Whilst playing my Hammer Dulcimer one night at a local session, I became aware of two things. Firstly, my instrument was coming apart and secondly, that I took up a lot of space in the pub. Having trained as a design engineer and spent my career in mechanical engineering, I decided to make myself a replacement in a smaller, pub friendly size.

 A friend, Andy Brown, recommended that I attend the short course in Making Musical Instruments at West Dean College near Chichester, home to the Edward James Foundation, with an international reputation for its many and varied courses. 

That was in 2003, and I have attended nearly every year since then to make different instruments and hone my luthier skills.