My workshop is located in Kibbutz Ein Carmel in Israel. The Kibbutz was born as an idealistic socialist collective community. Most of the Kibbutzim are less collective communities these days, and Ein Carmel is no different. Of the things that remain from those early times, are empty and neglected structures that used to be chickencoops. Some years ago, an artist from the kibbutz came up with the idea of letting artists renovate those very simple and stinky buildings and turn them into workshops. Today these chickencoops host a wide range of artisan workshops: jewellery and ceramics makers, a blacksmith, carpenters, furniture restorers, perfume makers, printing press workshop, a glass blowing and a glass casting workshops and of course violin and bow making. When I came back from studying violin making in Cremona, Italy, it wasn’t exactly the place I had in mind, but problems with my landlord on the one hand, and the hospitality of bow maker David Samuels – who already worked there at the time –on the other, made me unpack my violin-making boxes there. The rest is history and here I am.