The process of making flutes always feels magical. I am fascinated everytime by how a plain piece of bamboo or a tree branch starts to make sound and turns into a functional musical instrument. The final product is always so rewarding. That is why I am so passionate about flute making.
In 2002, at the age of 19 I started experimenting with flutes. and my life was all sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. At that time, I was exploring and learning about many ethnic traditions and found interests in traditional music and yoga. Back then I started making flutes for myself and for my friends, later for friends of my friends, and finally for friends of my friends from the internet. I absolutely loved it and never thought it would turn into a serious occupation.
After graduating from college I travelled to India for a few months. When I returned, I decided that I no longer saw myself doing office work. I started playing flute in teahouses and making flutes for sale. However, it’s not a pleasant story of success as there have been lots of ups and downs 🙂 It is not easy to make money from arts & craft and music, especially if you live in Russia. But it eventually worked out for me. A lot of time has passed since then and now I have a small workshop in an old town near Tallinn. I have a family, two cats, and a dense queue of orders from all over the world.
What is driving me now? The same magic: my love and curiosity for making flutes come alive. Each and every time there is suspense in how the next flute will sound. These are the small nuances of form, material, and the color of sound.
My interests in people also drive my passion. For me, the personality of the customer is important; I enjoy getting to know my clients. Each customer is different and is drawn to flute for their own reasons. It is a rewarding feeling whenever I get to make a flute that is perfect for a customer’s particular needs. Therefore, I rarely make flutes in advance (for sale).
I consider myself an artist. I have no interest in mass production and treat each and every flute with care and fine detailing. Just the way every piece of bamboo and every branch in a tree is unique. My goal is to highlight these unique features in each instrument.
There have been several cases where customers have written to me about their lives before receiving their flute and how their lives have changed drastically afterwards. Often people discover music through ethnic flutes, especially if they had never made music before. After discovering and exploring music from other cultures they feel inclined to buy a flute and start experimenting with making music. After studying and practicing for a few years they feel passionate enough to start their own music projects. Thanks to flutes people start their own endeavors and explore all kinds of adventures and unlimited possibilities with them… people may even also start eating more broccoli 🙂 Anything can happen! After all, every flute has its own music tradition, its own culture.