One person asked us to make it on a certain day during a full moon.” They may want an exact length and diameter or need it to be engraved with particular words. They often have very specific requests, but we are happy to accommodate them. “We also have some Wiccan people who want wands. “I have the patience to listen to the customers and ask them questions, and the time and desire to make them exactly what they want, whether it be the right colors or a an intricate design like a skull or dragon scales or a mythical figure,” says Janet. But while Ed still works at Pratt & Whitney, Janet has quite her “day” job to oversee this aspect of their business. Both Ed and Janet are respectively mechanical and chemical engineers by trade. But we will go to the ends of the earth to get anybody any kind of wood they ask us for,” says Ed.Īnd that is precisely the quality of customer service Orchard Works prides themselves on providing, in addition to manufacturing a superior handmade product. “We have over 90 kinds of legally harvested wood from all over the world that we import, and we keep in stock. But as more requests came in, along with a demand for custom wands, they expanded the length and diameter, the features, and types of wood they offered from domestic, like Maple, Willow, Cedar, Spruce, Chestnut, Hickory, and Oak to the more exotic, such as Purple Heart, Ebony, Rosewood, Snake Wood, Larch, Rowan Hawthorn, Zebrawood, Marblewood and Lignum Vitae. The wand itself is in our hand every step of the way,” Ed says.Īt first they only made 12-inch wands using wood from the hardware store. Most people who make magic wands spin the wood and then cut it. “One of the things we never use is a lathe. They can range in price from $5.00 for unpainted, up to $500. (Some have tops that screw off, for example, so the owner can place something secret inside). The wands can take anywhere from five minutes to a few hours to complete depending on how simple or ornate the design is and the level of complexity. “But Ed can look at a shape and see what it can become,” adds Janet. “I make them, and Janet makes them amazing and beautiful,” says Ed of his wife’s finish work. A workbench crafted by his father now sits in his own basement where he constructs the wands with help from his son, Liam, while Janet and Hilary do all the sanding and painting. He started making toys and complicated puzzles, among other things, when he was just about Hilary’s age. To test the viability of the market, they put a few wands on eBay and much to their surprise, they sold immediately.Įd learned the art of woodworking from his father who had a shop in the basement. I made a few basic shapes and the kids loved them. “I went to the hardware store and bought some dowels. Rather than spend what could prove to an exorbitant amount for synthetic wands for ten or more party goers, Ed instead decided to craft them from wood. The Bareiss family had just returned from a trip to Universal Studios where they saw plastic wands selling in the gift store for $30-$40 apiece. She wanted a Harry Potter themed party with magic wands that her guests could paint and decorate. It all began when their daughter, Hilary was approaching her ninth birthday. In a short four years since starting their company, Orchard Works in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, they have sold more than 7,000 and are one of the top wand makers worldwide. Janet and Ed Bareiss have a thriving business making magic wands.
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