IS IT LABOR…IF YOU LOVE IT?
It’s been 529 days a minute since my last post here.
I do love to write…even if it is for the sole purpose of providing proof of our existence for my now teenage children who hate me who may read this one day.
However, it seems as though upon entering my 50s…I am just too tired for extraneous thinking. Just kidding. Kinda.
So, let’s blown the dust off this thing and get back at it.
This entry is a bit different.
The line between my personal life and work at Oyster has always been non-existent a bit fuzzy. I think the kids call it “ a life-work balance interface”…or lack thereof.
Living inside your “work” with an attention to detail does have a few advantages…everything is so personal. And we do not see that as a bad thing.
Queue in Kathy.
We have spent more time with Kathy than most of our extended families…she has made 20 rods with us (that’s 20 weeks right there)…a load of vacations and countless social visits.
She has LITERALLY (I said the “L” word…so sue me) watched our children grow up, been a devoted friend and a relentless supporter of our little company.
Kathy quietly sat by my side when I was sick, shared invaluable parenting wisdom and has humbly led by example.
blog meet kathy
kathy meet blog
“one client’s friend’s journey into the bamboo fly rod making abyss”
Below is my guest star…Kathy
in her own words.
You may call her Queen.
Digging deep. If you have ever made a bamboo fly rod from start to finish, YOU know the struggle is REAL. It’s a complicated, physically taxing and emotionally draining process.
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If you have ever made a bamboo fly rod, you KNOW the exceptional feeling of accomplishment that only a challenge so intense can so precisely deliver.
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If you have ever met KATHY…you KNOW she personifies resolve and perseverance…or maybe you don’t. Because Kathy possesses the unique quality of humility. So, in the spirit of valuing her privacy…I’ll just say this…
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Kathy is our family. If there was ever a time that a “business” relationship morphed into a familial connection…this is it.
She has taken 20 Oyster classes. Twenty. Honestly, we were prepared for 10…but not 20.
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Still…how do you commemorate a person so closely tied to this little company after spending so much of our adult lives together? Consider the fact she has spent over 1200 hours working on rods not to mention countless trips, meals, telephone calls, texts…Kathy comforted us when we needed it most and even read at Riley and Quinn’s wedding.
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Our ceremonial cake just didn’t seem like enough of a tribute so we busted out Oyster’s old school meatball dinner, hand engraved a block plane, ordered a red apron and bought some champagne actually from France.
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Still…it all seems small in comparison to the gift of support and love that Kathy has shown Oyster through the years.
🐝QUEEN BEE HITS 20 CLASSES! 🐝
As you can see from the rods I have done, many of them are so special because of the engraving that Bill has done!
As for why I made them, and what I do with them, WELL it’s a complicated answer.
First, from the very first class in October of 2010, I told Bill and Riley that I would be willing to come back and just sweep up, make coffee, and wash dishes. I just LOVED “being there!” I love the process, the challenge, the creativity of planning to see how it will turn out, trying to make the rod something special for the person I’m making it for, and mostly being there and meeting new people you will ultimately become friends with, and share something with them forever.
Each fly rod is a one-of-a-kind work of art that absolutely functional….
It’s not meant to be hung on a wall never to be fished. That’s a crime!
Standing on a small island on our Andros trip casting a saltwater rod I made for myself two weeks before the trip is awesome. It’s even more awesome when the guide casts it, and tell me how “sweet” it is …
Going for a class each year (sometimes more than once a year) is my vacation to myself. It’s something I look forward to — being in my own zone — working toward a goal — feeling accomplished — learning to plane smoothly and efficiently — learning to wrap more smoothly and efficiently — and, of course, having a cold beer (or 2) in the afternoon as a reward for work well done, WELL, what more can you ask for.
That’s a vacation!!!
- #1 – 7’6” 5wt made for KPL
- #2 – 8’ 7wt made for KPL
- #3 – 6’ 3wt made for DSL
- #4 – 9’ 6wt made for Jason
- #5 – 7’ 4wt made for KPL
- #6 – 8’ 9wt Salt rod for Amy
- #7 – 7’9” 5wt made for Judge Smith
- #8 – 8’ 9wt made for KPL
- #9 – 8’ 9wt made for DSL
- #10 – 5wt made for Andrew
- #11 – 8’ 9wt made for Jason
- #12 – 7’9” 6wt made for Marty
- #13 – 8’ 6wt made for KPL
- #14 – 7’9” 5wt made for Becky
- #15 – 7’ 3wt made for Jason
- #16 – 7’9” 3wt made for DSL
- #17 – 8’ 5wt made for DSL
- #18 – 7’9” 5wt made for DSL
- #19- 7’6” 5wt made for Edgar
- #20 – 7’6” 5wt made for Amos
Dear Kathy,
What have we done to deserve YOU?
Congratulations on your “Master’s degree” in bamboo fly rod building.
We ALL look forward to 20 more.
With love and reverence,
The Oyster Crew 🐝
Editor’s note: All hail the Queen Bee.
Editor’s note to Kathy: Where’s mine? 🙂