Nanaimo resident Charlie Pickard has been hand-crafting gnome doors for over a decade, delighting children and adults alike with his work displayed in public parks around Nanaimo. (Jordan Davidson/Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

gnome sayin?

‘It’s sort of magic:’ creator of beloved Nanaimo gnome doors does it all for the kids

Apr 29, 2024 | 5:33 AM

NANAIMO — Finding gnome doors in tree trunks has been a magical part of some local parks for over a decade, and the man behind them couldn’t be more thrilled.

Charlie Pickard has been hand-crafting gnome doors and birdhouses since moving to Vancouver Island almost 15 years ago, a hobby turned passion for the retired planning engineer.

Speaking to NanaimoNewsNOW from his wood shop in the garage of his Brechin Hill home, Pickard said the reason he’s dedicated himself to this cause is simple: to make people smile.

“I love doing this stuff. If I can do something to make the kids smile, it just gives me such great pleasure. I don’t know the words to use, I feel so good inside, like, wow. Cause that’s what this is about to me, it’s sort of magic.”

Some of the doors currently under repair in Pickard’s shop, ready for re-deployment at Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. (submitted photo)

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Pickard, 82, has worked all over the globe, but it was during one project in the former Czechoslovakia in the late 70s which would change his life forever.

“One of the Slovak engineers came up to me one day and said ‘Charlie have you got children?’ and I said ‘yea’, and he said, ‘well I’ve got two, have you ever read that book to them called Gnomes? I was like ‘ok, where’s this going?'”

Pickard read the book detailing the fictional lives of gnomes to his seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son, then learned from a friend how to construct a gnome home using branches and leaves.

Days later, Pickard brought his kids to the forest to show them the home, telling them to stay silent so they don’t wake up any nearby gnomes.

“Here’s the kids walking on their tiptoes, going up through the forest, and we went “maybe to the right, look at that big tree over there!’, and all of a sudden, there it was!” remember Pickard. “And I’ll never forget my daughter’s expression. She turned around and her eyes were as big as saucers.”

“This is my world,”, Pickard says of his workshop. Following a recent back surgery, he now brings any gnome door in need of repair back to his workshop where he gets them fixed up and back in the forest. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Fast-forward to Nanaimo in 2010, the now-retired Pickard and his wife Maggie were walking through an adjacent lot next to their Edgewood home when the memories of gnomes came flooding back.

“Maggie, she’s a very detailed person, and she looked down and said ‘Charlie, there’s gnomes living here.’ And all of a sudden, all of that sort of came back.”

Initially, his wife bought him a birdhouse-making kit, but Pickard decided to build them from scratch.

From there, he started making his own birdhouses and gnome doors, placing 10 of the doors in the field adjacent to his home, much to the delight of his neighbours.

“Some of the grandparents, or people we knew at Edgewood, would bring their grandchildren, and they’d say, ‘Charlie, they just love them!'”

While specializing in gnome doors, Pickard also hand crafted an entire gnome tree house, complete with interior decorations, working doors, deck, and even it’s own birdhouse. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

However, Pickard’s woodworking went against some of the neighbourhood rules, so he and his wife moved to a house near Departure Bay with a double garage, dedicating one side to his craft.

It was during a 2012 walk around Neck Point Park where Pickard decided it was the right spot for his doors, after seeking permission from the caretaker to do so.

Since then, Pickard estimates he’s made around 200 gnome doors, heading down to the park every few weeks to repair or replace them as needed.

“I replaced probably a dozen of them, probably half a dozen disappeared, but that’s what it is…people would say, ‘oh don’t you get annoyed or upset?’ I said not at all, I said if they’re gone I replace them. I’m not going to let that take that spirit away.”

He’s also donated birdhouses and gnome doors to local charities and a section of a cemetery in Victoria for infants who pass during childbirth.

The “Give a little take a little” gnome door at Neck Point Park is one of the most popular, where children can pick up a toy they probably don’t need, or leave a present for the gnomes. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Materials for his gnome doors are all donated or collected with permission, while most of his current materials come from Gogo Mike Cedar Products, whose owner lets Pickard find the perfect piece of wood.

“He’s (Mike) been overwhelming. He says,’ whatever you need, you come.’ He’s quite gruff but he’s a wonderful, kind-hearted person…he knows what I’m doing for the kids.”

Pickard also sells some of his other work at the Cedar Farmers Market and the Commercial Street Night Market.

He said he sold almost 100 gnome doors last season, and over 50 birdhouses, taking 4-5 hours from start to finish per door.

“I didn’t know I had the creative, artistic stuff, it just comes out. People ask me ‘how did you do that? and how did you get that idea?’ I don’t know, it’s just when I look at something….I pick this piece of wood up, it’s just a piece of wood, but I see this is going to be wonderful.”

More information on Pickard can be found at charliesbirhouses.com.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow