Port Townsend man debuts Magical Playhouses

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Chris Axling and Sarah Zablocki-Axling have a dragon in their driveway.

It doesn’t breathe fire, eat sheep or terrorize fantasy villagers. It sits immobilized, as stern and solid as the wood it’s carved from, atop a playhouse created for children, made possible by Axling’s new business: Magical Playhouses.

“I don’t have an interest in being a traditional homebuilder,” Axling said. “I find this much more fun, much more manageable and less stressful.”

As Axling explains it, Magical Playhouses is a budding business venture for which he would build professional playhouses in his garage turned shop in Port Townsend. The finished products would be delivered to paying clients from around the state.

The business is only a few months old, and Axling’s first big showing is coming up July 24-26 at the Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) ARTSfair. "On a whim," he decided to apply on the last day applications were due. To prepare, he began brainstorming the most elaborate project he’s worked on to date.

He calls it “The Dragon” and he began official construction of the playhouse on April 1 (not as an April Fool’s joke, he assures). He then registered his new business, Magical Playhouses, as part of Axling Woodworking LLC – Axling’s preexisting woodworking business dating to 2013.

According to BAM ARTSfair officials, the weekend-long fair brings in as many as 300,000 people. Axling and 300 other entrants, out of a pool of 900, have a spot in the museum floor to show off their creations for three days. Everything from paintings to sculptures to playhouses are on display – although Axling said he assumes he’ll be the only guy there with a “dragon house.”

“The idea of the fair is really more of publicity, kind of like my IPO [initial public offering] than anything,” Axling said. “It’s very much an added bonus if I don’t bring this [playhouse] home with me. I would like to have my parking pad back.”

BUILDING DREAMS

Axling didn’t always want to build playhouses. In fact, he went to school to be in nature, not build from it. He majored in environmental and natural resource management at Western Washington University. While working a summer job as a park ranger at Olympic National Park, he met a coworker who sparked his interest.

“I kept hearing Sarah on the [staff walkie-talkie]; something about her made me perk up, and I asked her to go on a hike, and the rest is history,” Axling said.

The couple married and moved to Seattle, where Sarah got a job at Student Conservation Association, and Axling started working at Environmental Careers Organization, a nonprofit. After getting laid off in 2008, Axling decided to enroll in a woodworking class at Seattle Central Community College.

There, he met Pete Nelson, a Pacific Northwest treehouse builder made famous by the reality TV show “Treehouse Masters” on the Animal Planet channel. Axling then spent a summer working and learning alongside Nelson.

Once his woodworking class was finished, Axling bounced around construction jobs until the couple decided to move to Port Townsend. “Sarah wanted less rain and more sun,” said Axling, and since she could work remotely for her same job, the town seemed to fit their needs.

In 2010, the couple’s first child, Josephine (Josie) was born, and Axling got laid off once again, this time by a construction company in Chimacum. He then became a stay-at-home dad. When their second child, Grant, was born in 2013, everyone became a little stir-crazy in the winter as they were all cooped up for months at a time.

“I would try and get my kids to go outside and play,” Axling said. “They’d go out there in their parkas, and there’s nothing to do in the yard. And it’s cold, and raining. And I just kind of remember having this ‘aha’ moment of, what do I expect them to do out there?”

“I don’t go outside in the wet grass and play with blocks. That just sounds crazy. I remember thinking, well, what if they had a little playhouse they could go in? I may not be able to send them to Princeton, but I can build them a kick-a** treehouse.”

That’s when Axling started construction on what he calls the “Playhaus,” an extravagant kid-size home that sits in the front yard, with two carved wood eagle heads sitting atop both the east- and west-facing walls, and a bowed roof. It features a full kitchen (with imaginary plumbing) and a loft with a winding staircase only a 4-year-old could navigate with ease.

Axling said that once neighbors and friends took notice, they would ask, “Why don’t you sell these?” That’s when his good friend, Seth Rolland, convinced Axling to sign up for the BAM ARTSfair, where he could showcase his talent and launch a business. Construction of The Dragon followed promptly.

ONE OF A KIND

The Dragon’s architecture was inspired by “How to Train Your Dragon,” a popular book and movie series that happens to be Josie’s favorite. She actually helps Axling with building – an “ahh,” “ew,” thumbs up or thumbs down lets Axling know if he’s on the right track.

“She’s my judge and jury,” Axling said.

Small enough to fit on a ferry, but big enough to encapsulate imaginations, The Dragon looks like it came straight out of a fantasy movie. A curved, uneven roof slants into walls that bow in the middle and create an hourglass form. A stained glass window sits atop a curved door frame made of pliable ash wood.

A large dragon head and tail run lengthwise on both sides of the home – a smaller one runs perpendicular on one side – appearing as though they’re warping through the wood. Axling said all three pieces were hand-carved and took about 137 hours alone to finish.

On the door hangs a replica of the sword Frodo Baggins carried in "The Lord of Rings" movies, complete with Elvish inscriptions. Axling purchased it on eBay. “It’s not glowing blue,” said Axling, noting the sword’s special ability in the books and movies to detect enemies from afar. “Must not be any orcs around.”

While drawing the concept of The Dragon, Axling imagined a “steam-breathing dragon head with red LEDs to make it look like fire and a loft on the second floor.” While the finished product is a little different, the drawing phase is his favorite, and he hopes clients will have the same appreciation for imagination as he does.

“I try not to think about cost when I’m drawing,” Axling said. “After you’ve drawn it, things will get erased, there will be budget issues, safety, etc. But that first creative spark is where the genius is. Everything else after that is compromise.”

BUSINESS PLAN

On Axling’ blog, he outlines a detailed business plan for potential clients. In it, he plans to build in Port Townsend and transport finished playhouses via trailer and crane to clients’ backyards.

“As long as you’re OK with something that’s not too big, how great would it be to have it appear overnight?” Axling said. “Kid goes to school in the morning, when they come [home] there’s a playhouse in their backyard.”

Axling said people probably don’t want him building and making sawdust in their backyards anyway, and the “wow factor” isn’t as strong if the kid knows what to expect. He even has a plan to wear a landscaping or plumbing costume when consulting with clients “or anything equally as boring that will get kids to lose interest in me.”

On his website, he has forms to fill out for information on a build and a loose price index for an idea of cost. Axling said playhouses can range anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the client’s specifications.

Axling said the next few weeks are what will decide whether or not he’s able to continue his business venture. Whether he comes back with The Dragon in tow, or 10 new orders, the future is what excites him as he hunkers down to finish the last of his first business project.

“It hopefully will be my job now,” Axling said. “What fun! I can’t imagine building anything more fun.”

You can see The Dragon up close by attending the BAM ARTSfair. Information is available at bellevuearts.org.

To check out Magical Playhouses, visit magicalplayhouses.com.