“Not only is this gardening equipment surprisingly lightweight, but the handles are a little thicker than conventional ones and the grip is designed to follow the curve of your palm, which means less stress on hands and wrists.” — Oprah

Ann Arbor, MI based Radius Garden, LLC, has created two lines of ergonomic garden tools that House & Garden’s Tom Christopher calls part of “a new generation of lightweight tools (giving) home gardeners the help they need without the heft.” Christopher’s April 2007 column, “One Gardener’s Almanac,” addresses issues faced by many gardeners who are finding that gardening with traditional garden tools is not as easy as it used to be.

Lifelong gardener and Bonsai expert, Bruce Baker, founder and President of Radius Garden, LLC, became aware of these issues several years ago, as many of his gardening friends were aging or complaining of gardening-induced carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle and joint weakness, or arthritis symptoms. In an effort to develop a tool that might help prevent injuries to the hand and wrist, Baker assembled a team that included a designer, an industrial engineer, and a structural engineer, and created his first line of Radius Garden NRG Ergonomic Hand Garden Tools. The NRG hand tools, with their bright green, curved handles, were introduced at the National Hardware Show in 2005.

Now that the four piece NRG line (trowel, transplanter, weeder, and cultivator) is succeeding in the market, and Baker has received dozens of thank you notes for his design, he knows his team “got it right.” And as he says, “When you get it right, it doesn’t just mean that it’s right for people who have hand or wrist problems—it’s also right for everyone else.”

This year, Radius Garden introduces its NRG PRO line of eight Mid-Length garden tools. The new NRG PRO line (shovels, forks, weeder, etc.) features four times the gripping surface of conventional “stand-up” garden tools, with room for both hands on its “O”-shaped, non-slip handle. Shafts are unbreakable resin-encased steel. Blades are made of tempered stainless steel and feature an innovative raised forward “kick” area. Like NRG hand tools, NRG PRO Mid-Length tools combine beauty and functionality.

Radius Garden, LLC, www.radiusgarden.com, 734-222-8044

Bruce Baker was profiled in the Ann Arbor Business Review

Ann Arbor, MI, November 17, 2006 — Ask Bruce Baker, President of Radius Garden, LLC, what makes him proudest of his almost three-year-old ergonomic garden tool company, and he’ll answer that he’s “most proud of getting thank you notes from people who really need help.”  People who, like many of his gardening friends, were aging or complained of gardening-induced carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle and joint weakness, or arthritis symptoms.

In October 2003, Baker was traveling by car during a business trip to China in his role as president of Giddy Up, a children’s activity-book company.  With him was a co-worker who was also an avid gardener.  Observing that her right hand was blistered and “torn up,” Baker asked what had caused her injuries.  It turned out that she had recently set in dozens of bedding plants with a conventional trowel and suffered minor wrist pain in addition to her blisters.  Baker, a life-long gardener and landscaper himself, couldn’t stop thinking about “how stupid it was that an able-bodied, fit young woman should be hurting herself using a tool as it was intended to be used.” 

After further reflection, on Thanksgiving Day, 2003, Baker drew a rough sketch of an innovative shape for the handle of a trowel.  Ensuing research on ergonomic tool design and the mechanics of wrist movement reinforced and refined his thinking.  Looking into the martial arts and methods of delivering force with the hand provided further confirmation.  Baker came to the conclusion that “all the information was there, but no one had put it to use.”

Certain that existing “ergonomic” garden tools missed the mark, he knew that the only way to prove his theory was to create a product that was “right.” He asked friend and designer David Follin to help by making some better sketches of the new tool.  Follin doubted that Baker’s design would work, but took it upon himself to build a prototype following Baker’s crude drawing and basic specs.  By the time the prototype was made, winter had arrived in Michigan.  Follin and Baker met and tested the tool in a snow bank.  A surprised Follin said, “This thing really works; it really does feel different.” According to Baker, “David was really skeptical . . . I think he built the thing to prove to me that it wouldn’t work.”

Now that Radius Garden’s NRG line has succeeded in the market for a season, and Baker has received dozens of thank you notes for his design, he knows his team “got it right.”  And as he says, “When you get it right, it doesn’t just mean that it’s right for people who have hand or wrist problems—it’s also right for everyone else.”

Contact:  Bruce Baker, Radius Garden, 734-222-8044 or Bruce@radiusgarden.com for photos and/or further information.

Ann Arbor, MI, August 21, 2006 — It started with a drawing that Bruce Baker made on a napkin in November 2003, an attempt to design a garden tool that might prevent injuries to the hand and wrist.  Bruce took his idea and ran with it, introducing Radius Garden NRG Ergonomic Hand Garden Tools, with their bright green, curved handles, in 2005.  The tools are now widely available across the United States, and have increasing presence in Canada, Japan, and Europe.  Building on the success of its hand tools, Radius Garden, LLC, will introduce its new NRGPRO line of eight “stand-up” garden tools at the Garden Writers’ Association Annual Symposium in Valley Forge, PA, later this month.

Wanting to know whether his NRG Ergonomic Hand Garden Tools helped people as much as he hoped they would, Baker provided 100 sets of the tools to the National Home Gardening Club for testing.  Club members returned a 98% approval rating, accompanied by comments such as, “the handle design relieved the pain in my wrist and elbow,” (Kristina Thompson, McDonough, GA) and “Yes! Yes!  Finally a product that doesn’t aggravate my carpal tunnel syndrome,” (Valerie Hoynacki, Corvallis, MT).

Radius Garden’s NRG Ergonomic Hand Garden Tools have received positive media attention since their introduction.  “The Wall Street Journal” (November 11, 2005) recommended them as a new ergonomic product in a sidebar in “A Kitchen for Your Aching Back.”  Jim Miller of the Savvy Senior syndicated newspaper column demonstrated the tools on NBC’s “Today Show” (April 25, 2006) during a segment about helpful gardening gadgets for boomers.  The “Rocky Mountain News” (May 12, 2006) featured three of the tools on the cover of its special gardening insert.  And most recently, “Better Homes and Gardens” (September 2006) touts Radius Garden’s ergonomic trowel and weeder as “enabling and good-looking.”

The new NRGPRO line features four times the gripping surface of conventional “stand-up” garden tools, with room for both hands on its “O”-shaped handle.  As with the NRG hand tools, the comfortable gripping surface provides a secure grip whether the handle is wet or dry.  Blades are made of tempered stainless steel and feature an innovative “kick” area.  Like the NRG hand tools, the NRGPRO “stand-up” tools combine beauty and functionality.

Radius Garden tools will be shown at over twenty lawn and garden distributor and hardware shows throughout the United States and Canada this fall.  The new NRGPRO line will join  NRG hand tools at garden centers and hardware stores next spring.

Contact:  Bruce Baker, Radius Garden, 734-222-8044 or bruce@radiusgarden.com