Merton College
RAB Trust Award 2022
Cameron was awarded funding for a one week BVMA Bow making and Repair course at Halsway Manor in January 2023. He wrote of his experience:
“Thanks so much to the RAB trust for organising and making available some space for students on the Bow course at Halsway manor. It has allowed for a hugely insightful look into the bow world which the college hasn’t been able to cover to the same level. Getting to have so much contact time with Jutta Walcher was invaluable, getting to go far more in depth on repairs, refacing and rehairing bows. Even if it was just the conversions I had with everyone there, it would have been worth it. Everyone was so open and transparent with how they run their businesses and how they transitioned from education to ‘the real world’ that it gave me more confidence on how I can create work after college. Learning some of the history of bows, pernambuco and the CITES appendix 1 situation was also really insightful.
Seeing everyone making bows was great as it’s not something that gets covered in college, seeing everyone’s different methods was also intriguing as there was so much variety of techniques and tools. Thanks also to Tim Baker for running it and making it such a warm and supportive environment.”