Olivia Elia, is back in my workshop this week. She was with family for several days but is back in Sisters now it’s great to have her back. It’s fun to have another builder in the shop with me to bounce ideas off of, and I think we do a great job at challenging each other in our bamboo rod building efforts. She started a new 7′ 9″ 4 wt bambo fly rod this week as a custom order from a new client. Here is Olivia at work!!!
Splitting Bamboo Strips
Running the Bellinger Beveller
I would like to introduce everyone to Olivia Elia, my bamboo rod building apprentice. Olivia built her first bamboo fly rod two years ago, and has a goal of taking her rod building skills to a high level. Olivia currently lives in Santa Rosa, CA, and we’ve worked a plan for her to apprentice with me through some time with me in my workshop, as well as through virtual connectivity for the two of us. Olivia is a very talented photographer, musician, luthier, and and fly fishing angler, and you can see some of her talents showcased on her WEB site at: https://www.oliviaelia.com/.
Olivia spent a couple of weeks with me in my workshop recently working on rods. Her workshop skills are at a high level, and she has demonstrated fantastic skills towards rod building. I worked with her on three new bamboo fly rods while she was here, passing on my rod building knowledge where ever I could. It may not be too long before she is teaching me a few things about rod building. Here are a few photos of her time in my workshop:
