For many people, being surrounded by 2,000 garden gnomes would be their worst nightmare. Those painted eyes seem to follow your every move, and some of them look a little too happy. It’s unnerving.
But for Katie Chester, this is her idea of fun — and it’s a good job too, as it’s what a day in her life entails as Asda’s chief gnome handler.
The 37-year-old from Leeds spends all day every day thinking about gnomes, coming up with new gnome characters for the supermarket’s range, and inspecting the current selection of gnomes.
She’s been doing this for the last seven years, but many people don’t know her job even exists.
‘No one else on the planet can say they spend their day wrangling gnomes, and I think that’s pretty special, but people do look at me strangely when I explain what I do,’ Katie tells .
‘I’ve definitely had a few double-takes as people don’t believe gnome handling is a real profession, but I’m here to tell you it’s a full-time job!’
Asda has been growing the family of gnomes it sells over the last decade and the weird and wonderful ornaments are now considered cult products by shoppers. They go viral each time new ones are released, with shoppers rushing to snap them up.
Some of them are priced at as little as £2 each in Asda, but high demand sees them end up on resale sites like eBay for more than £40, as fans try to collect them all.
The current range includes nine permanent family members; Grandma and Grandpa Gnome, Gnorman and Gnorma (the mum and dad), Gnoah and Gnorah (son and daughter), Baby Gnome, and Gnorris and Gnessa (the family cat and dog) — plus a whole host of supporting characters.
Katie and her team are the ones responsible for coming up with new family members, as well as re-imagining the current characters to give them new poses, outfits, and hobbies. You can buy classic versions of the gnomes, as well as more kitsch ones such as Grandpa Gnome dressed like Santa Claus at Christmas.
There have also been disco dancing variations, gnomes in unicorn costumes, rainbow ones for Pride, and some lounging on swimming pool inflatables with a cocktail in hand.
Only the ‘créme de la créme of gnome-kind’ are allowed to join Asda’s gnome ranks according to Katie. So how exactly does she work out which ones make the cut?
‘We introduce around 45 gnomes per year across both gardening and festive, and have two seasonal drops: Spring/Summer and Christmas. That’s a LOT of gnomes and each one is unique, so a large chunk of my time is spent brainstorming the newest additions to the family,’ the mum explains.
‘I’d say I spend around 4 hours a day gnome-planning in peak season — but this can be anywhere up to a whole day depending on the size of the drop. It takes time to shape our perfect gnome — it’s not something we just quickly put together.
‘Ahead of each new launch, my team and I will get together and look at the gaps in the existing gnome family, or discuss trends we’ve spotted out in the world. From there, we start playing around with different hobbies and personalities — Are they an energetic disco dancer or a quiet contemplator? What are their hobbies and interests? Do they enjoy fishing, gardening, tandem biking?
‘I also take inspiration from my own life when working out what customers might want to see. I have a family and when my children were younger, my partner would often wear our baby in a carrier — that became inspiration for a lovely dad and baby Gnome, featuring a baby in a carrier — it’s so cute!
‘My Dad also loves train-spotting and motorsports — much like lots of other dads and grandads — so you’ll see this as a theme with lots of our fun, modern designs. We also look at our existing gnomes and think about situations we’ve not yet seen them in – Grandma and Grandpa in a hot tub? Yep, why not! We’ve had a scuba diving gnome, a hula-dancing Grandma gnome — and the list goes on. The sky really is the limit!’
Katie continues: ‘Everything kind of falls into place once we’ve decided on a hobby, and then we map it out right through to their accessories.
‘Once we see a prototype, we have to check that the cheeks are suitably rosy, the smile is suitably cheeky and there’s that characteristically mischievous glint in their eye, before giving the green light to go into production. This is always the most exciting part – waiting for the finished gnomes to arrive with us ahead of hitting the shelves.’
As well as brainstorming ideas for new gnomes, Katie’s job also involves looking after the current selection and ensuring the family always looks its best.
‘There’s a whole army of gnomes that need to be inspected to make sure every one is in tip top condition for our customers when they land on the shelves. I quality-check around 2,000 a day, armed with a super soft silk cloth and compressed air blower to blow away any cobwebs.’
And Katie’s love of gnomes isn’t just confined to her job, she’s just as passionate about them outside of work, and even has her own collection at home — something her partner isn’t too thrilled about, but her kids think is ‘amazing’.
‘Gnomes are my job, but they’re also my passion,’ she says. ‘I’m actually a long-time Gnome-thusiast! I’ve loved gnomes for as long as I can remember.
‘My grandparents’ neighbour actually made them in their garage, so there were plenty of gnomes around when I was growing up. Every time I visited I’d camp out in the garden for hours and imagine an entire life story for each gnome, complete with family tree, jobs and hobbies — my family thought I was crazy.
‘I’ve always been really drawn to their quirky poses, distinctive personalities, and adorable faces, so when I saw the Chief Gnome Handler job spec and discovered I could turn my passion into a career I jumped at the chance.
‘I’ve been at Asda ever since and love that I get to share my love of Gnomes with the world. I take this role very seriously.’
She adds: ‘I’m constantly blown away by the love people have for our gnomes.
‘Customers get very attached to them and we often get people telling us that a certain design or character really reminds them of a family member. In particular, we get people writing in to say a specific gnome reminds them of their grandma or grandad!
‘We’ve even tracked down gnomes for customers that have lost one that had sentimental value. I’m grateful that I can play even a small part in bringing some joy to people’s lives.’
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