When Neil Bradford decided to retire after working as a butcher for 42 years, he never imagined he would spend his retirement making mud kitchens and cubby houses. The Homemade Hobby owner chats to Caitlyn Morgan about his unexpected career change.
Pictures: Louise Barker
A SIMPLE favour from Neil Bradford’s daughter to create a mud kitchen for her children was the beginning of his new career.
Not long after retiring from working as a butcher for 42 years, his daughter put in her request.
“I always did the handyman sort of jobs around home but worked as a butcher for 42 years so this was something a little different,” she says.
“I built that and she posted a photo on Facebook, one of her friends commented and asked if I could build them a cubby house.
“So built that one and they then posted it on Facebook and the rest really is history.”
Handmade Hobby was created almost 18 months ago, with orders now extending across Sunraysia and Broken Hill.
“We had people asking about building bird aviaries, dog kennels and rabbit hutches,” Neil says.
“I will try my hand at most things and can take a lot of requests to build to the size they need.
“I have made all different sized cubby houses and mud kitchens to suit what they need, some have been tiny ones to fit on the veranda as they don’t have a backyard, others have had to fit through their house door to get into the backyard with no side access.”
Not long after starting his business, Neil’s daughter started her own.
“After three or four months our daughter creating a children’s clothing line and she suggested we have stalls together at the local markets with the two complementing each other,” he says.
“What started as a hobby turned into a business.”
While Neil tries to still keep it as a hobby, he still finds himself in the shed most days.
“I do it when I want to do it, generally making a cubby each week and two mud kitchens,” he says.
“Christmas time was crazy, I was living in the shed. I sold 40 cubbies and 28 mud kitchens.
“The price is reasonable and it’s what mothers are interested in at the moment.
“A lot do like that it gets the kids outside and the kids just love them.”
Neil creates his extensive range out of pallets, leaving the products raw so that their new owners can paint and decorate them to suit their style.
