2018 started badly with me having to call out an ambulance having all but broken myself in two. An experience that leaves me weak at the knees even now when I think about it. Just as I was emerging from the dark tunnel of that I got flu for the first time in my life. My Mum always said that every time I got sick I was always twice as bad as everyone else. In this case I would agree, that was rough. Thankfully I have good people around me and so business carried on largely as normal.
Now sitting here on our last day of work in 2018 I can only say I have been humbled by the simply inconceivable success we have had throughout the last year. YOUR support this year has been absolutely wonderful, humbling and incredible hard work all rolled into an amazing experience so from us all here at KB THANK YOU!
Part of my job is surrounding myself with amazing bonsai trees and yamadori. I know it’s tough but somebody has to do it. Loving trees the way I do I find it keeps my little life in perspective, being surrounded by yamadori often five or ten times my age and having beautiful bonsai trees that have had decades of skill and experience poured into them. The responsibility of having to be a faithful custodian of this little treasure chest of magic gets me up before dawn every day.
Even though I have some nice bonsai around me I have to say it’s still what I might call the crap that really floats my boat. There really is nothing I love more than a nasty stump that someone has discarded. I often manage to get these for little more than the price of the pots they occupy. On a buying trip last spring I was given this oak. The top of the tree had died and just a single shoot was sticking out of the base. Even at just a hundred quid, which was pretty much the cost of inbound transport, VAT and a drink for me nobody gave it a second glance. This week I got everyone working hard and so yesterday I slipped off into the workshop to have some fun with my little stump.
Have a great Christmas and a restful holiday and sincere thanks to everyone that made 2018 such a great year. I can hardly wait to open the lid on 2019 but before then I have some special bottles of scotch to drain and a couple of very special cigars to smoke.
Best wishes from everyone at Kaizen Bonsai!
G.
Portuguese oak stump after a great summers growth.Leaves removed and ready to work. Wire will need to be heavy, some of those branches are very stiff.A great nebari sets this off a treat. Sorry but it’s not a hundred quid any more 🙁
Around here autumn is a good time for me to get some trees worked. This year has been harder than normal because obviously Rammon went on his way and we have also been insanely busy too. I generally spend the autumn covered in dust knocking holes in big deciduous trees but this year I sold them all so I turned my attention to some sabina junipers that just weren’t selling.
I adore sabina juniper but with my sausage fingers wiring them does drive me up the wall. However it is possible with care to create a very tight refined image. Following a subsequent years growth first work junipers can look amazing. Autumn re-potting where necessary will also encourage strong summer growth as opposed to spring repotting which makes them sulk badly.
G.
We sold this and then bought it back again.Before he left Rammon whipped it into shape for me.This stunner sat around for a couple of years unloved.Yamadori is rarely this easy to work up.Bought this half worked in September. Completely baffled as to how to proceed.Nothing is impossible but I had to dig deep to figure this out and used most every trick in the book too. That low back part is weird but without it the live vein in the front will dry out. An easy tree to Photoshop but a bastard to deal with in the real world.It never ceases to amaze me why folks don’t buy such beautiful trees as this.Not exactly as easy as it looks but a good place to start.
It’s been a chaotic week or two here. Christmas shopping is in full swing and it appears a lot of folk are getting the drop on spring by ordering soil and pots early too. It’s almost shocking how much stuff is going out the door every day. Thankfully we now have a full compliment of hands to man the tape guns and so we’re doing okay.
My first priority around here is always the trees. It’s practically become a full time job just buying enough stock to keep up with demand. It used to be the case a couple of good deliveries a year kept us going but of late we have been needing a delivery every month. This year we have spent a good six figure sum on bonsai and largely bought up everything we can find (at a workable price) and we are STILL desperate for more stock. Sadly because of that great demand and other global factors we are seeing prices rise quickly, that’s capitalism for you. By and large we are seeing folk buy less volume but better quality and in my opinion that’s how it should be.
This week we had a hundred new plants arrive and have also bought another hundred-odd for January delivery but for now here are some new sabina junipers that are a lot more interesting than some we have seen. Again, not cheap but every one is a keeper in my book.
It’s a sad fact we are all getting older. Having been at this bonsai lark for thirty odd years now I can say with confidence that there is a lot less testosterone flowing around the British bonsai scene than there was twenty years ago. Perhaps that’s the result of flagging middle age or perhaps we are all just a lot less motivated than we used to be. Life has a habit of doing that.
