FAQ

Yes, all our sculptures are made by Paul Richardson in our workshop in Suffolk, UK.

No, the zinc coated steel sculptures will not rust outdoors. The process we use to coat the steel with zinc is hot dip galvanising. This chemically bonds the zinc to the steel at very high temperatures in order to protect the steel from air and moisture outdoors. We take our finished steel sculpture from our workshop to a galvanising tank offsite and then return them to our workshop, zinc coated, for their final finishings.

No, the zinc finish has been oxidised to a stable place, so the sculptures will not change over time. When it rains the wet surface looks a dark slate grey, and just like slate, as it dries off, it chalks up again to a light chalky grey.

Yes, we welcome visits by appointment to our site at in Middleton, Suffolk to see the sculptures in our garden.

As we make everything to order, this varies depending on the time of year, the sculpture required and whether there are design changes required. Typically a sculpture from our collection takes an average of 6-8 weeks from first conversation to final installation.

Our quoted prices include delivery within a 200 mile radius of our site at IP17 3NT. If the destination is outwith that radius we will calculate and agree a delivery charge with you at the start, to cover our additional costs. If the installation is siting using our purpose built trolleys and staking down into soft ground, this is also included in our quoted prices. For more complex installations we will discuss the requirements with you and quote accordingly.

We ask for a 50% deposit to go on our making list and the balance is due once we have completed the sculpture and agreed a delivery date.

We have shipped outside the UK using a trusted crate maker and shipping company who comply with USA crating requirements. Once crated we are also happy to make delivery to your preferred shipping company. For EU countries we have a GB EORI number and require the buyer or their agent to have a destination partner EORI number for customs paperwork.

If you are commissioning a piece from our garden collection we can send you a variety of images of the sculpture in different settings. If you need more help to imagine a sculpture in your space we can superimpose an image of the sculpture onto your site photo. To scale it, we ask you give us a scale marker in the picture, a person will do if we know their height.

Get in touch with as much information as you have about what you want. We will then contact you with any further questions to work out if it is something we can do and at what sort of cost. We will use a variety of images of previous work as well as design sketches and written notes in conversation with you, to pin down exactly what is required including scale, materials, finishings, placing and installation. We can then send the final proposal with a quote for your approval before we proceed to asking for a deposit. We usually ask for a 50% deposit to go on the making list. In a complex request we may need to ask for a design fee at the start of the process.

Yes, as we make everything ourselves we can adapt the fixings to suit your requirements from grass, soil, loose and bound aggregates, to hard surfaces including concrete, stone, slate and decking.

Yes, we can take on commissions for bespoke water features in steel. We have made water features as fully three-dimensional sculptural features and as low relief wall structures. We use mild steel, zinc coated to make the fully sculptured forms. We don't use stainless steel in our mild steel workshop due to dust contamination but we have added stainless backplates into bespoke water walls, to reflect light from the water and give a dynamic contrast to the zinc sculpted parts.

Yes, we can make bespoke decorative garden structures like pergolas. For large scale structures we may need approval for the design and fixings from your structural engineer.

We can add colour to the Calligraphy Ball by taking it to be powder coated it after it has been galvanised. We liaise with the powder coaters on request for the costs, timescale and range of colours available. The other sculptures in the range are not suitable for powder coating due to their edge profiles.

As artists we design, fabricate and install public art commissions including memorial commissions. We are experienced in this sector and hold public liability insurance and prepare RAMS for site work. We are an art business with a steel workshop and CNC cutting equipment. We tend not to offer fabrication only work are not part of CIS.

Yes the zinc coated steel sculptures are fine in an exposed setting including coastal areas. The zinc coating is bonded to the steel at very high temperatures which fully protects the steel from air and moisture outdoors and prevents it from rusting. We live in a coastal area in Suffolk and have had no issues with the sculptures in our garden, some of which are over 25 years old.

Yes we have moved several sculptures for people when they have moved to a new house. We have also built and installed additional footing structures to spread the weight and support a sculpture where the ground partly subsided on an island setting.

Yes, we are very happy to work directly with garden designers and landscape architects. We have worked with landscape architects on a variety of public art projects and a number of garden designers including Sue Townsend Garden Design, Rosemary Coldstream Garden Design, Sarah Jane Rothwell of London Garden Designer and Luke Heydon Gardens.

Yes we can often make a piece to a specific scale for a client's garden or if that is technically not possible we can adapt the design in order to meet the scale requirements.

If you are unsure about what size of piece to order we can look at the space either via photos or a site visit to advise. We can also superimpose an image of the sculpture onto your site photo. Once we have a deposit paid order we can make a chargeable site visit to discuss siting, scale and sightlines if required. We deliver and site the finished sculpture ourselves so as long as it is possible to move the sculpture around on our purpose built trolleys we can work with you to achieve the best site and orientation for the piece on delivery without additional visit charges.

