Work In Progress

I have a real soft spot for this model, the first of Stradivari’s violas. It’s an outlier amongst his output in a number of ways; the model is a little broader than the later violas, the back is poplar rather than the more usual maple. The original is played by Antoine Tamestit, and in his …read more

It’s lovely to be back making a new violin after a prolonged period pursuing other violin making projects.  This one is for an American player; I made them a 14 1/4 inch cornerless viola a few years ago which has worked well. So now a violin is to be added to the collection. Abi wanted …read more

I find that as life goes on it gets more varied and I collect additional interests, sometimes more than I really have time for. Recently I’ve developed a side interest in restoration, mainly just from my own curiosity, so the last two or three months have been spent on that, including a fantastic course run …read more

After a busy summer with lots of visitors and catching up with odds and ends in the workshop, I’m back properly at the bench with a new viola. This is one of my favourite models; it’s small enough to be really comfortable for anyone with problems playing a larger viola, but the sound is still …read more

This viola is a commission from a young player who starts at Purcell School in the autumn. He’s been renting violas from me for five years and is now ready for his ‘forever’ viola. At the moment he’s playing a large Maurice Bouette viola which I put into good working order a couple of years …read more

It’s lovely to have the opportunity of making one of my favourite violin models again. This is a special commission; in 2020 I made the same model for the elder brother of the prospective owner of this one, and now it is the turn of his younger sibling. I really do hope they won’t fight …read more

I love the beginning of January. When my Dad was alive he always made us laugh by making comments about ‘getting back to normal’ when we visited; he was a keen model engineer and liked nothing better than spending time in his workshop where he made exquisite model trains and engines. As I get older …read more

I had the chance to measure this violin several years ago. It was then in the collection of the Royal Northern College of Music, and I was involved in a a project to make a copy of it to add to the college’s collection of loan instruments. The copy was made jointly with three other …read more

This viola is a commission from an adult violinist who also plays the viola and wanted an instrument that would be easy to swap around with. This should fit the bill perfectly as it feels just like a full size violin. Graham has already spent some time with an earlier viola of mine of this …read more

This is the largest viola I normally make. I drew up the design some years ago, based on the Gasparo da Salo tenor viola in the Ashmolean Museum. That’s a very large instrument, so I redrew it to what is a more comfortable size. This one is a commission from a pupil at Chetham’s School …read more