Made in Connecticut: Woodworker turns cancer struggle into magical creations that bring smiles
Allen DeVellis of Beacon Falls is known for creating whimsical birdhouses, mailboxes and other handcrafted wooden creations through his business, Allen's Creations.
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It all started with a few pieces of wood and an idea.
Today, Allen DeVellis of Beacon Falls is known for creating whimsical birdhouses, mailboxes and other handcrafted wooden creations through his business, Allen's Creations.
"I always loved gnomes and fairy stuff," DeVellis said. "It's all the imagination and it's cool. See what you can do."
The idea came unexpectedly.
"One day I decide to make a birdhouse. I don't know why, but it came out in my mind, I have to make a birdhouse," DeVellis said. "And I make one, two, three birdhouses."
His wife, Suzanne, says the creations quickly caught people's attention.
"He showed a friend and she said, 'Oh my God, I want one,'" she said.
Soon, customers began requesting custom mailboxes and birdhouses in all kinds of unique shapes and designs.
It can take DeVellis between 15 and 20 hours to complete a single piece.
"Every little detail," Suzanne said. "He just turns it into something magic."
But the hobby eventually became much more than woodworking.
DeVellis says he was diagnosed with Stage 3B melanoma and began creating birdhouses while undergoing surgery and treatment.
"That's when I start to make this birdhouse," he said.
Suzanne says the work became a form of therapy.
"It became a therapy for him," she said.
"It keeps my mind away," DeVellis explained. "There is no one day I think about cancer or stuff like that."
Today, Allen's Creations has grown into a successful business, but Suzanne says the motivation remains simple.
"I'm not really surprised that it's turned into this because of the joy and the love that he puts into it," she said. "All he cares about is making people smile."
