About UsThe Duncraft Story
A New England Family BusinessThe Duncraft story starts with our dad Gil Dunn inventing a wood tray that clipped onto wooden windowsills. It had everything to attract wild birds up close: seed wells, a water dish and perching dowels with holes for peanut butter! This was in 1952. By the late 1960’s the black and white 16 page Duncraft catalog was carrying a whole variety of bird seeds and feeders.
Dad's workshop in Penacook where he made Flight Deck Windowsill birdfeeders out of Masonite, 1952
Sharon and Mike reading in chairs made by Dad, 1952
My brother Mike and I took over running Duncraft in the early 1970’s. We continued to develop Duncraft-brand bird feeders, which were offered in our catalog and to specialty shops across the country. Our goal has been to build wonderful birdfeeders in our shop in Penacook, New Hampshire and to present them and the best of other manufacturers in the Duncraft catalog. Our vision is to create havens for birds one backyard at a time and to promote our customers’ enjoyment of watching birds and their connection to nature.
Mike and Sharon -- business partners since 1972, family forever
At Duncraft we field test and use the products we offer. Our first consideration is always bird safety. We have been a leader in introducing new seeds for birdfeeding and in creating seed blends. Our standards for seed are extremely high: we accept only clean, fresh seed into our warehouse – and we sell it so quickly that it is always arrives as fresh as it can be at our customers’ doors.
A customer asked Patty in the Call Center if she was really in New Hampshire. And Patty replied, "Yes, we are all here – we take your calls, warehouse stock, create the catalog, run the website, ship packages – all from our one location here in New Hampshire. This is a family business." In these days of outsourcing we are an exception!
We hope you enjoy browsing around our website. Our Blog offers a remarkable array of informational features on many aspects of bird feeding. Our Email Newsletters and promotions provide links to articles as well as presenting the newest products and great offers on popular items. They are fun to read and there is always something new!
Always, we love hearing from our customers. Comments, stories about feeding, digital photos, critiques, questions all are welcome here at Duncraft. And yes, you will hear back from us! Best wishes for enjoying your backyard birds,
Bios
 Gil Dunn, our dad and the founder of Duncraft, grew up in New York City, and as a youth raced canoes on the Hudson; his first job was as a ‘runner’ for a brokerage house Dyer & Hudson on Wall Street in 1927. In 1940 he enlisted and as a member of the 59th Fighter Squadron of the Army Air Force, soldiered in Africa, Italy, India and China in World War II. After the war he married and put his hand to inventions. He was an avid freshwater fisherman and outdoorsman. He started Duncraft in 1952 and spent twenty years building it as a one-man business. We think he’d be proud of Duncraft today.
Mike Dunn, CEO, has been the duncraft.com webmaster since our site launched in 1997. He has also led product development at Duncraft, has consulted for other manufacturers in this area and has directed Duncraft’s wholesale business. In truth, there isn’t any activity at Duncraft Mike hasn’t done at one time or another in his career – from receiving 50 lb. bags of seed into the warehouse, to picking and packing customer shipments, to inventing and field testing products to proofreading the catalog!
Mike is a board member of the Wild Bird Feeding Institute and Capital City Rotary Club and a past president of the New England Mail Order Association (NEMOA). Mike is a lifelong resident of New Hampshire. He and his wife Pam have raised five children and now have nine grandchildren whom they see frequently. Mike loves the Maine seashore, he golfs and he reads a great deal of fiction.
Sharon Dunn, President, has developed the Duncraft catalog, and the Duncraft organization. Currently she oversees the creative development of the catalog, including merchandising, marketing and circulation planning. Her passion? Customer service.
Sharon has worked in book and book review publishing in New York City, written freelance in London, edited reports for a strategic consulting group in Boston, and published a literary magazine for ten years. She is a published poet. Sharon lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband the writer John J. Clayton and their 17 year old son Aaron. She admits to being 13 months older than her brother and business partner Mike! |