As a small business we retail directly to customers and stick to the prices listed by each piece. To keep these prices affordable our margins are tight so we are unable to offer trade terms or designer rates for single items.

Yes we are experienced at working to deadlines for both public art projects and RHS shows. We have built sculpture as part of a Show Garden at Hampton Court, and for our own five star tradestands at the Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

The sculptures are staked down with heavy duty angle iron stakes through the base plate. The base plate is typically hidden underground, by digging down approximately 30cm into the soil. The earth/grass is replaced on top of the base plate to the bottom of the visible parts of the sculpture. This layer of earth acts, along with the stakes, to secure the sculpture against wind and to deter theft. If the sculpture is in a particularly high risk place for wind or theft and you want to install a concrete pad beneath the base plate we can provide alternative fixings and use studding to resin anchor fix the sculpture into the concrete.

There is no additional care or maintenance required. The zinc surface is bonded and highly scratch resistant. If the sculpture gets dirty from its natural surroundings, birds etc it is fine to use soap and water to clean the surface. Light abrasion from cleaning will not damage the surface. If the chalky surface is cleaned to a darker grey once dry it oxidises back to the light chalky grey again.

To prevent them from rusting outdoors we coat our steel sculptures in zinc. If the desired finish is rust we can also accommodate this with either rusted mild steel or if the particular piece allows we can use a weathering steel like corten.

Paul has honed his skills using mild steel. Our workshop tools and equipment are set up to use mild steel, and when requested, this also includes weathering steels like corten.

The zinc patina we create is the zinc surface that has oxidised in air and moisture. It is a light chalky grey in colour. Natural rust finishes usually refer to mild steel when oxidised in air and moisture, or 'rusted'. This is initially orange but turns to a deep brown colour in time. Weathering steel also has a rust finish that also goes through an orange to deep brown cycle but has self limiting properties to halt corrosion after the first sacrificial layers are shed.

If you have chosen a rust finish, mild steel rust will stain paving, but it is usually imperceptible in gravel and on lawns. Weathering steel rust however is self limiting, so it is possible to wait for the sacrificial layers to release before installing the sculpture on a paved surface.

Zinc coated steel which has been hot dip galvanised will remain without surface deterioration for between 20 and 100+ years outdoors depending on the conditions of the immediate environment. We live in a coastal environment and have sculptures that are over 25 years old with no deterioration.

Paul and Catherine Richardson are a husband-and-wife team. Both trained artists, they have been designing together for over 25 years. Paul, the sculptor, uses his ability as a dyslexic thinker to offer expert strengths in 3D visualisation and spatial design. Catherine, a painter with a background in art history and museum education, brings strong visual communication. She will be your dedicated point of contact throughout the commissioning and ordering process.

We have completed many public art commissions across the UK, with sculptures permanently sited in Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Kent, Staffordshire and the West Midlands. There is a complete list of commissions on the ‘awards, shows, commissions’ section of our website.

This was awarded to us by a panel of RHS judges at the 2021 Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival as the best tradestand on show that year. The judges praised the stand for its great attention to detail, horticultural enhancement, quality of design and brand.

We are based in Suffolk, UK. Our address is Ambleside, Leiston Road, Middleton, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 3NT.

We welcome customer visits by appointment to our site at IP17 3NT to see the sculptures in our garden. You can see the public art work in places including Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Kent, Staffordshire and the West Midlands. The location of each public commission is shown on the ‘awards, shows, commissions’ section of our website.

All size options are listed on the sculpture pages. If there is only one size listed this is for technical reasons where the scale of parts become too small for us to make smaller. If you require it larger we are happy to assess if it is possible for us to adjust the scale.

Our prices are in the region of £6000. They are priced per piece and listed next to the sculpture. This price includes VAT and delivery to mainland UK destinations within 200 miles of our workshop at IP17 3NT. Siting and staking down into soft ground is also included in our listed prices. Additional delivery charges apply outwith this radius to cover our time, transport costs, complex fixings and overnight stay as required.

Yes, we make the large scale garden sculpture collection to order. Lead times are usually 6-8 weeks. Occasionally we have an existing sculpture from our collection that has returned from an exhibition and can be made available for sale immediately.

Whilst the garden steel sculptures are all large to complement the scale and natural forms of the garden Paul Richardson has a different selection of small scale sculptures at lower prices. These range from humorous to nature based in style. You can find these at steelsculptures.co.uk

Yes our sculptures are often in celebration of a special occasion like a birthday, anniversary or as a retirement gift. They have also been commissioned as a memorial. We don't tend to provide a certificate of authenticity but Paul can weld his signature onto the base plate of the sculpture.