"You mustn't blow your own trumpet" they say, because it is not done to praise your own creations. On the other hand it is no good to be too modest about yourself. Famous designers (of clothes for instance) are usually not bothered by modesty. They are fond of the limelight and constantly emphasize how good they are, and that's how they became famous, not so much by their creations. Those creations of course have to be good (like those of many others designers), but the marketing (read "blowing your own trumpet") makes the designs fantastic.

On the web site www.uselog.blogspot.com you find not only nice photos of the APPELSPADE, but also an English text in which you can read a certain admiration for the fact that the spade is developed by a private person and not as some project from a big company with an established reputation. If that was the case, the APPELSPADE probably would be for sale worldwide in any shop for garden tools. Such a large company namely has sufficient means (not only money but also business contacts) to launch a new product and make it a commercial success.

When I started with my spade project I only had in mind a spade with two wooden handles, where the foot was to be placed onto the blade. The handles first were parallel, in the same line as the sides of the rectangular blade. As time went by I kept improving the spade, not only from an ergonomic, but also from an esthetic point of view, the blade going from awkward to elegant for instance. By choosing for a completely metal spade it became more beautiful as a whole, because there are no different components of different material, that have to be put together. All and all I have to say that I am very satisfied with the ultimate result, and that says a lot, because, being a perfectionist, I am not easily satisfied.