Unfortunately, such stretches are rare for large rivers. Each spring, shad and herring still migrate from the ocean up to Great Falls”-just north of where she stands. “And from here to the Chesapeake Bay, it’s relatively well-connected. “The Potomac provides drinking water for the region,” she says. But while her work has taken her from Arizona to Bhutan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, her fascination with rivers was first sparked right here, near Washington, DC-with a canoe and a fishing net-when she was a child. She’s been studying river ecosystems for more than 20 years. “So much life depends on rivers.”Īs a lead freshwater scientist at WWF, Thieme is especially attuned to that fact. In the other direction, fishermen cook their own fish dinner over a smoky campfire, and the scent wafts downwind. “There’s a kingfisher looking for his dinner,” she says, gesturing downstream as a cobalt-crested bird swoops toward the water. Trekking through underbrush along the riverbank, Michele Thieme pauses to survey the scene. “As mass products have become even more watered down, people have aha moments when they see something of quality, something that’s made with love,” he noted.It’s just before dusk, and the sun casts gold flourishes on the slow ripples of the Potomac River. In the end, Schneller is convinced that thoughtful, handmade products are in such high demand because the contrast with most factory-made products is so great.
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“The repairs also have helped me become a better designer, because I am very aware of common design flaws and know how to avoid them in my own work.” “I hate to say it, but poorly made, mass-produced instruments have kept me in business,” he laughed. Repair work comprises about half of Specimen Products’ business. And longevity, Schneller maintains, is all too rare in this era of mass production. Using high-quality materials and high-level craftsmanship ensures good sound, and also longevity. Over the past decade, Specimen Products has branched into audio equipment such as horn speakers, tube amplifiers, and subwoofers. Schneller began making string instruments like guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, and even the occasional violin. Schneller rose to the challenge by securing 600 pairs of iridescent beetle wings from Bangkok that will be incorporated into this guitar. Take, for instance, a guitar he’s working on for Alex Kapranos of the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand, who asked him to make a guitar that would reflect his love of entomology. Because each piece is one of a kind, Schneller not only does a custom design, but often is called upon to find creative sourcing to get the piece exactly right. “They’re my stab at immortality.”Īlthough completion time varies, a typical project from start to finish absorbs the better part of eight months. They are a part of me no matter where in the world they have gone,” he said. “This sounds corny, but I really see them as my children. In the past 30 years, he estimates he has created 600 pieces. Specimen Products employs six artisans along with 24 apprentices and interns, but Schneller’s hands are on every product. It was almost inevitable that Ian Schneller, a musician who trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, would wind up creating Specimen Products, a Chicago studio that creates handmade instruments, amplifiers, and horn speakers noted for their beauty and functionality. A handcrafted piece awakens something in human beings.
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