Books:

Discovered! 505
Odd Enterprises

Hidden Dollars

How to Make
Money at Home

Small Business
of Your Own

You Can Own
a Business

Oddly enough, his bird hobby started with fish. During his convalescence Gervers tried fishing as a relaxation but found he was too restless to sit in a boat. One day, finding the time long, he took out his penknife and idly began to whittle a fish. It turned out to be a crude piece of work but it interested him enough to make him try again. Soon he was whittling fish of different kinds and sizes and painting them. Though he smiles now at his early efforts they must have had some merit, since a Kelowna sport shop still periodically displays a four-pound trout he carved for them.

After awhile Gervers tired of carving fish as he did not think them very artistic. He decided to try a bird. This he found much more difficult but instead of becoming discouraged he worked to improve his ability. He was determined to carve a bird that did not look like an inanimate piece of wood, but like a live creature ready to soar away. He studied the birds that alighted in the big old trees around his farm home, or that bathed in the bird bath in his lovely garden. He watched—and he whittled.

A friend saw his work and suggested he put it on the market. Rather hesitatingly, Gervers did so. He had been carving to have an interest and pass the time; he really had not thought of selling his work. To his pleasure and surprise a pair of nuthatch book ends sold almost at once. That gave a new impetus to his hobby.

Now he carves over thirty-five varieties of British Columbia birds and sometimes can't keep up with the orders he receives.

FIRST, GERVERS made the birds life size, then changed to miniatures poised on a small branch or piece of twisted wood. These proved more popular from a sales point of view. His book ends have always been favorites, and he has extended his handicraft to include lamps.

Much time and patience go into the making of a single piece, for these birds are exact in every detail of design and coloring. In spite of years of experience Gervers finds that there are few if any short cuts for his work. One thing which helps him now is his collection of drawings of the side view of all the birds he carves. From these he has made accurate cardboard patterns for each bird in different lifelike poses.

This is his procedure for carving a bird. He first chooses a piece of cedar the right thickness for the bird he is going to make. He places the desired cardboard pattern on the wood, being careful to place it as nearly as possible with the grain of the cedar. Then he draws around the edge of the pattern with a pencil. The side view of the bird is now cut out on a band saw. Gervers never saws right on his pencil outline. He always saws the bird a little larger than the pattern. After all, in the carving one can take off more wood, but if a mistake is made in the sawing it is impossible to add wood. Indeed a beginning carver would be well advised to draw a cutting line a fraction of an inch outside the pattern line, to allow for errors in the use of the band saw.

After the rough bird is sawed out, chisels of various sizes are used to shape the bird. It is then scraped with a rasp, and sandpapered. The delicate feather marks on the wings are put on with a fine veiner, while the body markings are done with any fine sharp tool. It is important to study pictures of birds, or better still, to study birds themselves to know the correct direction of the markings. Realistic effects are gained only through absolute accuracy.

When painting a bird Gervers holds it by means of a small gimlet. He found that if he tried to hold it by hand he smudged the wet paint as he turned the little carving. He first covers the bird with a coat of quick drying flat white paint. Then the colors are applied with the best oil paints he can buy. He tries to avoid a high gloss effect except for black colored birds, or birds with iridescent plumage such as humming birds and pheasants. A good descriptive bird book, preferably one with colored plates of the birds, is almost a necessity to get correct colorings.

For the eyes, Gervers buys very small black glass eyes. These come with wires attached to them, to fasten them, for example, on cloth toys. Gervers bores tiny holes in his bird where he wishes to place the eyes. He leaves one-eighth inch of wire on the eye and this holds it when it is driven in with a small mallet.

NOW THE bird is ready for its perch. The perches for the miniatures are any decorative bits of branch or pieces of twisted wood. These may simply be left in their natural state, or they may be given a coat of linseed oil. If they are varnished, Gervers learned through experience, it gives a glossy artificial look to them.

The little stands are usually round pieces of hardwood, for balance and weight, with the bark left on for an effect of naturalness.

The bird is attached to his perch by means of small finishing nails. The nail heads are cut off and the head ends sharpened. Holes half the length of the nails and a little smaller than the nails are bored in the body of the bird. The nails are then pushed into the holes with pliers. Half their length protrudes. The place on the branch where the bird is to go is planned carefully and similar holes are bored. The bird is gently but firmly pushed by hand onto its perch. The perch can be attached to its base in the same manner or it can be fastened up from the bottom by means of a screw with its head countersunk. This latter procedure will be explained in connection with the making of book ends.

