Here at my house I leave last autumn flower stalk to stand rather then cutting them down. Over the winter the dead plants serve as a visual feature in my yard whether there is snow or not. And now it is time to remove the old stock to get ready for the new. We heat our house with wood. And so a light bulb came on yesterday morning as I was building the fire for the day. Yes it is still cold in Wisconsin, 36 degrees night time temps. My starter paper and cardboard supply had been exhausted. So why not use the dead stems and canes as a starter and kill two birds with one stone! Wow after some 20 years of burning wood! Designing is sort of like that, the solution is sometimes right there in front of you.
I have been using many gardening tool belt prototypes for outside work in the garden, for apple picking and pruning the raspberries and trail clean up. The use of a shop magnet was also one of those moments where the solution to a problem was right there in front of me. I do the trimming and filing of our trail horses, Titus and Clay. I wear one of those heavy leather Ferrier aprons to hold my tools and to protect my legs. On the apron is a 20lb pull magnet to hold the 18" hoof file for quick assess while holding and working on the hooves. The magnet is so handy and so I thought that would work great for my hand saw while working in the woods. Folded it fits in a pocket but unfolded not so well. The saw on the magnet works great when switching between pruners and sawing branches. The elastic lock cord is a must for me and the end of gloves gone missing!
The first gardening tool belt design was started in 100% cotton canvas. And they were very colorful. As I become a serial tool belt designer I had to streamline my inventory to maintain my sanity and time budget. Although the canvas wore well, Cordura 1000 denier nylon is like the Cadillac of nylons. The most expensive nylon but totally worth it for the body or the fabric weight, durability, color fastness and easy cleaning. I invested in a heavy duty industrial sewing machine to handle the Cordura in 2015 and the Cordura was a hit especially for heavier tools as well as mini computers!
I have been using many gardening tool belt prototypes for outside work in the garden, for apple picking and pruning the raspberries and trail clean up. The use of a shop magnet was also one of those moments where the solution to a problem was right there in front of me. I do the trimming and filing of our trail horses, Titus and Clay. I wear one of those heavy leather Ferrier aprons to hold my tools and to protect my legs. On the apron is a 20lb pull magnet to hold the 18" hoof file for quick assess while holding and working on the hooves. The magnet is so handy and so I thought that would work great for my hand saw while working in the woods. Folded it fits in a pocket but unfolded not so well. The saw on the magnet works great when switching between pruners and sawing branches. The elastic lock cord is a must for me and the end of gloves gone missing!
The first gardening tool belt design was started in 100% cotton canvas. And they were very colorful. As I become a serial tool belt designer I had to streamline my inventory to maintain my sanity and time budget. Although the canvas wore well, Cordura 1000 denier nylon is like the Cadillac of nylons. The most expensive nylon but totally worth it for the body or the fabric weight, durability, color fastness and easy cleaning. I invested in a heavy duty industrial sewing machine to handle the Cordura in 2015 and the Cordura was a hit especially for heavier tools as well as mini computers!
 Dried Hydrangea and Sedums make great fire starters! |  |
The first prototype was made of lime green cotton canvas, with a lock cord for gloves and a 20lb pull magnet for tools. Cleaning horse trails, I use a fold up saw which hangs on the magnet in between pruning and sawing.
The Gardening Cordura Nylon HipNotions Tool Belts offer better endurance, clean-ability, colorfastness and more body than the cotton. Magnets, tool loops and velcro tape loops can be added along with embroidered names.
RSS Feed
