Birdhouse Gourds
Using bottle gourds I grew and dried, I bored a small entry hole for the birds and placed a small dowel below it for a perch. These gourds are hanging in the showroom of an interior designer's store locally. At her request, she asked that I simply varnish the gourds, no colors. On other bird houses I've made, I will glue a small bird to the perch. She didn't think her clients would like that. These birdhouses are decorative, for the most part, and are not meant to be hung outdoors. If they get too wet, they will turn to mush. If hung on a covered porch, however, they can be used as a functional birdhouse.
Size
- small
Meet the Maker
Michael Olson
The Old Man's Woodshop
About Me
I'm a 70 year old guy, retired in 2007, after 30 years of college teaching. I wanted to a good teacher, certainly better than most of the schmucks who taught me. I did OK but wasn't the "great" teacher I wanted to be. Then health issues forced an early retirement. I had always been interested in woodworking of the carpentry type, which I still do for personal projects. But I also discovered "creative" woodworking of a more artistic kind that I describe below and that's what I've been doing for the past 8 years.
My "Business"
I don't really have a company nor am I really in business. I'm a one-man hobby operation. I just use "The Old Man's Woodshop" on my non-business cards. I do rustic, simple wood projects: walking sticks and canes, small signs (house numbers, welcome, business, etc.), artistic wood carvings (can be hand-painted), small furniture, among other things. I also grow and decorate gourds as bowls, vases, birdhouses, animals, little people, creatures). What I do is not my livelihood and I'm not trying to make a lot of money. Mostly, I just want to make things that will please my customers. So far, so good. People seem pleased with the results of the 5 CustomMade projects I have completed. Similarly, that holds true for other people I done things for, e.g., several small business signs.
(To be continued)
Customer Reviews
Cheryl Jones
Feb 13, 2018I named him Delbert. Awesome gentleman to work with
Edward Miggins
Apr 7, 2016Mike Lovett
Nov 15, 2015Michael was excellent from start to finish - couldn't be happier with the end result.
john
Jul 17, 2013Very difficult describing the exact dimensions that we needed; Mr. Olson did a fine job with the workmanship and choice of wood and stain
Alexander Van Berg
Nov 4, 2014Can't really think of any negatives. It was very easy to work with Michael. He was interested in getting the product done the way I envisioned it, and he was eager to hammer out all the fine details. I was even able to provide a custom font for use in my project. This definitely exceeded my expectations. The amount of time he spent on the project was very reasonable. Last but not least, the final product I received in the mail is great.