We are all products of our enviroments and experiences, so it might seem logical that my coming from a long line of Scottish and German cabinetmakers and craftsmen has had an important influence on my approach to rod making.

 

Anyone familiar with the Vermont character knows that we, as a group, have little time for trifles. We are still primarily a rural agrarian state whose climate and topography demand that things work as they are supposed to, and last well beyond modern notions of pre-planned obsolescence. For most Vermont craftsmen, such utilitarian quality, borne of economic necessity, is a given. You'll find this in every rod I make.

 

My familial heritage is a little uncommon by today's standards. While other folks my age were attending college or technical schools, I was serving in the same traditional apprenticeship that had turned so many of my ancestors into some of the finest cabinetmakers and craftsmen in the field.

 

Apprenticeship is a slow, evolutinary hands-on process that takes years. It is a process that is responsible for creating many of the world's greatest craftsmen - one whose baseline aesthetic infuses in the apprentice a standard of quality in both artistic and physical rendition that ignores production deadlines, quotas, or supply and demand economics. Excellence is the only goal, and it is indeed "Old World." You'll also find that in every rod I make.