london design festival: guerrilla gardener vanessa harden is urging the city’s green thumbs to take to the streets, adding to her existing collection of jewelry with a new range of hip-hop inspired gardening gear. vanessa harden is a creative partner at wild flag studios and created the ‘subversive gardener’ series as a means to merge street style and counter culture with horticultural revolution. the designs — cleverly altered to integrate gardening equipment into recognizable accessories — are part of a movement to reactivate urban landscapes. the gardening installation is the first of its kind and will feature the entire range of jewelry, including 24 carat gold-plated seed shooting grillz, a baseball cap that also functions as a rake, and a gardening ‘claw’ for fast and effective flower power. 

 

 

 

‘the latest collection for the subversive gardener is inspired by current trends in fashion and blur the boundary between tool and accessory, enabling wearers to dig, rake, and shovel while remaining inconspicuous’, says vanessa harden. ‘the subversive gardener is about encouraging people to get involved, pick up a shovel and begin guerrilla gardening! we are a thriving subculture of individuals operating around the world to ‘greenify’ neglected urban spaces’. the presentation, located at designersblock in london’s oxo tower, will also include workshops by renowned guerrilla gardener richard reynolds in creating seed pills, seed bombs and other DIY gardening products.

vanessa harden debuts street savvy gardening gear at london design festival
the golden claw can be used to discreetly plant a seed into the earth

 

 

the term ‘guerrilla gardening’ was officially coined in 1970s new york, but its roots can be traced much further. as a form of social activism it has gained vast popularity in recent years as a way of reclaiming and revitalizing disused urban spaces, promoting thoughtful use of green space in modern cities, and of cultivating community. in her work, harden modifies everyday accessories and apparel for use in covert gardening excursions, and has in the past included altered handbags, briefcases, cameras and shoes. ‘tools for him’, and its sister range ‘tools for her’ (available from the designboom shop) combine contemporary hip-hop iconography with easy to use gardening equipment, allowing for discreet and stylish subversion of city streets.

vanessa harden debuts street savvy gardening gear at london design festival
harden’s claw is attached to the peak of the cap, and makes for a glamorous rake

london-design-festival-the-subversive-gardener-designboom-01
harden modifies everyday accessories and apparel for use in covert gardening excursions  
image by harry bartlett

vanessa harden debuts street savvy gardening gear at london design festival
the range aims to help ‘greenify’ neglected urban spaces

vanessa harden debuts street savvy gardening gear at london design festival
‘tools for him’ blurs the boundary between tool and accessory

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other items by harden include modded handbags, briefcases, cameras and shoes
image by harry bartlett

vanessa harden debuts street savvy gardening gear at london design festival
the golden grillz are equipped with an extendable seed shooter
image by harry bartlett

vanessa harden debuts street savvy gardening gear at london design festival
harden will lead workshops alongside renowned guerrilla gardener richard reynolds

 

 

 

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designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: peter corboy | designboom