Missing the pub?
More than 50 new bars have sprung up around Preston and Chorley thanks to the handywork of John Rose.
When the government announced pubs were to close under lockdown, John set to work on his own solution.
John used some old pallets from his garage to create his own bespoke garden bar.
And after posting the pictures on Facebook, he was met with an unprecedented demand.
Before long John, who has no previous woodwork or DIY experience, was creating bespoke garden bars for customers to enjoy a tipple in the confort of their own gardens.
He said: “I took my first order to a lady in Chorley and later that day she sent me an image of the hanging bar on a fence, full of drinks and lights. It looked amazing.
“I posted this onto my Facebook wall and now has over 5,800 shares.
“I realised I needed to make a Facebook Page – John Rose Woodwork. This page now has over 10,000 likes and almost 11,000 followers after just one week.
“In this week I took 100 orders in the first day and had to put a hold on this as we couldn’t keep up with the messages or orders.”
John has since taken orders from customers in London, Essex, Scotland, Manchester and Liverpool. He even had to turn down one order from Australia, due to shipping costs.
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He says his new business has helped him cope with the grief of losing his mother to cancer during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The day lockdown began, my mother passed away. This was difficulty with all the restrictions in place, however we gave her the best send off possible.
“I had to keep myself busy as I couldn’t go into work. I replaced the decking and made us some fences. The garden bar was just other one of my little projects. I’m not a joiner, nor a DIY enthusiast, I just enjoy keeping busy in this hard time.
“The reaction I’m getting is absolutely mind blowing. I have roughly 10 messages per minute, asking to order a garden bar. I’m moving into an industrial unit tomorrow so I can process the amount of orders that have come in.”
John has now sold and delivered 50 garden bars, and has another 250 to get through, while still putting more in stock each week.
Have you come up with any inventive ideas during lockdown? Let us know in the comments section