🎨 FORM AND FUNCTION 🛠
At The Foragers Cottage we think a lot about the things we buy and sell. We try to practice and promote the art of careful consumption - buying things that will last for a long time, that can be repaired / maintained. So in this first of our new 'Form and Function' series we'll highlight a product sold by someone else, that we love! Something that encapsulates the same values of quality and timelessness that we value in our own products.
Our favourite things are those that don't just last, but that improve over time. As far as we can tell we don't have a word that quite encapsulates all that meaning in English. Wabi-sabi in Japanese - a philosophy of admiring things because of their transience and imperfections - comes close.
Nevertheless we think you'll know instinctively what we mean. The old stone steps of a cathedral worn by centuries of people coming and going. The wood of an old table that is oiled, weathered and shaped by the hands of a family across generations.
☀️ CONSIDER WHETHER THEY WEATHER WELL 🌧
We've started to pay particular attention to how things in our garden weather through the seasons. Having been disappointed by wood that quickly rots, and thin metal that rusts through after a winter or two, we've gained a new appreciate for things that look more a part of nature over time, whilst still maintaining the function for which they were intended.
The first product we want to highlight is the Freya Bird Crook metal bird feeder:
We loved the simplicity and elegance of the design, and hang suet-filled half coconut shells from it, to the particular delight of the tits and finches who make their homes in the trees around our garden.
🦆 AN ELEGANT BIRD FEEDER 🍴
It's available from a variety of retailers in the UK - from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS plants - £24.99) to Country Charm (£41.95), Downtown (£41.99) and Not On The High St (£56). As you can see prices vary quite a bit (!) and do fluctuate, so we'd recommend a virtual 'shop around' for the best. None of the sellers seem to make the product themselves, and we're not yet sure where they're made - though some shops do claim it's "hand forged" and "Made in Britain".
What we love most about it is the patina that's already developing after just a month or so in the garden. We suspect the wettest winter weather we can remember might have helped - the British climate's certainly been very 'rust friendly' of late!
We love how the metal is now such a close colour match to the coconut shell - it's almost like garden camouflage:
