B.C. boy's homemade wands could soon conjure Middle Earth magic as props in new Lord of the Rings series

Rocklin Broad says he loves making Harry Potter-style wands for friends to perform some of their favourite scenes — but he never suspected his craftwork could end up in Hollywood.

The 11-year-old, who lives in Lake Country, B.C., says he was stunned when a film industry professional from New Zealand showed an interest in acquiring his handiwork — which his parents had posted on Facebook for sale — as props for the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. 

The social media post has also attracted hundreds of other customers from Canada and beyond.

"It's quite stressful, I will admit," he told host Sarah Penton on CBC's Radio West. "It's also been pretty cool, seeing all the people that I've [been] delivering the wands to, [and] seeing that I'm adding a little bit of magic into their day."

"It makes me really happy."

Making wands out of backyard wood

Over the last two years, Broad has used the pocket knife given to him by his father to carve dozens of wands, as well as walking sticks and letter openers, out of tree branches collected right in his own backyard.

His mother Carla Broad began advertising her son's creations last Thursday.

She says a feature filmmaker, who works with the production team for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in New Zealand, expressed appreciation for the young boy's craftsmanship and bought two wands for $20 each, plus a fee to have them delivered to his workplace in Aldergrove, B.C.

She says the filmmaker promised to bring the wands to the New Zealand prop master after he leaves Canada next month and may buy more wands if the prop master wants them.

She also says after seeing the products sell out within days, she became serious about helping her son start up a woodworking business.

"We've got some amazing friends of ours that are going to help him ... and show him the ropes of running a business and how we can streamline it because the orders do just keep coming in," she said.

But at the same time, she says, she and her husband will be careful not to put too much pressure on the youngster.

"We're here to support him and remind him that he is still a kid and people can wait," she said.

Broad says he has been glad to see all the love and support from people online and in his neighbourhood for his achievements — including staff at the post office where he was shipping out his stuff to Aldergrove.

"There [were] two ladies there and they're like, 'You're the kid who makes the wands, and this is so cool!'" he said. 

Broad says as he will be carving more wands to meet the market demand, and given the demand, buying some Kevlar gloves to protect his hands.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is due to start streaming on Prime Video on Sept. 2.