Waldport’s do everything “Gary The Bearded Woodworker” reaches prime time Thursday night on NBC’s “Making It”

 

 

By CHERI BRUBAKER/YachatsNews.com

WALDPORT — Gary Herd paints murals. He acts in local theater. He can weld, do home repairs and make things out of wood. And for the last three years he’s been trying to find an audience on YouTube.

But Thursday night, Herd, 48, made the big time. Or prime time, anyway.

Herd — known as “Gary the Bearded Woodworker” — debuted on national television for the third season of NBC’s “Making It” at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Herd calls himself both a maker and an entertainer. He was intrigued about the show after watching the first season in 2018, and applied to be a contestant a year later.

Contacted by a producer of the show hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, Herd was asked to submit additional images of his work, but wasn’t selected.

Confident he would be a good fit, Herd applied again in February 2020. Initially slated to film last spring, the coronavirus pandemic delayed cast selection for the show’s third season through the summer.

Herd was eventually selected as one of eight “makers” or contestants. Filming took place last October when Herd joined the others in Los Angeles on a set NBC calls  “The Barn.” Agreements with NBC prevent Herd from saying much about the eight-episode show – where contestants are given a two tasks per show and then judged on who stays and who goes home.

Herd does not know what footage producers selected or who will be featured. He could not give any indication of his performance, if and when he was sent home, or who wins the $100,000 top prize.

“There were no sneak peeks,” he said.

Instead, Herd gathered with family and friends Thursday night at the Sea Note in Yachats to watch the first episode. He will also have a float in Waldport’s Beachcomber Days parade July 3.

“This show is for me”

Herd was a big fan of “Making It” when the show premiered in 2018. “This is so cool,” he thought then.

“I love this kind of stuff,” he said of the creative, interpretive craft projects the show challenges contestants with each week. “This show is for me.”

The third season application required a video. Because of his YouTube channel where he shares his woodworking projects and instruction, Herd was experienced in front of the camera, as well as shooting and editing video.

Using a GoPro camera and editing software, Herd put together what he called “a quick little video” in which he introduces himself as a mural painter. Then in a split screen his second self, “Gary, the Bearded Woodworker” says hello.

The video included a montage of Herd working — welding, painting, and making things — and got the attention of show producers.

“They got to see how quirky and funny I can be,” he said.

Herd is, indeed, quirky and funny, as well as personable and charming. His YouTube videos are meant to be both instructional and entertaining – everything from making a wind chime to a bed frame to changing out a kitchen faucet. For aspiring woodworkers, the videos show Herd – often using recycled or reclaimed materials — making items like YardZee, big wooden lawn dice (his version of the game Yahtzee) or a recycled side table.

Making it

The NBC series, Herd explained, is similar to British baking shows, but instead of baking, the contestants (called “makers”) create with their hands.

Eight contestants interpret a theme. An example, not from the current season, was to create a piece of food to represent who they are. Each contestant interpret the task differently, presenting a unique spin on the assignment, presenting a unique craft to be judged.

Herd is a painter and woodworker, and used those skills as he competed on the show – which might include a balloon maker, a sculptor or a seamstress.

The barn used on the set was filled with tools and supplies, Herd said, from wood and foam to large eyes, pom-poms, yarn, or whatever you might want. There is a shorter craft-making challenge, where contestants have three hours to complete their project, and a longer challenge of up to eight hours. Judges choose a winner, and one contestant is sent home.

Herd noticed a cooperative attitude on “Making It” that seemed different from competition/reality shows he is accustomed to watching.

“There was such a camaraderie and friendship with all of us makers,” he said. If someone finished early, they would see if they could assist a competitor.

“Everyone was helping each other,” he said. “We all wanted to see ourselves succeed, and we all wanted to see everybody make it.”

As soon as he was able to this month, Herd announced his participation on the show via social media. As a result, he picked up a couple smaller jobs in Reedsport, where he has several public and private murals.

What he’d really like, however, is for people to follow his YouTube channel.

“YouTube is an amazing thing,” Herd explained, with money to be made with ad revenue, although he currently makes very little on the platform. While Herd has around 8,600 subscribers, most of his videos average only 200 views.

Still, he noted, only a fraction of his subscribers watch the videos. It’s not YouTube subscribers that generate income, he said, but the views — although a fraction of a penny per view.

Family support

But the art and woodworking doesn’t pay the family’s bills. “I wish,” Herd said.

His wife, Sara, has a full-time job with the Lincoln County Health Department.

“She is the one that is supporting me, giving me the opportunity to live my dream and make something of it,” Herd said.

He paints murals, but not very many because there isn’t a lot of demand. The family uses his small, supplemental income for home remodeling projects or vacations.

With plans to put together a website in the coming months, Herd will offer items for sale. He has plans to offer items for sale locally at shows or markets.

Herd’s woodworking studio is a clean and tidy space in the family’s converted garage, where an array of DeWalt tools hang from the walls. Most everything else is on Herd-made carts to be efficient and take advantage of the small space. A laptop and camera are set up in a corner.

No, he’s not sponsored by the toolmaker — yet. His first drill was a DeWalt. “I fell in love with it.” It was a great drill that lasted forever, Herd said, but he has upgraded twice and now uses a 24-volt DeWalt.

“I like matchy, matchy stuff,” he admitted, his clothes, too, in the yellow and black esthetic, also with DeWalt emblazoned on them.

Herd likes the attention the show brings, noting there has been no local theater, something he does with his son, Alexander, since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Herd said Poehler and Offerman are just as funny, sweet and down-to-earth as the show portrays them.

“They were just a hoot to play with and have fun with, to meet and talk with,” he said.

The downside, however, was that because of COVID, the cast wasn’t able to hang out together at all.

“In my head I thought all of us makers would go out and have dinner with Nick and Amy, and get to know everybody,” he said.

The reality of filming in California last October prevented that. “I couldn’t give Amy a hug or shake Nick’s hand,” said Herd.

Herd said NBC took precautions to keep everyone safe — they had to quarantine for a week when they first arrived — and then with regular COVID-19 tests. Masks and face shields were on unless the cameras were rolling.

The days were long, starting at 5 or 6 a.m. and filming some days until midnight, shooting all eight episodes over five weeks. Contestants were paid for their time. When they weren’t filming, the contestants were in their rooms alone.

Still, Herd said, “I, as well as the other makers, say we would do it again in a heartbeat.”

     STORY NOTE: Rather than send any contestant home at the end of Thursday night’s first episode, Poehler and Offerman announced that all would stay for the second episode — and added two more contestants into the competition.

• Cheri Brubaker is a freelance reporter on the Oregon coast who can be reached at cheribrubaker@me.com