Wandmaker's Apprentice

Sorry for not posting for another month. Case of life hit me. Also apologies for the sound. The battery pack died on my lav mic setup so stuck with the shotgun mic. So for today I'm talking a little about how wandmaking is a perishable skill in that if I don't make wands for a long time, like during the winter, I have to knock the dust off and the first few wands when starting back up aren't fully up to my standard.

Hello. Today I'm working on a Cherry wand while discussing about my friend coming down to help with some much needed fall cleaning of the workshop. And then talking a bit more about asking for help. It's ok to ask for help to get back on your feet, but strive to be able to stand on your own. As always, much love.

Sorry for not making any videos until now. A lot has happened and needed time to process it all. The final push till Dragon Con. Dragon Con itself. Recovering from Dragon Con. Personal issue popping up. But here it is. A video talking about my time at the wand cart for Dragon Con 2021. I do the cart for two days of the convention; Saturday and Sunday. All the pictures come from Saturday only after the parade (parade pictures didn't come out as well as I would have liked). I hope you enjoy and again apologies for not getting a video out sooner. As always, much love.

Working on a Beech wand today. Making another attempt at wand making with little talking while using a new microphone. Hope you like it. As always, much love.

First, I want to apologize for the audio not being the best. I believe there was some interference coming in on my microphone setup. I will try to fix that for next time. Today I'm working on a Walnut wand and talking about the nice things that people have done for me while at the wand cart. And it's these small, short acts of niceness that I'll remember more than all the bad interactions while doing the wand cart. If we all were a bit nicer to one another, then I think the world would be a better place. As always, much love.

Today I'm going to polish the wand that I made previously - Redwood. To polish a wand it takes about the same time as to initially make one. And I see that as analogous to those that are the best in their fields. The ones that do the extra work and make the extra sacrifices necessary at becoming the best. I hope you enjoy watching and as always, much love.

Today I'm trying something new. Going to make a wand without talking through it. The redwood was sourced from a diseased tree that was cut down to prevent it from spreading disease to other trees around it. If it's something people like, I'll do more videos like this one. As always, much love.

Today I'm working on an English Oak wand while talking about the shoulder, neck, and head/tip of the wand. For good and bad, I see this is how the world will see a person. Though if you only focus on those parts, you'll miss out on what the rest of the wand/person has to offer and miss all that beauty. As always, much love. ***EDIT*** The wand is actually a Red Oak one. I accidentally grabbed it thinking it was English Oak since they were side by side. Apologies.

Working on an Alder wand today. So these wands I try to play off of Star Wars characters that come by the wand cart. It's fun when they stay in character. Was awesome when a Grand Moff Tarkin cosplayer came by with staff in tow and they all stayed in character during the process. Hope you enjoy, and as always, much love.

Time for another story from Dragon Con. And it could go for other cons as well. There are those that will cosplay characters that are jerks in the shows and movies they are a part of and bring that into the real world. Please don't cosplay and act like the jerk character in real life with the excuse of 'I'm just cosplaying the character.' There are good ways to cosplay a character that's a jerk. Please be respectful and nice to fellow con goers in or out of character. As always, much love.

Working on Sycamore again. I found another tote of blanks. This time I'm talking about how my imperfections in making wands make the 'perfect' wand for some one. Apologies for the sound dropping out a couple of time. I think there may have been some interference with my wireless mic setup. I hope you enjoy. And as always, much love.

Story about my first year at Dragon Con as the Wandmaker in 2013. I was nervous as all get out and worrying about 'what if I failed.' I didn't, and I've gone on to become somewhat popular and 'some one to find during Dragon Con.' I also talk about working towards not focusing on the 'what if I fail' scenarios and instead on 'what happens next after I succeed'. As always, thanks for stopping by and much love.

Before I get into stories about Dragon Con, I need to tell you all what Dragon Con is all about. In some ways it's near impossible to tell people that haven't gone before what is Dragon Con. I attempt to with this video while working on some Black Walnut. But I highly recommend that you go for yourself because it is something that to truly understand, it must be experienced first hand. Apologies for any mistakes I make with statements, those were made with the knowledge I had at the time of recording. I hope that you all have a great day. And as always: Much Love

Working on Maple. Talking about the handle some and my thoughts about it and how it relates to life. Hope you enjoy

Hello all, I've been going to Dragon Con as a Harry Potter character handing out wands since 2013. I thought I would share my thoughts about making wands as I spend upwards of 100 hours or more at the lathe to create these wands before I hand them out during the convention. My first video for Rumble and thus I've made mistakes, but It's the only way to get better is to make a mistake and then correct it for next time right? I hope you enjoy.