BBC News, Bristol
An 11-year-old boy has handmade and sold dozens of wooden planters and benches to fund his dream of having a koi pond.
When James approached his parents for a bigger pond in their Emersons Green garden he was told “yes – if he could save up his pocket money to fund it”.
But what parents Hannah and Mike did not expect was that he would get to work immediately in their garage, leading to his own business.
“There was a lot of banging around, and then he came back out with what resembled a planter,” Mike said.
He added: “All of our children have always been taught you need to work for your money. You appreciate it more if you’ve earned it.”
James’ first effort “wasn’t amazing”, Mike added, “but with a little bit of doctoring it looked alright” and soon James was going door to door asking if anyone would like to buy his planter.
Word of his creations travelled fast, and as more people began asking for planters his mum set up a Facebook page to advertise his work, while Mike helped James learn how to safely use the tools he needed.
All of a sudden he was “overwhelmed” with requests coming in not just for planters but bin stores, bug houses, benches and even hedgehog houses.
“People just tell us what they want, and we see if we can make it or not,” James said, adding that he settled on the idea of planters because “a lot of people like wooden stuff, and we’ve already got the tools for it”.
Now inundated with dozens of orders, James spends most of his time after school and at weekends shaping his creations.
“I always felt confident I could do it,” he said.
Koi ponds do not come cheap, with the cost of parts often reaching into thousands of pounds. So far James has been able to buy a new net to cover his existing pond, build a waterfall and, of course, buy more wood to build planters.
He discovered the “really expensive” hobby of keeping the fish through his favourite YouTuber James the Koi Whisperer.
“When I first got them I didn’t know any of the names of them, and now I’ve got them I know so much more about fishes,” James said.
“He really surprised us,” Mike added.
“He knows how to test the water, he knows names and breeds of the koi.”
But while James dreams of one day going to Japan to see his beloved koi, as well as building a huge raised pond himself, his parents said they were “incredibly proud” of everything he has already achieved.
