Another little update, for anyone who is curious/interested.
A couple weeks ago, I was the feature of a National (International, but Canadian-made) ad that will be airing on December 1st, on a television, or computer near you. Ketel One Vodka decided I was an interesting choice as one of five craftsmen for the "One Craft" campaign. It was an absolute honour, and a blast to shoot. They basically followed me around for the day as I made a saya, and made a handle for, and rehandled a Tanaka gyuto. I'm still shocked that they contacted me, then chose me, and I was absolutely humbled by the whole process.
Here are two "sneak peek" pictures of the ad, which will be hitting the air soon:
Here I am inspecting the grind work on the saya.
Fitting up the new handle on the Tanaka.
Also, I've been insanely busy with buying (and hopefully selling) our house(s). This means a brand new, designated workshop for McLean Customs, and a house to grow into with our growing family. We are sad to be leaving our wonderful home, but thrilled at the prospect of what this new one will bring. It is in the area that we have always had our sights set on, and is much better suited for the direction we are going in. Needless to say, we are in love with the new place. I should also thank my good friend Pierre Rodrigue for being an awesome resource throughout the process. You are and likely always will be a terrific sounding board and mentor.
Lastly, I've managed to get some work done, in and around all of this, with these two pieces being my most recent. These two handles are from the same tree, and will be going on some beautiful old Masamotos that were made together, the same day (over 12 years ago). I really like how they turned out.
Thanks for reading.
I know that a lot of this craziness is due, in part, to you guys. You rock!