Gallery

Below you will find a sample of the commissions I have done in the past.

The Snailele was commissioned by a client who appreciates the value of snails in our natural world.

The top has been made of multiple pieces of Quilted Maple, set in a pattern as to represent the spiral form of a snails' shell. It was then glued together with epoxy mixed with a combination of walnut and rosewood sanding dust to give it a darker appearance. The back and side are Curly Maple, and after all plates were glued together, they were all thicknessed to approx. .060" and braced to provide a very light but rigid sound board.

Three small sections of the marquetry top were removed to provide sound holes. An additional side sound port was created to allow the player to be surrounded by its warm and enveloping sound.

This uke also features a radiused fingerboard for extra comfort when playing 'barré' chords.

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The "Canadian" Baritone Resonator was built for Ukulele Bluesman, Manitoba Hal.

The primary feature of this Baritone Resonator is a 6" aluminum spun cone and steel strings, which generates its bluesy raspy voice that we all love from this style of instrument. The finish is a distressed milk paint, worn in all the right places to give it the feel of an early 20th. century traveling instrument.

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 The inspiration for the Artist Palette Tenor Ukulele came from the shape of an Artists' Palette. It has simple lines and a playful feel. The body is finished in a natural maple with splashes of colour left over from a day of painting. The slotted beech headstock and paint brush handle neck, extend through the body, providing a "strap button" at the base. The headstock is complete with tin ferrule, bristle brush and multi-coloured buttons. This instrument will bring out the musical artist in you!

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Audrey, the wonderfully cute sopranissimo ukulele raises eyebrows and sighs of delight to all who witness her.  Having the highest voice of the ukulele family, this little one is delights when brought out and adds lovely dimension to any ukulele group.  It tunes an octave higher than a baritone ukulele so music can be found for it relatively easily.  This instrument got its name from an imagined scene in which Audrey Hepburn would play this little one.  Attractive with a touch of class.

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The Tree of Life Tenor is perhaps our most visually unique design to date.  Its inspiration came from the piece of figured walnut used for the neck, fingerboard and bridge.  During the milling process, we noticed that the wood could be broken in ways which left complex and jagged patterns.  The broken, jagged edges evoke something of the original state of the materials used to construct this instrument.  A tree motif rosette in the sound hole completes the theme.

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This Mandolele is a previously loved Kent Bowlback Mandolin, Model #201, that was rescued from the scrap pile. It has been re-assembled with all its original parts except for the tail-piece cover, which is missing. With a high G6 tuning (similar to Sopranissimo), it has all the charm of the mandolin sound and the ease of playing a ukulele.

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This concert scale Banjolele  is perfect for frailing in the claw-hammer style with a true banjo sound, yet offers the small compact size and ease of playing that you get from a ukulele.

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Do you play uke but have aspirations of becoming a violinist as well? Here is an in-between option we've been calling the Violele or Ukulin.

This is a previously-loved violin that was rescued from the scrap heap. It has been re-assembled with all it's found parts. The only original piece not used was its original painted maple fingerboard, which has been replaced with a radiused ebony fingerboard. This new fingerboard is now 1-3/8" wide at the nut and fretted to the 12th fret. The beech bridge is also new.

The Violele is designed to be plucked or strummed but not bowed. When played in this fashion, it gives the pizzicato sound of the violin, short and percussive rather than sustained. As it has the C6 uke tuning, it is very easy to play along with your favorite tunes.

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