I am constantly ear-‘oled about getting smaller trees. It appears everyone is too old and weak to hump those big lumps about any more. I say “bollocks to all that” as they say, ‘use it or lose it’. Humping big bonsai around will keep you fit and heavy lifting is a sure fire way to stave off the onset of osteoporosis. To that end I thought I should assist in the upkeep of the health of the men of Britain by buying some big trees. Because I am so concerned about my customers health I might even be prepared to offer those trees for the price of an annual gym membership.
So, here are a couple of bargain basement monsters to get you all going. I have SO much new stock in the pipeline something has to give go grab a bargain and get fit into the bargain 😉
G.
SOLD. Carpinus betulus. That’s one massive trunk.
Carpinus betulus. Raft bonsai, all parts are connected.
When I started Kaizen Bonsai years ago my only ambition was to handle a couple of orders a day so that Catherine didn’t need to go out to work any more and I could have a toe in the water of something I cared passionately about. Fast forward nearly twenty years and here we are, having turned over multiple millions, with tens of thousands of customers, handling close to twenty thousand orders a year. Who knew that was even possible in such a small minority interest like bonsai, it’s certainly surprised me. I did create something of a monster and some days it gives me a mauling. I often go a whole week and don’t even get out the front gate. Catherine might not need to go out to work any more but then she pretty much does not go out at all. Kaizen Bonsai is run right out of our home, each day many of your orders are piled up in our living room and so we quite literally live at work which is obviously good and bad. Because of that the whole subject of hiring staff is a difficult one.
Having staff in your family home requires careful selection of the right folk who, ultimately become part of the family. I know a lot of guys who would do a brilliant job but, cranky old me, I could not possibly have them in my house every day. It was, therefore, lucky that we were contacted years ago by Rammon who you will all know. He kind of pushed his way in here initially and over time fitted right in. Eventually we did actually begin to pay him and he has become an invaluable part of Kaizen Bonsai and almost a part of the family. Sadly that is now coming to an end as Rammon will be leaving us at the end of this week. He is moving away and I don’t think six hours commuting each day is really practical so we have to part ways, which is sad.
For such a small company that’s a big deal. Since my daughter Sarah has been with us full time (about a year and a half now) life has been a lot easier for us all, she has really stepped up and taken on a lot of the day to day despatch of orders etc’. Way back when I started I had a deep secret hope that Kaizen Bonsai could become a family business. Whilst my parents have ALWAYS helped out they never really wanted to get involved so that just left Catherine and myself. When Sarah came on board I was thrilled.
This Saturday I will be (in a sense) losing my little girl as she is getting married to Richard of whom I approve entirely and, if you know me, you will know that’s almost impossible. Last time I checked Sarah was in her mid twenties and I have to say it’s about time. Thanks to YOUR support of KB we have managed to help them get set up with a nice little place of their own. Because we lost Sarah’s mum when she was very young Catherine and I have never really been alone. There was no honeymoon and largely because of the pressure of a small business we have never had any form of family holiday, in fact Catherine and I have never had a single night away from home other than for work. However now that everyone is set up and everything is paid for I feel better about the outcome of all that.
So, having said all that it’s pretty obvious what the next episode looks like. Richard joined the Kaizen Bonsai team a couple of weeks ago and will be initially taking over Rammon’s daily workload before hopefully doing a lot more besides (he does not know that yet ;-). This week Sarah is off doing her massive wedding stuff and next week both of them are off for obvious reasons but on 3rd of December 2018 Kaizen Bonsai will officially become a 100% bona-fide family business and will be entirely responsible for the support of the Potters and the Newarks. I am both proud of that and eternally grateful to all of our customers for their support without whom none of this would have happened. We wish Rammon well for the future and I have to thank him for his significant efforts in helping to build Kaizen Bonsai and look forward to future collaborations.
So, I have a new family member in the offing, a new member of staff, a shit load more responsibility. I have a beautiful new blazer, the shirt is pressed, the car is cleaned and despite all the doom and gloom out there I have to say 2019 is shaping up to be a pretty good year already unless of course I get pissed at the weekend and fall down Dad dancing and bang my stupid head.
