Your bow is as important as the "other half" of your instrument, and easy to care for!

•  Always loosen the hair after playing

• Wipe rosin dust off the wood with a clean, soft (like microfiber) cloth

• Tighten hair before playing only enough so that when you play the hair does not rub against the stick. You should still see the stick curve toward the hair in the middle.

• Apply a little rosin when the hair feels slippery. Too much rosin dampens the sound. If you feel like you're rosining all the time, it's time for a rehair!

• Fall (when air humidity drops) and spring (when humidity rises) are the perfect times to rehair your bow. Rehairing according to the season ensures that your bow hair stays the right length, and prevents drying hair from pulling tight to the point of damaging your bow.

• If you can't tighten your bow any more and it is still too loose, it's time for a rehair!

• When not in use, always store your bow in the case with your instrument

With pernambucco, ebony, pearl, and other materials used in bowmaking all on the endangered lists, repairing and restoring older bows will be of critical importance going forward. I accept donations of broken or "not worth repair" bows, which I can rehabilitate and affordably (including by donation) get into the hands of players. I am a member of the International Alliance of Violin and Bowmakers for Endangered Species. 

As a lifetime viola and violin player and as a bow repair person, I love learning about a bow’s unique qualities and bringing out the best in the bow. I studied bow repair with master bowmaker Lynn Hannings and Amanda Kapousouz through the University of New Hampshire Violin Craftsmanship Institute. After further private study with Lynn Hannings and working in a local shop, and seeing a need for more bow restorers in my Upper West Side neighborhood, I started The Bow-ery. The name is meant to evoke New York City's cultural vitality and role as a center for the bow's arts. But bowery also derives simply from the Dutch word for farm. And there lies my hope that my work  conserving existing bows and supporting the Alliance (see more about their work here) contributes to the regeneration of the precious materials used in bowmaking and the  life of music.