Ok, so first just a little introduction to me, here at Arbworx. My name is Richard Hobbs, I’m 24 years old and hail from a not-so-well-known town somewhere in the Midlands, called Burton-on-Trent.
Having completed a three year course studying Garden Design in Falmouth, Cornwall, I have since made my way up and over to East Sussex and now reside in Brighton along with Arbworx colleague Benjamin Biggs.
I am currently working within the Arbworx team as landscape technician / trainee supervisor and my main focus at the moment is definitely to progress further with personal practical abilities and developing knowledge essential for successful and professional projects. I see this stage as the beginning of a career taking my earlier design student experience into the real world; only through hands on garden and landscape construction, and the processes involved therein, will I be able to achieve my goal of seeing my own designs brought to life.
Aside from the desire to design and build I am also keen on specialising in carpentry as far as practical work is concerned. As part of the Arbworx team I am able to pursue my goals continually through the many and varied projects we undertake on a regular basis. These range from landscaping basics such as fencing and decking, all garden maintenance and tree care, through to some more creative works. It’s good to be versatile!
Creative works currently under way include a complete one off build in Hove, for West Hove Infants School, where we took on the challenge of constructing a life size sea serpent entirely out of wood. This type of work is just up my street, as it incorporates elements of design along with plenty of woodwork.
This is not just any sea serpent though, this one has to be the child friendly variety (hard to come by), be full of plants and the whole structure has to be made from recycled materials only. This really is a fantastic project to be involved with, both as part of a learning curve in working in environments where health and safety constraints are key, and also as an opportunity to showcase what can be done with a little imagination, a lot of tatty old scaffolding boards, and a hell of a lot of sand paper! Recycled materials really can give that wow factor if treated and worked in the right way; there’s nothing more satisfying than taking something tired and making it shine!