It all started when my brother-in-law and I decided that we could build Adirondack chairs. I'm a large guy and I had had some chairs custom made for me at what I thought was an exorbitant cost. While sitting around one afternoon and studying the chairs through rum coloured glasses, we looked at each other and asked that age old question "How hard can it be?"

After careful contemplation, we decided that we could build these chairs despite the fact that neither of us had any tools, know-how or experience in woodworking. Fast forward one month. I had purchased a band saw and a table saw and we were well on our way to producing our first chair.

Success! We did it! After little more than a weekend, we had two copies of my favourite Adirondack chair at the end of the driveway for sale. All we had to do now was wait for someone, to part with their hard-earned cash and we were in business. To this day, those chairs sit in my sister's back garden and we never built another.

Enter the fairy doors. During one of my visits to the chair I had built, my sister showed me her Etsy page and she pointed out a fairy door that she wanted me to attempt to make for her. I'd never heard of a Fairy Door and had no concept of what one was. Nevertheless, I had all of this equipment and others on Etsy were selling dozens, of these little ornaments. So I asked the question. You guessed it "How hard can it be?"

My brother told me I had to be creative and although it was taken as a joke between us, he wasn't far off. I began making these little doors and taking them beyond what I had seen on Etsy. And guess what! I actually sold a few.

Not long after, my wife brought home a couple of small boxes from a local craft store. They looked like treasure chests but were kind of plain looking. However, I thought "these would be great as a treat, for our grand kids, at the end of the school year." So I took four of the boxes and refurbished them into treasure chests, full of goodies for the kids.

Back to my sister. She said I should list them on Etsy. I always do what my sister tells me. Not! But this time I did. All of a sudden I had a request for a larger box. I had never built one before but "How hard could it be?" I built one. Not my best work. But a hundred you tube videos later I was building not only boxes but fairy doors and houses. To my surprise I enjoyed it and the response from customers has been overwhelming.

This little business has paid for itself. It keeps me out from under my wife's feet and best of all, it has allowed me to play a minor part in the personal lives of people whom I have never met but who have relied on me to make a special time in their lives a little extra special and that my friends, is something money simply can't buy.

Check out the video of my Dwarven Treasure Chest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5khWn1-420&feature=youtu.be

Cheers and thank you for reading.

George