About John Shaffer
If someone had asked me in high school what I wanted to be doing when I 'grew up', gardening would not have made the top ten list. But as way leads on to way, I found myself profoundly drawn to my 'roots'. I have as many farmers in my family tree as anything else, so I started a small garden in my yard, just to see if I could actually grow anything.
I tilled and amended and tended my soil. I carefully over planted each variety that year for what I was sure would be inevitable failure of half of the seeds to sprout. And I was, to quote my wife, "as excited as a five year old in a toy store" when those first tiny green sprouts broke through the soil! I was also dismayed when I had to thin my little seedlings out!
My garden has grown by a few extra feet each year, slowly crawling its way across my lawn. In the process making room to try new varieties and producing lots of extra fruits and veggies to share with the neighbors!
As for the workshop side, I’ve been tinkering around since I was a young boy in my father’s shop. His encouragement and training was extremely helpful as I grew, but led to a bad case of ‘Do-It-yourself-itis’ as an adult.
When I wanted a nice stained glass piece for my wife for our first anniversary, I shopped around, but couldn’t find anything that I really wanted at a good price. I looked into commissioning a piece, and the costs really went through the roof. So I went into ‘DIY’ mode and made what I wanted for her myself. That led to creating a custom work for my Dad based on a favorite picture of the two of us, "The Journey Begins."
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It wasn’t long before I was making pieces large and small for family and friends.
The same chain of events happened with building knives, bird feeders and bird houses, toys, tomato cages, plants... practically everything I offer started out as a gift for someone!
Bluefeather Gardens and Workshop Philosophy
On a trip to Italy, my wife and I visited a glass factory in Venice that made world famous Murano glass. We were treated to a tour of the factory, including a demonstration of how they blow a lump of molten glass into various objects. The glassblower withdrew a glowing bead the size of a baseball from the furnace and proceeded to blow it into a simple but beautiful clear glass vase. I was absolutely enthralled.
I asked the tour guide if I could buy that vase. He told me that it was just for demonstration and would be recycled into something 'real'. The artisan then tossed the vase into a pile of shards awaiting recycling. Something in me shattered as well.
I discovered that day that I love having something that I know is entirely unique and made just for me. I feel much more 
attached to something if it is not just 'off the shelf'. With that belief, I decided that when I offered anything for sale, I would make it specifically for the person asking for it. Even something as simple as a barn board box with common dimensions carries its own charm when it is built just for you. We offer many items that are built 'standard' as described, but since very few things are made until they are ordered, any of these designs can be modified to suit your specific tastes and styles.
I can't count the times I've looked at something and thought, 'If it only had a handle here and a drawer there, it would be perfect.' But the big name manufacturers won't make just one of something, and the custom manufacturers charge an arm and a leg for it. Well, I believe that custom work should be exactly what you want, and affordable as well. So please feel free to contact me and we can talk about what you want and how to turn that into reality.
Since each item will be started after your order is confirmed, I will send you an e-mail with the approximate completion date and shipping date. If you would like the item at a certain time, please specify the date when you order.