A naturalist once told Gervers: "Have the birds perching, then you won't need to show the tarsus." Gervers follows this excellent advice whenever possible. However, in larger birds such as magpies or pheasants, when it seems necessary to show the tarsus (the shank of the bird's leg), he makes it from wire and usually carves the claws on the branch upon which the bird is standing. A beginner should by all means avoid this extra work. It is difficult to insert the wire tarsus securely enough in the wood at both ends to hold the bird firmly in position.

THE FIRST birds that Gervers sold were on a pair of book ends, and his book ends have remained consistent sellers. The miniatures are ornamental, but these are useful as well as attractive. Since they sell for about half the price of the lamps, they appeal to a wider buying public than the lamps.

Gervers always makes his book end stands out of hardwood, preferably cherry. The use of cherry wood adds to their local souvenir value, as Kelowna is in the Okanagan Valley, one of the noted fruit-growing districts in Canada. He keeps the stands of simple design, as a plain background shows off the birds better.

A word of warning to the uninitiated who might set out to chop down a cherry tree: wood needs to be seasoned before use, for about two years or more. This is to allow for gradual drying out of the green wood, to prevent the splitting or cracking of the finished product. It is far simpler to buy kiln-dried wood from a mill; then you can be reasonably sure there will be no more shrinkage. There is a further advantage, for you can buy the wood in the thickness you want and have it dressed down, ready for sandpapering.

Make your cardboard patterns for the two pieces, lay them on the wood, trace around them with a pencil, then cut out the pieces on a band saw. Sandpaper the pieces until smooth, and, for a natural finish, rob with linseed oil. Rub the oil in thoroughly, and if a higher gloss is wanted, oil again and rub again, alternating the process until the finish is as desired.

There are various ways of joining together the two pieces at right angles to one another. Perhaps the simplest is to use two or three screws up from the bottom, and countersink the heads. It is best to bore holes for the screws first. Bore a little wider part in which to sink the screw head.

To complete the stands, cut out a piece of felt slightly smaller than the book end base and glue it on the base. This prevents the book end from skidding, protects the surface upon which it rests, and covers the countersunk screw heads.

Now the book ends are ready for their embellishment, carved and painted birds on perches. These are made as described earlier, only this time the perches are horizontal. The perch is attached to the end of the stand either by dowels or, if the end is going to be covered with felt too, by a countersunk screw.

Gervers gives no hard and fast rule as to the position of the perch on the book end. It depends upon how the bird is perching, and the type of perch. Hold up the bird on its perch in different positions against the book end until you get the top of the bird a little lower than the top of the book end and the bird in the center, and mark the place. If the perch twists to one side this may mean that the perch is attached considerably to one side. That does not matter. Since Gervers uses natural pieces of wood for perches, no two pieces are exactly alike, even for a pair of book ends. That is all right too. The two birds on a pair of book ends may be the male and female of a species, or they may be almost alike. The individuality of a hand done product is part of its charm.

If you are not satisfied with your first piece of work don't worry. Gervers has been carving for fifteen years yet he says he is still never satisfied.

IT WAS only after considerable experience that Gervers extended his handicraft to include lamps. He advises beginners not to attempt these until they have gained some measure of skill in the use of tools.

The lamp column is usually a piece of well-seasoned apple wood or cherry wood with the bark left on. Again linseed oil is used for a natural finish. Gervers chooses carefully, to get a suitable piece. One with knots is most interesting, although one from which smaller branches have been sawed may also be attractive. Sometimes a knot or projecting piece may be used as a perch for a bird. He does not attach other perches to the column. For this reason he has found chickadees, woodpeckers and nuthatches the birds most suited to lamp making. They need no special perch but are attached right to the column. Sometimes he uses one bird, sometimes two.

The difficult part is the boring of a hole down the column for the light cord. Gervers does this with an extension bit. The wire may come out the side of the column near the bottom, or a corresponding hole may be drilled in the round hardwood base and a groove made to carry the cord to the edge so that the lamp sits evenly. The latter method is more work and has the added disadvantage of making it harder to fit the piece of felt on the bottom of the base. The column can be attached to the base with dowels or countersunk screws. Electrical firms can supply the bulb socket and harp at a reasonable cost.

Gervers makes wooden shades for the lamps from pieces of birch plywood one-eighth inch thick. This he says requires great patience. He bevels the edges and bores holes down each side to hold the leather thonging which laces the four panels together. Before the panels are assembled he paints a design on each one. This is drawn lightly first, or stencilled on. Any design connected with trees or birds is suitable. A natural rather than conventional pattern seems to harmonize better. Small holes are perforated around the edge of the design, through which the light shines with a pleasing effect.

On large lamps, if the birch panels seem in danger of buckling slightly, top and bottom edges may be reinforced on the inside with a narrow strip of wood attached when the lacing is done.

