‘Tis the Season to be Jolly, I have always loved Carols around a tree, the pretty lights, the anticipation of piles of gifts on Christmas morning,  the buzz of excitement in the air but I will confess as I have got older the magic is fading for me. I see adverts on the television of happy families sat playing games and enjoying themselves but in reality as I read the papers I see a different world one where many families are separated and the older generations are possibly spending the day alone as they don’t want to be burden on relatives, or those families who don’t have money to put food on a table let alone buy gifts, who then have to deal with the question why Santa leaves lots of gifts for some Children but not them.

I read a lovely article in the Telegraph yesterday, saddened slightly by its content, but felt it was also full of Christmas Spirit as it made reference to a school in Blackpool where the Head is opening the school up on Monday to have a Christmas Eve eve party for the children, with Santa and hot food, to ensure that all children had that magical experience and a hot meal over the holidays. I am sure this isn’t first school to do this, and I doubt will be the last. 

For many of the gifts I will be giving this year they are sourced from small businesses not large corporations, I will try and avoid the pressure of the sales post Christmas, and only purchase something if I really need it.  

It is a most wonderful time of the year, but we do shop all year round, not just a Christmas so if you could continue to buy from the small business owner I can hand on heart tell you that really does help put food on the table, and keep a roof over someone’s head. Perhaps you can spare the odd gift for a child who is without, or pop an extra roll of toilet paper, or can of soup in the trolley for the food bank at your local supermarket – you never know the joy that small act of kindness could bring someone. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against the corporates (I am an Amazon Prime Customer ?) , but I am hugely aware that by using them we are feeding anonymous shareholders but by buying from an independent you are helping keep that small business afloat, and that alone does deserve a happy dance ? Merry Christmas and wishing you a Happy New Year 

Fiona
Welcome! I run my own small roofing business, and during the process of manufacturing Roofing and Cladding flashings (the bits on the roof which cover the edges of the sheets & the hide the joins) I noticed I was generating  a significant amount of waste metal. The scrap man would and did take it away,  but I felt I could do something more useful with it, after all it was a shame to throw so much away so I decided to try and make a box. This box became my office waste paper bin, to be fair it was then an easy leap in my mind to decide to on the bright idea of making them planters.Thus the garden planter / composter / herb garden was born.I now manufacture various sizes of Metal Garden Planters, in a variety of colours, and plain unfinished metal, plus the corrugated versions and sell them for countless uses. I say, I, because it is me who designs, cuts, measures, bending, drills, and packs each planter by hand, by myself. Each is unique, that is one reason why I name them, they aren’t mass imports, they are lovingly made by hand, individually and are built to last. To name some of my recent work, Car Park edging at School Outdoor space for various cafe's, bars, social clubs and pubs, I even created over 100 corrugated planters for a container artist village at the docks in London! Roof Terrace gardens in Bristol, Cardiff, & London Create Mini Front Gardens for various Terrace Houses around the Country Planters for Caravan Patios, custom made ones for the decoration of Hot Tubs, and to mask  the edging of Greenhouses I can make multi sized in depth, length and height planters for getting plants at different levels in the garden, whilst adding that splash of colour for a real contemporary feel. These also benefit those with kneeling or bending issues, as I can make waist height planters to ease the strain. Edging for Vegetable patches Capping for the top of Wooden Fence Panels and much moreMy name is Fiona, I aim to repurpose my waste metal, and enable those without garden space but with a window or accessible rooftop or terrace the opportunity to grow some veg, herbs or flowers.If you have a small space, some light, some water then you could grow fresh salad veg, or brighten up an area with flowers to encourage the dwindling bee population perhaps.Regardless of your need, I would love to hear from you if you would like something repurposed created for your space.happy planting! 

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