What started as a hobby for Rocklin Broad turned, almost by magic, into an overnight business success.
The 11-year-old boy from Lake Country is a huge Harry Potter fan.
“I’ve read all the books, watched all the movies, and made all the wands.”
Broad has spent the past two years turning sticks he finds in his garden into hand-carved wands designed in the style of the Harry Potter franchise.
“My dad bought me a pocket knife and showed me how to carve, and so I was carving one day and I thought ‘oh, that looks like a magic wand.’ So I started making them,” he explained.
From there, he began to perfect his craft. He now cuts sticks up to 14 inches, using his knife to carve them into the right shape and add detail to the handles, and burn wood or stain the stick as the finishing touch.
Broad then decided to sell the wands along with the canes and letter openers he also makes.
His mother Carla posted a message on a local buy-and-sell Facebook page on Thursday, advertising the chopsticks he was selling for just $10 apiece.
The message immediately met with an overwhelming response. Now, Broad will have his work cut out for him this summer: He currently has orders for four canes, four letter openers and 51 wands.
“It’s been a wild ride,” he said.
Some of his wands might even end up appearing on the big screen. A film industry worker reached out and ordered two wands, saying he planned to bring them to New Zealand for filming of the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series (production has since moved to the Kingdom -United).
“He takes them to the prop master there, and if they were used, he would be in touch and pay (Rocklin) to have them in the movie,” Carla said.
“He just got contacted by so many interesting people,” she added, explaining that people had offered to help her set up an online store or invite her to participate in marketplaces for free.
Many people insisted on paying upwards of $10 for one of Broad’s wands, which takes him about an hour and a half to make. But he’s not in it for the money.
“It’s just a hobby that I wanted to turn into something.”
That said, he hopes to put the money he earns into buying his first truck.
“He’s an old soul by nature and he’s saving up for a 1950s Ford,” Carla said. “He hopes to buy the body as soon as possible.”
At this rate, he’ll have the truck long before he’s of legal driving age.
“My phone rang the whole time we talked,” Carla said, responding to wand requests while talking to the timeline.
Creativity runs in the family – a fact that is reflected in the name of the family business, Creative Lineage Co., through which they primarily sell custom surfboard racks.
“(Rocklin) helped us grow this business, packing our orders and getting things ready, and then he tried to figure out what he could do that could add to his creative outlet,” Carla said.
The company taught young Broad some of the ins and outs of building a business while proving that when hard work meets creativity, the results can be magical.
Brendan Shykora
BusinessYoung Canadians