I’ve been working with Olivia Elia for over 4 years now mentoring her in the art of building bamboo fly rods, and she is now building some incredible bamboo fly rods. She is also a talented Luthier building custom acoustic guitars and a musician. FlyFish Journal Magazine recently showcased her in an article in their magazine. And…now they have come out with a wonderful short video about Olivia…and there are a few shots of me also! You can check out the video at: SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING: Handmade Guitars and Bamboo Fly Rods crafted by Olivia Elia.
Tag Archives: Olivia Elia
Olivia Elia – Guitar Builder Profile.
Our dear friend, Olivia Elia, is not only a fantastic bamboo fly rod builder, she is also an accomplished Luthier, working at Preston Thompson Guitars here in Sisters, Oregon. She was just profiled as an “up-and-coming” young guitar builder in Acoustic Guitar Magazine. They even chose to highlight her on the cover of the most recent issue. We’re so proud of what Olivia has accomplished, both in her bamboo rod building and her guitar building. Check her out in the November/December 2022 Issue of the magazine.
Olivia Elia – Profile of a Guitar Builder.
The Middle Deschutes River Browns
I got out on the middle Deschutes River recently with my good friend and bamboo rod builder, Olivia Elia to try out a couple of bamboo rods. I chose my 9′ 0″ 3 wt Euronymphing Bamboo Rod and Olivia took out her 7′ 9″ 4 wt bamboo rod. Well, the student outfished the teacher. Here is one of the very nice browns that Olivia found in this stretch of the river.
A beautiful Brown that took a #8 stonefly nymph.
Great Brown Trout Colors
A nice release…
Article about Olivia Elia
Our good friend and bamboo fly rod builder, Olivia Elia, was just profiled in the latest Journal of The Italian Bamboo Rodmakers Association. IBRA is one of the most prestigeous bamboo rod organizations in the world, and they just published a wonderful article on Olivia’s journey that took her to becoming a gifted bamboo rod maker. I’m proud to have contributed to her journey and to have her in my workshop as she builds her custom bamboo fly rods. Her article appears in the April edition of IBRA, and can be found at: Documento senza titolo (rodmakers.eu). Let’s all celebrate Olivia’s accomplishments by raising a glass.
Celebrating Olivia’s Article in IBRA
Olivia is back in my workshop
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