Draft for family review. Not published yet. Tags marked to confirm are guesses.
Olive Makes

Fall 2026 Edition · Pre-orders open

The Chickadee Birdhouse,
designed & built by Olive.

Real wood, a hanging hook, and colours painted by hand, made especially for the chickadees that love Waterloo backyards. Every one is one of a kind.

Because I’m making a business. Olive to confirm

Pre-order for $35 See how it was made
  • 34 made this season
  • $35 each
  • Ready before Christmas
Olive's first Chickadee Birdhouse prototype: a yellow roof, pink front and mint-green side on a natural wood base
The very first prototype. Is it for a customer? No, it’s for me. Olive to confirm

The birdhouse

Small house, big welcome

Olive came up with one design, built the prototype, and is now making a small batch for friends and family: the Chickadee Birdhouse, Fall 2026 Edition.

  • Real wood

    Real lumber, measured and marked by Olive and nailed together with real hammers and real nails. Extra nails, too: So if I drop it, it has extra nails Olive to confirm

  • Made for chickadees

    The door is sized for chickadees, one of the friendliest birds around Waterloo. There’s lots of birds in the backyard. Like chickadees and stuff. Olive to confirm

  • Painted by Olive

    Brushed on by hand in good-quality outdoor paint. Pick colours for the roof, front, sides and base, or let Olive choose. What kind of paint? Outdoor. Olive to confirm

  • Ready to hang

    Every birdhouse comes with a hanging hook. What's it for? Hooks. To hook them on trees. Olive to confirm

  • 4 ¾″ to confirm

    The key measurement. We're double-checking the details before we share more.

  • One of a kind

    Hand-painted means no two are exactly alike. Yours will be the only one.

Behind the scenes

From sketch to birdhouse

Olive walked us through each photo. Her words are in quotes, the rest is ours.

  1. Pencil sketch of a birdhouse with labels for the roof, chimney, door and mailbox

    Design sketches. The first ideas were big ones. But it has closets in it. One design had a bed, a closet, and a hook to hook it up, plus a chimney and a mailbox. Olive to confirm

  2. Olive, seen from behind, drawing a birdhouse design at the kitchen table

    Drawing it out. I’m drawing a birdhouse. Olive to confirm

  3. A spread of pencil drawings of birdhouse ideas on lined paper

    Lots of ideas. Page after page of designs. Will the chimney be hard? Yeah, it’s going to be so easy. Olive to confirm

  4. Handwritten plan: 1 design, 2 prototype, 3 pro forma, 4 sales and ads, 5 build batch number 1

    The plan. Design, prototype, pro forma (the business plan), sales, then build the batch. Design done? We already did that. Check. Olive to confirm

  5. Olive's hands marking a board with a carpenter's pencil along a yellow tape measure

    Measuring and marking. I’m measuring. The wood. Olive to confirm Olive did the measuring and marking; Dad made the saw cuts, because saws are dangerous.

  6. A hand dipping a brush into a bowl of yellow paint next to the birdhouse's freshly painted yellow roof

    Painting. Painting my bird house. The garbage-bag smock is so she doesn’t get paint all over me. Olive to confirm

  7. The finished prototype birdhouse with a yellow roof, pink front, mint side and natural base

    The finished prototype. Yellow, pink and mint, and next time gold on the base, because it didn’t have gold on the base. Olive to confirm

  8. Olive, seen from behind, photographing the birdhouse with a big camera

    The product photo shoot. Taking a picture of my birdhouse again. And the camera? Um, it’s just my camera. Olive to confirm

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Olive's story

Meet the maker

Olive loves making things and being outside. The Chickadee Birdhouse is the first idea from Olive Makes, and it won't be the last.

She started with a stack of sketches (closets, a bed, a chimney, a mailbox), worked through a real business plan, helped buy and load the wood, measured and marked it, hammered the nails and painted every colour herself. Dad handled the saw.

In Olive's words, from a family interview, October 2026. Lightly trimmed, never reworded. to confirm

Why is she a pro? Because I’m making a business.

When it was time to start selling: No, we also need to make a birdhouse.

Who lives in the backyard? Like chickadees and stuff.

Picking paint colours: And gold, and gold, and gold, and gold.

And her big plan for the photos: I’m going to send it out to people.

Olive to confirm

PLACEHOLDER: Olive's favourite part (not asked in the interview yet)

How pre-orders work

Four easy steps

  1. 1

    Pick your colours

    Choose a colour for each part below, or tick “Let Olive choose.”

  2. 2

    Send your pre-order

    It's a request, not a payment. Nothing is charged online.

  3. 3

    We confirm by email

    We'll check that one is saved for you, then email the Interac e-Transfer details.

  4. 4

    Ready before Christmas

    Pick it up, or get a local drop-off to confirm.

Only 34 birdhouses this season. Pre-orders are first come, first served while supplies last.

Pre-order

Design your Chickadee Birdhouse

$35 each. No payment today: we'll confirm by email first.

Birdhouse preview: yellow roof, pink front, mint sides, gold base.

Yellow roof · Pink front · Mint green sides · Gold base

Preview is a drawing. Real paint is brushed on by hand, so yours will look a little different, and that's the charm.

Colours
Roof
Front walls
Side walls
Base

Olive’s paints: pink, mint green, yellow and gold, plus plain natural wood. And gold, and gold, and gold, and gold. Olive to confirm

Want more than 5 or different colours for each? Tell us in the note.

Pickup or local drop-off

We'll arrange the exact spot by email. We never ask for your address on this site. Areas to confirm

No payment now. We'll email to confirm, then send Interac e-Transfer details.

FAQ

Good questions

Did Olive really make it?

Yes. Olive came up with the design, measured and marked the wood, hammered the nails and paints each birdhouse herself. Dad makes the saw cuts, because saws are dangerous.

How much is it?

$35 per birdhouse.

How do I pay?

By Interac e-Transfer, only after we confirm your order by email. There's no online card payment on this site.

When will I get it?

Birdhouses will be ready before Christmas 2026.

How many are there?

Only 34 in this first season. Pre-orders are first come, first served.

Can I choose the colours?

Yes. Pick pink, mint green, yellow, gold or natural wood for the roof, front walls, side walls and base, or let Olive choose for you. Each one is painted by hand in outdoor paint, so every birdhouse is one of a kind.

Do you ship?

Not right now. It's pickup or local drop-off, and we'll sort out the details by email. to confirm

Why chickadees?

Chickadees are some of the most common, and cheeriest, birds around Waterloo, and Olive sees lots of birds in the backyard. The door was sized for chickadees. to confirm

What do you do with my info?

We only use it to sort out your order. We don't share it or add you to any mailing list.