Mullica Township man tries to make birdhouses for a living

From the Press of Atlantic City, May 16, 2010-Rob Spahr, Staff Writer

Jack Piper’s unemployment is about to run out and, without any full-time employment prospects on the horizon, he has decided to support his family in an unusual way — by building birdhouses.

“It used to be just something I did for beer money or gas money,” said Piper, 53. “But after nothing else panned out, I figured why not try giving this a real go?”

Piper has been out of work since he lost his job as an electrician for Ocean Yachts more than a year ago. He has applied for countless jobs since, but with no success.

“If you show me something, I can do it … and I have pretty much done it all,” he said. “I can weld, do work with fiberglass, woodwork, even restore vehicles … and pretty much anything mechanically you can think of. But the thing is, I have years and years of experience, but no paperwork. It’s all things I learned on the job, or from knowledge that I sucked up here and there over the years.”

When he was unable to find a job in which he could use those skills, he decided to go through a program to get his Class A driver’s license.

“I used to drive for a company down south about 25 years ago and figured why not give it a shot again,” he said. “But after I got my license, I went to all the local truck companies and they told me that they still have Johnny, Mike and Steve they have to hire back. But if things get busier, they’d give me a call.”

So Piper sharpened his tools, cleared out his garage and stared making his Pinepiper Wood Crafts — an array of items from decorative pieces to plant boxes and, yes, birdhouses — to sell out front of his Nesco Road home.

And he saves his most intricate designs for the birdhouses, which range in price from a few dollars to $40.

“I haven’t sold one of those yet, but hopefully I will soon,” he said of the $40 birdhouse he perched on top of a stand of tree branches. “The birdhouses are selling, though. It seems like people like the designs and that I offer them for a reasonable price.”

Piper said there are three reasons he is able to take a shot at turning birdhouse building into a career.

First, even though he has been out of a full-time job for a while, he said he also has no debt.

“My grandfather told me when I was a kid, you don’t buy what you can’t afford. And I listened,” he said. “So I don’t owe nothing to nobody. The only payment I have is my mortgage and that is cheap because our house was condemned when I bought it and I fixed it all up.”

Second, he gets the cedar for his birdhouses from a friend for cheap.

“If it weren't for Ed selling me the wood at a fair price, I wouldn’t be able to sell them at a fair price,” Piper said. “That’s the only way this has a chance of working.”

And, finally, but most importantly, he has the support of his family — wife, Lisa, and 11-year-old son, Cody.

“She believes in me and knows that this is something I can do,” he said. “We’ve been together for a long time, 21 years, and she’s never underestimated me.”

And Lisa said she will continue to unwaveringly support her husband.

“I think it’s great, I don’t care if he’s a trash picker or what. Because instead of sitting around the house doing nothing, he’s doing something productive,” she said. “He’s never been without a job and always supported everything wonderfully. Woodworking is something he enjoys, and I think it’s fantastic that he’s trying to make a job out of it.”

But even if building birdhouses isn’t the solution to Piper’s future financial security, he feels it is a shot worth taking.

“What do I have to lose? I’m already out of work,” he joked. “But I’ve made a lot of (career) changes in my life and I’ve always found a way to make it work. So I’m going to try to find a way to make this work. And, who knows, maybe one day I’ll be the one able to hire people.”

Contact information for
Pinepiper Woodcrafts:
3537 Nesco Road
Mullica Township, N.J. 08037
609-567-3275
Website address: PinePiper Woodshop