Charlie Croker | Bespoke weathervane

BESPOKE
STEEL
WEATHERVANE

MATERIAL: Steel

FINISH: ZINC GALVANIZE

SIZE: 1.7m

CLIENT: t&S surrey

The client wanted something unique and unlike the traditional witch on a broomstick, squirrel up a tree that is available commercially. The location is a large garage and it's to be viewed from a fair distance so the scale was important. It had to be BIG.

They were looking for something contemporary but that gave a nod to the Edwardian styling of the house and grounds. The design was developed by Charlie Croker to give a feeling of continuos movement even when the wind wasn't blowing. It started with a set of 1930's draughtsman's French Curves and grew into a stylized rooster.

In order to function properly in the most delicale of breezes a weathervane has to be perfectly balanced front to back but the rear portion has to have a larger surface area in order to always face into the wind.

The design was prototyped in cardboard and tested with a hairdryer. It worked beautifully!

The full size version was laser cut in mild steel and it rotates on a greased stainless steel ball bearing. It is balanced to within a couple of gramms by filling the hollow ball on the nose with molten lead so it will rotate with a hefty puff of breath.

The final finish was hot dip galvanize which is guaranteed against corosion for at least 50 years. It will slowly weather with age whilst still providing a strong visual contrast against the foliage backdrop.