Dedicated to making the lives of Londoners happier and a tiny bit greener, Steve Wheen launched The Pothole Gardener, a project that became a viral sensation and taught him that little things can have a big impact and open up great opportunities.
The backstory
There are days when London seems grey, crowded, and hostile. Immersed in their phones, people rush from building to building, often oblivious to their surroundings. Or so was Steve’s impression, having arrived from his sunny and green Australian home town. So he set out to create opportunities for London dwellers to stop for a moment, look around, and find an unexpected reason to smile in between their otherwise gloomy commutes.
The insight
When studying his MA in Design at Central Saint Martins, Steve decided to apply his creativity to a simple goal: to turn “crappy” things into happy ones. Adding useful to pleasant, Steve turned to his gardening passion to work on his goal by transforming neglected potholes in London’s streets and sidewalks into tiny, beautiful, and green miniature worlds.
He rolled up his sleeves, and started transforming a grey cityscape into a more colourful one, one pothole at a time, all while documenting how passers by reacted to his creations.
The creative
The carefully manicured miniature gardens depict scenes of everyday life, featuring tiny props and furniture alongside plants and flowers. His alternative little worlds quickly captured the attention of Londoners, the media, and brands who saw in The Pothole Gardener a creative and unique way to attract their audiences too. With a fast-growing organic visibility came opportunities that Steve swiftly learned to make the most of, such as:
Navigating brand partnerships as a micro-influencer
When he set out to create miniature pockets of happiness around London, Steve didn’t expect anything other than to provoke smiles. But his project’s growing popularity meant it didn’t take long for The Pothole Gardener to become a micro influencer, and for savvy brands looking for original marketing opportunities to search him out. As a result, The Pothole Gardener partnered with the likes of:
Coca-Cola, to bring the launch of its Keri drink to life through cinemagraphs.
Paramount Pictures, to help promote the trailer of Downsizing when the American science-fiction comedy was first released in London.
And Heinz, to spread the word about the brand’s Grow Your Own campaign, which encouraged families to produce their own tomatoes.
Using small things to have a big impact
Steve also took advantage of the attention he received to help amplify the work of charity Rethink Mental Illness by building gardens that served as a vehicle for raising awareness of mental health issues.
Publishing a book
Creations of The Pothole Gardener were immortalized in the form of a book. The Little Book of Little Gardens features photographs of Steve’s miniature worlds and invites viewers to peek into the inspiration behind each of his tiny scenarios.
Growing the project further
Given the praise Steve’s pothole gardens received, not just from passers by lucky enough to cross paths with them but also from those following the project online, Steve continues to document his journey on a dedicated blog, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter channels.
The evidence
Although popularity was never his goal, Steve recognises that the attention his project has caused, both online and off, has led his simple idea to become a successful vehicle for inspiration for charities, to the creation of imagery for international marketing campaigns, and to a book deal with publisher Dokument Press.
The Pothole Gardener has been covered in media publications including The Sun, which alludes to Steve as “the Banksy of Gardening,” Daily Mail where he’s framed as a “guerilla gardener,” and BBC News, which filmed Steve at work building a Christmas inspired mini garden display.
Further recognition behind The Pothole Gardener came when Steve’s Holes of Happiness short film was longlisted to the world’s biggest short film festival, Tropfest, and in the form of invitations for Steve to elaborate in depth about his project by hosting a Lost Lectures presentation and a Tedx talk.
The magic
Bringing The Pothole Gardener project to life took Steve the determination to pursue his creativity, a willingness to make things without expecting anything in return, and a skill for bringing ideas to life without being afraid of, quite literally, getting his hands dirty. The result? In a world where everyone is always going somewhere, Steve’s creations offer people not just an excuse, but a reason to stop for a moment, take a delightful little break, and remember that there is good to be found in everyday life–even in the most unexpected of places.
Steve is the MD at distillery. Get in touch to learn how his team, who share his passion and talent for bringing ideas to life, can help your brand win fans.