“My Tenor Banjo is made of cherry wood & there are some places that are walnut in the neck and peg head. I used some wood inlay for the side with some added crushed turquoise with epoxy glue then sanded that down. It’s easier to use abalone shell.  This shell is gotten from Aqua Blue Maui LLC. WONDERFUL FOLKS to work with and their process of making abalone shell into a product that can be used easily….WOW. They have a great website and sooooooooo many colors to choose from. This shell that I’m using is from N.Z. but there are abalone shells from all over the world. They make it into the thin even stuff that is not even as thick as a credit card and can be cut by scissors.  All made there in Maui. And yes, I did inlay this abalone shell. I used super glue to make sure it stays where I put it.

So often a banjo overrules a small group of musicians. That’s one reason why I like this style as it’s not too loud. I used Baritone Ukulele strings on this banjo as that is the tuning. It’s also called “Chicago tuning”…really it’s just the last 4 strings of a guitar. Easy to play and enjoy. Not as heavy as your brother’s Tenor Banjo. There are two other tunings that can be used with this banjo, making it very playable to folks who play other instruments.…”

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Nice necklace pendants, mostly whalebone, by Sosaia Pulu. He is in Waimea durng the week, and at the Hanapepe Street Fair on Friday nights.

One-of-a-kind, handmade obsidian knife by flint knapping artist JJ Heo. See selection of knives here: https://www.jjstonecraft.com/

From Godfrey Stephens

I’m changing the nature of this blog. I (we—Shelter Publications) are going to focus on building,
carpentry, homes, gardening, and the like on our brand-new — ta-daa:

https://www.theshelterblog.com

   It’s been up for a couple of months now, and
its look and function have been steadily improved by Mac Wizard Rick Gordon.
Evan’s doing most of the posting (I’m funneling my posts through him), Lew is
starting at 3 posts a week, and we’re encouraging builders to send us photos
and descriptions of their latest creations.

   We hope to build this up so it’s a player in
digiworld —we’re aiming for some major readership. We don’t think there is any
blog or website out there with the type content we are generating. Think of all
the buildings and builders in our books—now coming out daily.store appearances (a slide show and book signing
for Tiny Homes on the Move), and getting such good vibes. It feels like
we’re a tribe. We’re interested in the same things—doing stuff for ourselves
(as much as possible), having a warm, attractive, natural-as-possible
handcrafted home, growing some of our own food…

   Remember, it’s “theshelterblog,” not “shelterblog.” The “the” is necessary to get to the right
place. This blog—my own—will continue to follow my
idiosyncratic path through life. Wherever I go, I’m taking you, the reader,
along with me, riding shotgun. It gives me an extra incentive to explore, to
search, to inquire, to shoot photos—if I can come back and tell others about
it.