story

In 1997, Jake visited Japan as a wannabe sculptor to research the cherry blossom cultural phenomenon, Hanami. There he discovers the gardens and the trees and wants to find out more about them.

Back in England, he trains to become a TEFL teacher, meets Keiko and returns to Japan with her. In the first year he teaches, in the second year he works in a traditional nursery in a rural part of Osaka and learns everything about tree care, tree pruning and root ball formation.

The name

Niwakimeans garden tree. It's not very exciting, but it means much more than that. Japanese gardens are landscapes, microcosms of nature, and the trees are shaped to fit into those landscapes - there's a lot of artistry and cultural baggage in there. Niwaki founder Jake wrote a book about it if you're interested. So, the name. It's hard to say (ni-whacky) and hard to remember, but we like it for its power.

Quality

Almost everything included in the product range is used by the Niwaki crew themselves. When Jake first pruned pine trees in Osaka, he was given a pair of pruning shears that are still as sharp as ever after more than a decade. Brother-in-law Haruyasu bought Jake his first Japanese scissors, and he hasn't used much else since.

The collection is Japanese but works just as well in Western gardens and kitchens. You don't have to grow bonsai to enjoy these tools.

It's these little details that convince us about the products.Garden toolsthat we didn't know before, such as thisHori Hori. On one side, a sharply ground blade and on the other, the usual serrations. The multitool in the garden or balcony.