This coming Saturday & Sunday 7th & 8th of December 2013 our studio is open from 11am-5pm. You will be welcomed with a Chocolate treat; we hope to see you!

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This is our latest product; Gerard has just finished it and we are very excited about it!
It is a triple box for the House sparrow.
There is a substantial decline in house sparrows both in rural and urban population. The House Sparrow, or Passer domesticus, used to be so abundant in the UK that we did everything we could to get rid of them. In the early ’90 scientist first noticed the populations declining, and urban areas were the worst hit. There are now thought to be 10 million less house sparrows in the UK than there were 25 years ago. The blame has been pointed at everything from cats to air pollution, but recent research suggests two factors are having the most impact.                               Insects are a vital food source for sparrows, especially in the spring and summer when they are feeding their young. Studies suggest that a decline in insects is resulting in house sparrow chicks being in poor condition. The lack of insects is most probably down to urbanisation of our green spaces.                                                                                               Another  reason is the lack of nest sites. Help nesting house sparrows out by putting up nest boxes for them near the eaves of your house. One nest box is unlikely to be enough for colonial nesting so put a few up side by  side or Gerard’s specially designed & made triple House Sparrow box. House sparrows are sociable birds and like to nest in large numbers, that’s why we made this triple box, all made of reclaimed (British) slate. The price is £ 49.-. Put your nest boxes over 2m above ground on north to east sides of your house to avoid the hottest sun and coldest winds. 

On the first picture Gerard is making the drawings, secondly he made a prototype from carton, a very serious business!, then the cutting phase and finally the finished product. Now we only need some lodgers.             (from BBC Nature features)

Gerard just finished his (limited edition) Slate Garden Thermometer; now we only need the pointer to go up! Our Studio is open every day during this Easter weekend, come and join us for a coffee/tea.

Spring is in the air, the birds are getting ‘musical’ and when the temperature will rise a little, it will be booming & busy! If you haven’t already done it, this is the time to clean your bird boxes. If you have one of our ‘sliding’ boxes, it is a very easy process to do; first untwist/remove the wire at the back, secondly slide the bottom out (to the front, or to the rear, just feel what is easier). It is possible that some off the nesting material is a little sticking to the bottom; don’t worry just push a little harder or you can ‘pry’ a long  flat (bread-)knife over the bottom section (separating the nesting material from the slate). Sometimes the nest stays in the box; just take it all out. Our birds are genuine crafters in building their houses! Be surprised in the materials you recognize they apply; from magazine snippets, plastic wires you were missing, to their own feathers as inner lining, making the box cosy & snug for the young ones. You can wash it out with some fresh water, but it is not really needed and please NEVER use any soap or detergents! After sliding back the bottom, re-wire it, the box is ready to receive its new lodgers again! Any Questions?, drop us a line!

As you can see on these pictures, there can be little larvae, small insects in the old nest, so this could be a reason to clean the boxes.

This lovely picture we received from Betsy in Texas!

This year we met so many nice and supportive people either on markets, fairs or in our studio and we would like to thank you all!

We (Gerard & Jeanette + Dotje) want to wish all our customers & friends a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

We hope to see you back in 2013 and remember the coffee & tea (refreshment) is ready; as some of you know, we are a bit out (but love it) in the country side. Kids, dogs, muddy boots, bikers & cyclists are welcome!!

This picture we received from Hans who lives in the Netherlands (yes we do international mailing orders); not only his wife Sabine loves our plant pot, but also Elmo, their (new) 10 weeks old four legged family member, seems to admire it! It could be the plant, the pot or perhaps both he had to frown his forehead for. We were pleased to see that it was not given the more ‘usual (one leg up) welcoming of this garden product. And if he is not doing it straight away, no other doggy friends will do it immediately after. But for that we have to keep our fingers crossed. We’ll keep you posted.

What a beautiful day it was; the Hexham Christmas Fair 2012.

All elements were great; first the organisation -the Hexham community partnership- worked hard, like clockwork and very friendly (starting from 05.00 AM! till very late), weather-wintery cool (not cold!), perfect clear and even bits of sun shine, people came in huge numbers and were in a happy pre-Christmas mood (meaning prepared to spend). Last, but certainly not least the stand holders -a cool bunch with a variation offering every visitor something; from cheap to expensive, lots to eat & drink, from handmade to brand related; for young to old. All in all, a ‘lovely day’; something to remember, and to look forward to next year.

For Slate & Nature it was also good, with much appreciation for our fat-ball holder, window feeder etc.; the birds will love them and pleased to use them in the coming year!

Thanks to everybody for this wonderful day, Jeanette & Gerard from S&N.

This great picture © was taken by Nonny Bakens, our Dutch friend & photographer for S&N, 2012.