New England Garden Ornaments was established in North Brookfield, Massachusetts in 1988. At that time, only a few businesses were importing English garden antiques and reproductions in traditional materials.
"We were in the vanguard, then," says Nancy Grimes, one of the founders of the company "and proud to be part of the re-establishment of ornamentation in American Landscape design. Now I am equally pleased to be considered old-fashioned due to my commitment to classic designs in traditional materials."
Translation? No resin or plastic based materials — bonded marble, faux lead, etc. — will be found in the New England Garden Ornament Collection. Stone, cast stone, lead and other metals weather beautifully in a garden setting, acquiring a patina that is individual to each piece in each location. In addition, these materials can be left outside year round in our New England climate, giving form and structure to our gardens in winter.
Although the company was built on a foundation of English imports, both Nancy and her late husband and business partner Humphrey Sutton also sought out fine American garden ornaments and in 1990, they sponsored one of the first American Garden Antique auctions.
As old pieces became rare and prices climbed, Sutton and Grimes turned to the possibilities of reproducing fine garden pieces, as well as designing and producing their own.
New England Garden Ornaments Inc. offers custom design from lead foundries in England as well as several mold makers and producers in the United States. In the past, Ms. Grimes has reproduced garden pieces for the Trustees of Reservations, the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and Tower Hill Botanic Garden.
Nancy Grimes also lectures on the history, the romance and the use of garden ornaments. She has spoken at the Ellis Memorial Antiques Show, The Arnold Arboretum Case Estates, The Roche-Duff Museum, Tower Hill Botanic Garden and numerous garden clubs throughout New England.