To hold the lamp onto the harp two pieces of brass as thin as possible are attached diagonally at the top corners.

No rule of thumb can be given for the size of the lamp shade. This depends upon the height and thickness of the column. An idea of proportion can be obtained by measuring manufactured lamps. After that it is a trial and error process.

When Gervers makes a lamp to order, sometimes specifications are given him as to the number of birds, the panels' designs, the size desired, etc.

WHEN GERVERS began to carve it was without the slightest intention of selling his work. He has never pushed the sale of his birds. Other people have pushed him into the selling end. Even now money is by no means the main object of his hobby. He would still carve for his own pleasure and satisfaction if he were never to make another sale. His success financially, in spite of his diffidence, shows that there is a definite market available for a well-done, distinctive product.

Gervers had been carving for some time before he put his birds on the market; then he did so only upon the insistence of a friend. He took some of his work to a druggist who has a store in Kelowna not far from the lake. Kelowna attracts many summer visitors by its lake and its well-known regatta, consequently the souvenir angle is good. The carvings were displayed, and sold on a commission basis. They sold well and the arrangement has been continued ever since.

Naturally local residents have inquired the name of the carver and he has been contacted directly for special orders. Kelowna, before the post-war boom, had a population of about 6,000. A long time resident like Gervers becomes known in such a small community, and his products too have become known. His book ends and lamps are popular locally for gifts. Since the birds are local ones, the wood typical of the district, the carver a man of the community, these presents are really something different.

People kept telling Gervers that he should sell farther afield. He finally was persuaded to contact some gift shops in Victoria, British Columbia, by letter, describing his carvings and enclosing some close-up photographs of them which he took himself. One store in particular was interested and asked to see samples. Now this gift shop handles most of his work.

VICTORIA is quite a tourist center and both Canadian and American visitors readily buy Gervers's carvings as souvenirs. They are something truly representative of British Columbia, as well as being each one a work of art.

He sells this store his miniatures for from $2 to $3, depending on the labor involved, book ends for $7 and lamps for $14. These are the wholesale prices and Gervers is not interested in the profit the store makes as long as he receives a fair return himself.

The following excerpt from a recent business letter shows the demand for the carvings:

"The lamp arrived in excellent order and is beautiful. A woman is already interested and I hope will buy it.

"I suggest you do more book ends cedar-waxwing, downy woodpecker and sapsucker. They should be quite colorful. I would like a chickadee lamp too.

"Many thanks for your work."

Every now and then unexpected orders come in. Perhaps a tourist has bought a carving. Someone thousands of miles away from Kelowna sees it, likes it, and writes to Gervers asking for a similar one.

During the war a local club was raising money for a good cause. Gervers offered a carving which was raffled very profitably. Though he had contributed it with no thought of personal gain, people who saw it admired it and several private orders resulted.

THERE IS no question about the lifelike quality of Gervers's birds now. He has received letters from all parts of Canada and the United States. These letters mean a great deal to him. Some are from other bird lovers, wanting information on birds, some are from people inquiring about British Columbia, but most of them are personal letters of admiration for the realistic little birds.

The following letter to Gervers is the kind that any money-making hobbyist would be glad to receive. It satisfies both the pocketbook and the creative spirit.

"Beg to enclose my cheque for $20.

"I am quite fascinated with your performance on these models, and must congratulate you on the tremendous strides you have made in the last year or two."

Some of the letters bring a smile, as the one from a tourist. She had bought a pair of goldfinch book ends as a present to her parents but she liked them too well to part with them. Could she order another pair? Others bring a shadow, as the one from a helpless invalid on the prairie to whom a little carved robin brought a touch of the outdoors.

And so from the first restless whittling years ago, Gervers has developed an absorbing and paying hobby. In the early stages it helped to restore his health by giving him an interest and both mental and physical activity. Now it fills the extra hours that came with his retirement, and provides the extra money that most retired people need.

GERVERS'S SUCCESS may stimulate into action others interested in bird carving for profit. Here are a few hints for beginners:

Concentrate on no more than two or three colorful birds common to your own locality as a start. Add different birds and poses as your ability increases. Yellow cedar is a good carving medium but for the bases substitute a local hardwood, if cherry wood is not representative of your district. Souvenir value is important for sales.

Perhaps you wish to carve but do not care for birds or think them too difficult. You might begin as Gervers, did, with fish. They are simpler and could have good sales appeal at a fishing resort. Visualize this picture—a display card in a window reading "Buy One That Can't Get Away," and a row of miniature speckled trout or bass or whatever the locality features.

Perhaps you live near woods and mountains and will decide on bears or squirrels. These could be quite effective on book ends.