What do Dennis the Menace, the Trotters’ three-wheeled van from Only Fools and Horses and Knutsford Police Station have in common? Well, naturally, they have all been turned into bespoke bird houses by a man from Oldham.
Bryan Yates, 56, has been creating his unique and sometimes wacky birdhouses since the start of lockdown and it’s something that is continuing to grow in popularity.
Originally a joiner, Bryan’s decision to start making bird houses came after he offered to make his neighbour one for their garden.
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“During lockdown, everyone started doing different things to keep themselves busy didn’t they,” Bryan tells the M.E.N.
“We were bored and everyone was out in their gardens so I suggested to my neighbour that I’d make him a birdhouse for his garden. I quite enjoyed doing it so I decided to make another one.”
Before too long, Bryan started getting requests from further afield from those who had seen or heard about his creative designs.
When someone from Witchford in Cambridgeshire got in touch to ask Bryan to create a replica of their home in bird box form, he says his hobby escalated from there.
“I’ve done all sorts of things - crazy eagles, animals, cars, you name it,” he explains.
“A lot of people ask for replicas of their own homes, it’s something that’s really popular at the moment.
“I’ve made bird boxes for people all over Cheshire, it’s gone crazy.”
Bryan, who lives with his girlfriend of six years, says his love of wood making came from an early age when he would enjoy making craft models.
“My dad used to have a three-wheel van like the Trotters in Only Fools and Horses,” Bryan says.
“That was one of the first things I ever made as a kid in school. I’ve even made the Only Fools van as a birdhouse now!”
A joiner since the age of 15 and until the lockdown, one of the unique selling points of Bryan's birdhouses is that everything created is from recycled materials sourced online.
“I use recycled pinewood and recycled furniture and will strip it all down,” he explains of the process.
“I use Facebook Marketplace and will keep an eye out to see if there’s anyone selling a pinewood wardrobe within a 20 mile radius of me, and then I'll go and pick it up.
“I can’t use plywood or MDF as I don’t want to be putting something into someone’s garden that’s then going to fall apart in 12 months.
“It defeats the purpose - especially if it’s a replica of their own house!”
Most of Bryan’s designs - which can vary from anything in the region of £70 up to £300 - are created at his friend’s workshop in Stalybridge and it takes a surprisingly small amount of time to make them too.
“I only work mornings, but it will take me around three to four days to complete one,” he says.
“I’ll work on two or three at any one time and obviously it depends on how big the project is but I think the most difficult one to make was a replica of Moorfield House in Derbyshire.
“That one required around 2,000 bricks that all had to be glued on individually and it took me a good week to get that one completed.”
He’s also had some more unlikely suggestions too.
“One woman asked me to make Knutsford Police Station for her husband,” Bryan adds.
“I’ve also made a 1960s double-decker bus, a train, Sylvester and Tweety, and post boxes.
“But by far the strangest thing I’ve ever been asked to make was a hoover.
“A woman asked me if I could make a replica of a Sharp hoover as a birdhouse for her son. I never actually ended up making it in the end so I never got to find out why she wanted it!”
But Bryan’s favourite thing about his hobby is seeing the reaction from people as they see their birdhouse for the first time.
“People’s reactions are honestly the best thing about it,” he explains.
“Most of the time there’s a really special meaning behind it and so many times they’re bought as surprise gifts for people.
“I made a German Chateau hotel for someone and her reaction to it was just so amazing because it was a place where she had worked in the 90s.
“I made a replica of the house in The Nightmare for Christmas for a couple who had just moved to the UK from America and the girl’s reaction was incredible.
“I also run competitions on my Facebook page where people can nominate a good cause to receive a birdhouse.
“So far, I’ve donated a birdhouse to Knutsford Day Nursery, which was a crazy chicken and the kids loved it so much, and I've also sent one to a homeless cafe and a local pub.
“The reactions are just always priceless and it’s why I enjoy it so much.”
Bryan says his plans going forward are to turn his hobby into a full time profession as it’s something he loves to do.
“It’s great fun - I love it,” he adds.
“I’d like it to become a full time thing but right now, I’m waiting for an operation so i’m not wanting to overdo things.
“But if I had more time, I’d be rattling them out all day long if I could.
“It’s something to get for people who have everything. What you can guarantee is that they haven’t got a birdhouse like this in their garden!”
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