The British Shohin Co-operative
The British Shohin Co-operative was set up to fill the gap left by the British Shohin Association (BSA). Originally started by Caz Scott, and chaired by me for some time, the BSA held many successful events such as its show at Willowbog, workshops with Peter Warren and Marco Invernizzi and was the first UK association to publish an exhibition book following its show. So it was a massive loss to British Bonsai when it ceased operating.
There is still so much love and enthusiasm in the UK for the smaller sizes of bonsai and I have been encourage by many to get something started again. Learning from the successes of the past and building on them.
The quality of the shohin bonsai in the UK has never been higher, often winning the main awards at exhibition and can sometimes seem something that's unachievable.
You will notice firstly that the word Association has changed to the word Co-operative but there is more to it than that. First of all, this is not a club you join, rather than simply collecting members and fees, it's a resource of enthusiasm, learning and enjoyment for shohin, and the smaller sizes of bonsai. To display our work as often as we can at national and local events, to chat to all with a similar interest and encourage more to take up the hobby. A co-operative first and foremost.
I have always seen shohin bonsai as achievable by anyone. Something I often talk about in my club demonstrations and workshops. Even with the smallest space, you can nurture dozens of specimens, enjoy the seasonal changes and have such a positive interaction with nature. Shohin bonsai, because of their size take less time to develop and use a lot less material like soil and wire but staging the displays of shohin bonsai is where it really becomes an art form.
If you are an individual enthusiast, please follow us on social media, get involved and come to events that we will be at. I will put details on the diary page. I hope that we will see more of your shohin at exhibition. One thing that I am often asked is who has shohin that the would like the opportunity exhibit by show organisers. I hope that we can develop some sort of register, so we see different trees ant exhibitions. If you belong to a UK bonsai club, why not set aside time in your yearly calendars for shohin events. Talks on development, styling and display are fun and enjoyable things to do and I/we will help with ideas. I also hope that this website is a resource for shohin specialists that you can contact for club workshops and talks.
Its early days at the moment but I hope to catch up with you in 2026 and beyond.
See you soon
John Armitage
