Joel Bird is an artist, designer/maker, author and musician. As a maker he has worked on a wide range of projects from bespoke wooden buildings to artisanal furniture. He is the author of ‘The Book of Shed’ & ‘The Table Maker’. In his spare time he follows his passion for painting and composing music.
Joel Bird is the garden designer/expert on BBC2’s ‘Your Garden Made Perfect’. His garden designs focus on low cost ingenious solutions, creating pockets of joy in the humblest of spaces. Other TV work includes ‘George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces’ and ‘Gardeners World.’
In 2014 Joel Bird won Channel 4’s shed of the year, he returned as a judge the following year, since then he has designed and built over 100 bespoke wooden buildings from large professional recording studios, to small efficiently designed writer’s sheds. He has appeared on a host of radio shows which include BBC4’s ‘Saturday Live’ with Revered Richard Cole talking about the philosophy of craft and a Q&A from the public about shed queries and stories.
His passion for preserving the skills of craft inspired him to write ‘The Table Maker’ and ‘The Book of Shed’. His books are part meditation and part guide book; his ethos is to show the reader how to make something with their own hands, while at the same time explaining how craft can help us reconnect to the world. He has also written for a variety of publications and he has presented talks for events such as ‘Grand Designs Live.’
In his spare time he continues to follow his true passions in life, painting and composing music. Joel Bird’s art work has been shortlisted twice for the John Moore’s Painting prize, solo shows include galleries in London, Liverpool and Philadelphia. In music Joel has also supported Elvis Costello on his UK tour and toured America with his own band, he has also written soundtracks for TV and film.
Joel Bird’s love of jazz lead him on a path towards 1930-50’s culture. Joel Bird dresses in a vintage style, partly because of his interest in the era, partly because it fits with his sustainable ethos, he also dances a mixture of vintage styles often referred to as swing dancing, which includes Lindy Hop, Balboa, Shag and Blues, and he runs his own vintage festival ‘The Margate Swing Festival’.
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