This year marks a milestone that feels truly profound to me: 30 years since I dedicated my life fully to the beautiful craft of making hammered dulcimers. It’s been an incredible journey, and when I look back at where I started, the contrast still makes me smile.

My path to the workshop was a winding one. Up until 1995, I was the Production Manager at Colour Studios in Radstock. My days were spent managing the creation and installation of large-scale exhibition graphics—a high-pressure world of sharp deadlines, mounting boards, and making sure every visual element was perfect for a trade show or museum display. It was a stable career, but my heart was always drawn to the wood and the music.

In 1995, I made the leap. I traded in the project plans and commercial demands for the quiet focus of my own bench. It was a huge, frightening decision to leave a secure job, but the lure of the dulcimer was simply too strong to ignore. I desperately wanted to dedicate myself to making something beautiful, tangible, and acoustic—something that would last and bring joy to others, rather than a visual display that would be dismantled in a week.

From Graphics to Grains: A Commitment to the Craft

The hammered dulcimer is a complex and magical instrument. With its trapezoidal shape, its dozens of bridges, and hundreds of strings, it demands total dedication. Over these past three decades, I've poured myself into mastering the required skills: the precise woodworking, the acoustic science, and the sheer patience needed to tune and voice each instrument perfectly.

I think the dedication I once applied to ensuring perfect alignment on a massive display panel is now channeled into the grain of the soundboard and the fit of every joint. My goal has always been simple: to create instruments that are not just objects, but truly exceptional musical tools.

It’s an immense source of pride to know that my dulcimers are played by professionals and devoted amateurs around the world. Hearing them talk about the instrument's crystal-clear timbre or its responsive dynamic range is the greatest reward. Every dulcimer that leaves my shop is a piece of my life’s work, a testament to decades of refinement and an unwavering commitment to quality.

The Next Chapter

Thirty years is a significant chapter, but it only feels like the beginning. I’ve seen the folk music scene grow, and I’m honoured to have contributed to it by providing instruments that help carry this wonderful tradition forward.

Today, the wood chips are still piling up on the floor, and I’m still experimenting, still learning, and still loving the moment I strike the strings and hear a newly finished dulcimer sing for the first time.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and played my instruments over the years. Here’s to many more years of music! 🎶