not only that, using a bokashi bin provides you with lots of amazing benefits too. All of Skaza’s bins are manufactured using recycled plastics, and are designed to last the distance. Bokashi bins work by turning kitchen waste into nutrient rich compost through fermentation. The process works by using natural, beneficial microorganisms (sprinkled on as a bran or a liquid spray) to initiate the fermentation process. Unlike traditional composting methods, where you have to wait for waste to decay, a bokashi bin ‘pickles’ your kitchen scraps. This makes it up to 50% faster! Along with this, organic waste that has been fermented retains essential nutrients that would normally disappear during decay. This creates a top-quality compost and liquid fertiliser for your garden. You can also put almost anything in your bokashi bin - even traditionally non-compostable foods like meat, dairy, small bones & citrus! Once fermented, your bokashi bin can be emptied into your compost, where it helps to speed up the compost process, or buried in your garden. The Skaza Organko bokashi bin Essential Set in grey and black has a volume of 15 litres. A family of four would fill one bin in approximately 30 days - you can then begin filling the second bin while the first completes the fermentation process. The Bokashi Organoko Essential Set is complimented by the Organko Daily in grey and black Skaza’s Organko bins are real stand-out products for sustainable living. Composting your kitchen scraps is a great way to reduce your landfill waste, and it is made that much easier with a bokashi bin. Plus, who knew a bin could look so good! Find out more about each of the Skaza Organko ranges below.
