New Endorsing Artist Carol Walker

May 6, 2022

Hello Everyone - Happy Friday!

I have some "bookkeeping" kinds of things to toss out in this week's newsletter. No fun stories this week. Sorry!

First up: Our Folkcraft Players feature is SO popular. I have gotten dozens of emails since this feature started almost a year ago, and it has proven incredibly successful. But (this sentence is addressed to MOST of you reading this...) where's your photo? I want to feature you! The bios are fun to read, and it's always neat to see someone else's dulcimer collection.

Send your photos and bios, please. Reply to this newsletter, or text them to Folkcraft at (317) 539-1855. It's easy. And... You'll get a $20 Folkcraft gift card in exchange. Have everyone in your club send in photos/bios, and your group can dominate the Folkcraft Players section for months. (KADC, and other big clubs, I'm thinking of  you!)

Second item: Second Saturday Clinics (registration opened just last week) are filling up fast. As of my writing this (on Thursday, May 4) there are 3 spots left in Bing's July clinic. It is time to be thinking about signing up to take John and Karen Keane's August clinic. Here's a link for all the clinics. Four hours of clinic, plus jam, lunch, and concert. $40 is a steal. And it's fun!

 

Third item: Folkcraft dulcimers are well-represented in the laps of players all over the world. You can see that in any jam group you visit. Both amateurs (of all levels) and professionals play our instruments. You have no idea how much joy I get personally from seeing and hearing you all make music that I helped (via the instrument) you create.

We've had a small cadre of professional musicians helping us over the years. We call them "Folkcraft Artists." We provide the artists with instruments, and in return, expect them to guide us to make better and better instruments. The features they request trickle down to our production instruments and we all benefit.

We started out with Bing Futch (10 years ago, thereabouts - wow!), and over time added a few more artists to the roster. I'm constantly approached by artists, looking for handouts, and I politely turn them down.

Late last week, I added another artist to our roster of illustrious musicians. She's the leader of a dulcimer orchestra, a professional pianist, and a world-class dulcimer player/teacher/performer. Please welcome Carol Walker (pictured above) to the Folkcraft Artists roster.

Like all of our artists, she started out as a retail customer. Like many of  you, she's purchased quite a few instruments from us over the years, and as her Folkcraft collection grew, she mostly stopped playing her other dulcimers. Our artists all have similar stories about their dulcimer-ownership histories.

I feel like our current crew is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. Here's a link to the complete Folkcraft Artist roster.