These B.C. made wands are taking over the world

It was just last year when 11-year-old Rocklin Broad started to carve out props from his favourite fantasy series, Harry Potter.

“My dad bought me my first pocketknife and I just started whittling and it looked like a wand,” he told Kelowna10. “And my friends and I we like to play magic and I started making wands.”

He then decided to carve some magic wands for his friends and eventually sell others on Facebook Marketplace.

What happened in the past week was unexpected and, according to Rocklin’s mother Carla, “extremely overwhelming.”

“I had over a thousand comments and people placing orders through my inbox,” she said. “We needed to come up with a system that made it flow a little easier. We have now since shifted things, and we have a better process.”

Among those messages, a note from a producer with The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) television show. The team wanted to potentially use one or two in the production.

Shocked but encouraged by the news, Carla and Rocklin quickly shipped some wands to New Zealand.

But it’s not just small screen producers from Middle-earth who’ve taken notice of Rocklin’s work.

“The Lord of the Rings producer contacted the prop master for Star Wars, because he was wondering if I could make a walking stick for Yoda for an upcoming series,” he said.

Rocklin said it takes between an hour to an hour-and-a-half to make a wand, depending on the design. He’s already got six to seven weeks’ worth of orders to complete, which is about 200 items. That includes wands, walking sticks, swords, and letter openers.

Eventually, the family would like to sell wands at local markets and fairs.

Rocklin said whittling is something he wants to continue as he gets older.

“I definitely see this as a career,” he said. “This could become something big and support me.”

He is working towards his dream of owning and restoring a vintage truck.

“I would like to buy my first truck, which would be a 1950 Ford truck, and I want to restore it with my dad and keep it forever,” Rocklin said.

People around the community have taken notice of his success and have offered to lend a hand. That includes a supplier in Tappen, BC, for all the wood. Some family and friends are helping to design a business plan, and a local business is offering entrepreneurial guidance.

The business side is great, but Carla said, at the end of the day, it’s about making sure there’s continued joy in whittling.

“We sat down as a family and said we’re going to roll with it, were going to see where it goes, we’ll continue to help you build it as long as you’re enjoying it,” Carla said. “As long as it’s positive and we’re still having fun with it we’ll continue growing it.”