Nirmal Singh Bhogal makes bowls to help sick kids and practice his craft
By Aly Laube – Staff Writer
@godalyshutup
Nirmal Singh Bhogal, referred to as Baba by his adoring family, started making bowls with recycled wood around six months ago. When the first one was complete, he didn’t know what to do with it, so his son suggested donating proceeds to a local hospital.
As a long-time volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society, Bhogal decided to donate the money to the cancer ward at Children’s Hospital.
He has spent the past 15 years volunteering in Vancouver, where he lives with his family and works in a small garage. Before that he lived in Surrey and, in addition to making artwork and decorations for local gurdwaras, helped build the main float for the annual Vaisakhi Parade there.
Since he and his family started selling the bowls using Instagram as a promotion platform, they’ve seen a huge boom in interest. Bhogal thinks it’s because people believe in the cause, but the craftsmanship of the bowls is undeniably beautiful. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, made carefully and with patience.
Carpentry runs in his family, going back five generations. One bowl can take up to three days of full work, including an approximate 200 pieces per item.
“My great grandfather was a blacksmith and carpenter. My grandfather was same thing. My father was same thing, and I’m doing carpentry,” Bhogal says during a phone interview with Loose Lips.
Still, he doesn’t adhere to any particular style, and doesn’t plan out his pieces before he starts them.
“The wood takes me to that design,” he says. “It takes patience, but people like that, and people appreciate it.”
His son and daughter in-law help him run the business and social media side of Booboo Bowls so he can focus on making the product itself. The work keeps piling up, but he’s driven by his desire to “do something for other people.” That’s what keeps him going, in addition to his very strong support network.
“I’m selling from the home. My realtor, my friends, my family, my son — everybody bought one before anybody else,” he says.
“Now everybody responds to me every day. Every time I need something, I say to my grandson, my son, my daughter-in-law, ‘I need something,’ and they can bring it and provide for me. That’s a big thing. If the family don’t help, nobody can do anything.”
He can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars per piece of wood, so he takes what other people throw away. Donations have been generous, but he’s always looking for more. Right now, he’s seeking hardwood such as cherry and walnut.
To donate to Nirmal Singh Bhogal, get in touch via Instagram @booboobowls.
Aly Laube is an event producer, journalist, and musician living on unceded Coast Salish territories. She is a radio and freelance journalist and the associate director of Cushy Entertainment as well as the front woman of the local band Primp. In her spare time, she freelances, watches horror movies, and panics about the ever-looming threat of climate change. As a queer mixed woman with a glaring inability to keep her mouth shut, Aly is very often in the throes of either rage or passion.
In general, you can catch Aly doing too much all the time. She’s reachable at alaubefreelancing@gmail.com.
