Meet Tom Blette | Owner and Creator of TB Timeless Birdhouse

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tom Blette and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tom, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?

I have always been artistic and creative. I enjoy making things, building things and coming up with the plans in my head and then creating something. Woodworking has always been something I have enjoyed, growing up my grandfather’s wood shop was like a wonder land for me. The way my Grandpa had everything organized and in the right place is something I can still close my eyes and see. My grandpa was a craftsman and an Artist. He taught me the importance of taking pride in anything I do.

I started making Bird Feeders as a Realtor gifts for my wife’s clients as closing gifts. Friends and family kept encouraging me to sell them and that they thought people would really Love them. I gave it some thought and looked into creating my first listing through Etsy.

I opened my Esty shop to the world July 2020 during the peak of the pandemic and my second Sale was a memorial for a loved one who passed. I was immediately taken aback, this was not the market I thought I would be selling in. I envisioned people buying for birthdays, anniversaries or housewarming gifts but not memorials. I would have to say that My memorial themed feeders have become 80% of my clientele. Each one of my customers and I have a very short but intense relationship during the entire build process. We exchange messages back and forth on design and I send over drafts for review. Some clients have had me do over five revisions until we get things just the way they would like them. I engrave and build each bird feeder or bird house to order take photos of the finished product and ship. People share detailed memories and stories of their loved ones, send me photos to engrave and I really feel like I start to know the people I am building for. My second sale was a gift for my customer’s great aunt whose husband had passed away, when her Aunt received the feeder she was so happy with it that she didn’t want to put it outside. She instead placed it on a shelf next to a picture of her deceased husband. I was not ready for that. It made me so happy to see that someone out there, whom I never met was going to place my feeder on a shelf as an Art piece. I was humbled and ready to make more. As time passed the pandemic raged on and I received more and more memorial requests. Each story is unique and different. Each one of my Bird houses or feeders help people I would never meet in person deal with their grief and also help to remember those they love. It wasn’t until I was talking to my wife that she said to me that she was proud of the service I was providing to my clients and how special it was that I was helping so many people.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I was always drawing and coloring something as a child and throughout my teen years. I was on the verge of considering art school but was not ready for that leap. As I got older I would carry around a notebook or sketchbook and would write poetry, song lyrics or a quick drawing. Then I just kind of stopped. I no longer carried a pen and paper with me for creative purposes, but for my day job. Taking notes in meetings, writing down daily tasks and to-do lists. I would come home and work in the garden with my family and do DIY home projects and would take pride in making our house a home. Every once in a while I would get a creative spark and build something that we could use or hang on the walls. There were the redwood floating shelves in the kitchen, a Beetle kill pine Colorado flag going up the stairs, an attempt at a desk for my wife’s home office. These small projects would fill my craving for a creative outlet that I didn’t even know I was not fulfilling anymore.

I worked for the City and county of Denver at the Performing Arts complex as a Building Engineer for 5 years. This was a wood workers or metal workers Paradise with Multiple wood shops and metal shops with almost everything you would ever need to make or fabricate just about anything. I learned to weld and I would pick our in house carpenters brain on how to use certain machines and techniques. This creative environment inspired me again. This is where I made my first Bird feeder for our home to feed the birds. I had the idea to use License plates as roofs for bird feeders and bird houses. I had a few really cool and unique Colorado license plates lying around my garage so I used them to build gifts for family and friends on a few different occasions. Then my wife asked if I would make one as a closing gift for one of her real-estate clients. I made that first closing gift Bird Feeder and my wife’s clients “Loved it”. They told my wife they might want to order one for a family member and where can they do that? At the time I did not have a Website or Etsy Shop, so I just took the order the old fashioned way over the phone and via text message. The big difference is they wanted to customize it with some wording and maybe a simple design. “I said Sure.” I hand wrote on the feeder with a wood burner and lets just say not my best work! I was disappointed with the final product, but it was received well and it was still seen as a special gift. I put a lot of time and effort into those first builds and it could all be for not if I didn’t have a steady hand or didn’t choose the right piece of wood to burn on. Fast Forward to my Fathers day 2020 and my wife bought me my first laser engraver. I was so excited this was a game changer for me. No more poorly engraved images by hand, I was finally able to bring my designs and images up to the standard thought they deserved. Like a child proud of a picture they drew, I show every finished engraving to my wife, she is my biggest fan and also my most honest critic. She does not hold back if something is wrong with an image or needs to be fixed she gives me her input. Like everything in life it’s not always perfect the first time, I would tweak settings on my engraver, edit the images and try again until it’s right. I made my first two custom laser engraved bird feeders, one was a fathers day gift for my Father-n-Law and the other was my first sale on my Etsy shop, a closing gift for my wife’s clients and close friends in their new home.

My Esty shop TBTimlessBirdhouse was created July 2020, things started off slow at first. Orders started to come in one or two a week giving me the time to really perfect my design for the bird feeders. I pride myself in not reusing designs for different clients unless specifically requested. But even then I add new elements and change things so each person still receives a one of a kind product. Each order is its own piece of art and a personal challenge to get it just right and bring my buyers requests to life. TB Timeless Birdhouse is dedicated to bringing each customer excellent customer service and truly created a custom one of a kind product made to order.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start off going to “My Brothers Bar ” the oldest bar in Denver on 15th and Platte for a Cold Beer and a JCB “Jalapeno Cream cheese Burger ” This is the first place I worked in Denver when I moved here in 2005. I would need to go to a ballgame. Whether the Rookies are having a winning or losing season you can’t go wrong with Coors field. The view of the front range is amazing and the atmosphere and fans are some of the best in the country. Check out the capital and the Denver Art Museum, Go shopping on 16th street mall and walk Downtown. If there’s still time, let’s go to a rock show at Red Rocks, the best part of Denver just might be that they own Red Rocks, even if there isn’t a show going on it’s fun just to go see and hike around.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To my wonderful wife Cindy. You are an inspiration and the love of my life. Without your support and guidance I would never have taken the step to create TB Timeless Birdhouse. I know it is tough for you that after I am gone at work all day I go straight to the woodshop when I get home. You inspire me daily with your hard work and success in real-estate and raising our children and making our house a home. You are an amazing Spouse, Mother and Best friend.

Love,
Tom

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TBTimelessBirdhouse

Instagram: timeless_birdhouse

Facebook: @timelessbirdhouse

Other: https://www.tbtimelessbirdhouse.com/