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 I live in the Paraoanui valley in the Far North of New Zealand's North Island surrounded by native bush and farmland. It is off the beaten track and to get here requires a rugged drive on rough gravel roads. But the peace and seclusion suits both my wife Wendy, our four children and I well.
I have been building professionally since 1992 in a one man workshop at home and my instruments are all made here from start to finish. I have built over 160 instruments to date and average ten to twelve instruments per year. It is a hands on style of building that takes me out to the forest in search of timber, felling trees, milling wood, drying it and so on all the way through to resawing back/side sets, sound boards, bracing, etc. It gives new meaning to the phrase "personally selected tone wood". Most of the woods I use, start out as rough sawn timber; I seldom use off the shelf products as I prefer the greater artistic control starting from the rough gives me. I cut my own solid wood purfling and binding stock as well as design and cut all shell inlays, including every logo inlayed into the headstock.
 This approach to building my instruments is partly the result of the timbers I prefer to build with but thinking and building this way allows me to be more creative and produce instruments that are unique and special. It is more labour intensive but I enjoy the journey and feel it is an essential part of the history of every instrument that is fashioned in my shop.
I am of the opinion that this way of building most faithfully represents what, in days gone by, used to be called hand made. Whatever the case, this is me and it is simply what I do.
I do think you can hear the difference.
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