YOU might well identify Joel Bird as the Liverpudlian budget plan garden designer from television however there is far more than very first fulfills the eye to this eccentric character, who now calls the Kent coast home.
The 48-year-old, who switched the brilliant lights of London for Margate 4 years ago having actually moved south from Liverpool in the early 2000s, is not just a carpenter, horticulturalist, and eager bird watcher however an artist, artist and dancer too.
He’s supported Elvis Costello on his UK trip, played guitar with 90s alternative band Space and composed soundtracks for television, movie and theatre productions. Meanwhile his art work, which he refers to as ‘semi-abstract’, has actually been shortlisted two times for the John Moore’s Painting reward.
“I’m an artist first and foremost and the life of an artist is a constant juggling act because you need to make money in order to give you the freedom to make creative choices with your art,” discusses Joel, who explains himself as a contemporary folk artist influenced by graveyards, sea shanties and spaghetti western flight out. “So, I’ve always spent six months of the year building sheds or doing work that makes the money so that I can spend the rest of the time doing what I want to do, painting and making music.”
It was a specific love of jazz music and all things vintage that stimulated him to start the Margate Swing Festival not long after he relocated to the Kent town in 2019.
“I’ve always dressed funny,” he says of his hallmark high-waisted pants and braces appearance. “I went to a gig dressed like that in London a while back and someone asked me if I did vintage dancing too. I didn’t at the time but thought I’d learn and picked it up really quickly and it’s good for me, it’s good for your bones and core strength. Margate has such a vintage essence to it so a festival celebrating all things vintage, with live jazz music, fashion and dancing seemed like a good fit.”
The coast is Joel’s preferred location to be
For Joel, who dances a mix of designs consisting of Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues, Shag and Balboa, the classic scene is another method of revealing an approach that intends to protect all that was good about the old lifestyle. And it was this enthusiasm for nature, heritage craft and a ‘make do and mend’ culture that stood out of television manufacturers after he was crowned winner of Channel 4’s Shed of the Year competitors in 2014.
The ‘allotment roof’ shed took Joel simply a month and less than £1,000 to total thanks to his usage of recovered products and included a veggie garden on the roofing system and an art/music studio inside.
“That was the first shed I ever built and I’ve done a Mark II version here in Margate, which was on Gardeners’ World a couple of years ago.” says Joel, who has actually considering that created and constructed over 100 bespoke wood structures, from big expert recording studios, to little effectively created author’s sheds and went on to end up being a judge on the competitors the list below year. “I do love building sheds, it’s still a creative process and I enjoy meeting families, hearing their stories of why they want a shed and coming up with a solution to whatever problem they might be trying to fix.”
In 2017 Joel composed a guide committed to assisting others develop the ideal garden room called The Book of Shed and, in 2021, he was prepared in as the budget plan garden designer on the BBC’s lockdown hit Your Garden Made Perfect.
Joel on the BBC lockdown hit Your Garden Made Perfect. (c) BBC
“That was crazy, it hit the 2 million mark,” he says of seeing figures for the program, which was a spin-off of Your Home Made Perfect, likewise hosted by Angela Scanlon. “I was put forward by Laura Jane-Clarke who was an architect on the home version of the show as I’d worked with her when judging Shed of the Year.”
Joel’s section included producing gardens for those with minimal spending plans and frequently consisted of eccentric space-saving functions, such as fold away outside bars and sunken kids’s sand pits.
“They needed someone who was the real deal, someone who could order the materials, cut the wood and build it for them on a budget. People think I had a team but I literally built those gardens myself,” says the father-of-two, who likewise provides Channel 4’s Great Garden Revolution, a garden transformation series created to motivate Brits to go out in their gardens, together with Poppy Okotcha, Bruce Kenneth and Errol Reuben Fernandes.
“I’ve never spent a lot of money on my own gardens, I always use raw materials and recycle everything,” Joel includes. “I just think it’s so important to get out and be surrounded by plants, whatever space you might have. Even when I was in London and had just one metre square, I’d have a log to sit on and plant a tiny veg patch so I could be surrounded by nature.”
Joel Bird art work
Joel has a bit more outside space now he resides in Margate, a location he says advises him of Liverpool and provides him lots of chance to enjoy his love of nature. In reality, it’s a location he’s chosen to opt for good with his partner, Sara, and their 2 kids, Juniper, 10 and Finch, 7, who take pleasure in strolls together along the coast from Broadstairs to Walpole Bay.
“Margate has got this edge, there’s a real community here,” he says. “I matured on the coast, near Dee Estuary in Liverpool and I’m a huge bird watcher, so the noises of the oysterscatchers here advise me of my youth.
“I go to the coast everyday, it’s where I head straight after work and before I go home to decompress. I just stand and stare at the horizon. The coast is where I feel most comfortable, it feels like home.”
joelbird.com
I: @mrjoelbird
Margate Swing Festival occurs from September 8 to 10 margateswingfestival.com
Joel’s garden pointers
I don’t think in designer guidelines as such however I do recommend committing 50 percent of your garden to nature and making 50 percent high operating whether that be outdoor patio, pergola a bar or whatever you elegant.
When it pertains to planting, plant what you like and don’t be terrified of simply going all out. The essential thing is to go out there in be surrounded by nature.
You don’t require to spend a great deal of money – nature truly doesn’t care what it rests on.
