Our Story
What makes a “Master’s Workshop”? Years of practice, as well as experience in a number of trades; stained glass, carpentry, sewing, painting, typography, home building, metal work, carving, forming plastic… A craftsman is not a specialist in one skill, but works to build a repertory of specialized skills that complement each other; and Traditional Workshop seeks to develop the skills for all the apprentices, journeymen, craftsmen and masters in the shop – hence our name “Traditions Workshop”. But having the tools, the skills and the people is not enough; there still needs to be a spark, something that allows the craftsman to see things not as they are but as they could be. A sense of wonder that allows them to see beauty that would otherwise be hidden; and always a desire to learn and discover.
That spark came to Traditions Workshop with our first child. The world became a different place when looking at it through the eyes of a child. Trees are taller, grass is greener the sea breeze is fresher. God could have chosen to give us wisdom but instead He choose gave us children and thereby taught us wisdom.
Children are also a catalyst. The young man wanted a boat, so we built “the good ship lollypop”, the little girl sees a picture of a bed that she likes and remarks “Daddy can build that”; then there are band performances that need a bit of color, dance shows that want props, and theater events that have to have sets and costumes (Big Sets!, lots of Costumes!). A myriad of projects that evolved into Traditions Workshop and then somewhere along the way there was the discovery of what God has hidden in the wood, in the stone, in the glass, in the paint; that’s when we first started making the Davidic style lyres. Other instruments followed, then clothing, the boxes, dresses, furniture pieces … and the process continues with new discoveries every day.
Traditions Workshop is a hybrid shop, power tools can be found here but so can adze, hand planes, saws, scrapers needle and thread. We take pride in our work and all projects are handmade, but we also value time so we will use the most appropriate tool we have available to accomplish the job at hand, if we do outsource a part of a project we will tell you.
