UPDATE July 2020

Rather sooner than expected, due to improving manufacturing techniques and help from a few other sources, I've arrived at the point, discussed below, where I've worked off the waiting list.

What now, I hear you cry!

Well, there will be still be a few of my flutes available, but not on a waiting list basis.

Practice flutes will still be available as before.

So how can you get hold of one of these flutes?

Well, the first thing is to keep an eye on this website, where I'll flag anything that's coming up, and secondly, I've set up an instagram account (@hamiltonflutes ) where I'll also post what's coming up, along with other posts and videos of restoration work that I'm doing.

There will also be a small number of antique flutes available for sale from time to time.

You can see what's available here

Welcome to the Hamilton Flutes website.

I began as a full time professional flute maker in 1979, at that time being the first workshop that was devoted to the wooden simple system flute as played in Irish music, so this year I'm celebrating my 39th year as a flute maker.

By coincidence a customer recently sent me a link to what I believe was the first film taken in the workshop, in, I think, 1980.

You can have a look here

The flute I'm playing and demonstrating, was the very first flute that I ever made...

which brings me rather neatly to this

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Time flies – never was a truer word said. Little did I think that when I wrote the first order for a flute...(Noel Shine, Blackwood, Ivory mounts £100) – into my book in late 1979, that almost 40 years later I’d still be writing orders into the same book, metaphorically at any rate.

Now, with my total waiting list extending to 3 years and more, I’ve decided that the time has come to change the way in which I interact with the flute buying public.

Several factors are pressing me to do this. The waiting list system has become a tyrant in it’s own right.  I’ve always striven to stick to promised delivery times, and I think that, in general I’ve done this very successfully. The result is though, that I’ve left almost no time for anything else, including developing flutemaking techniques and designs, tool making, and other workshop jobs. Outside of immediate workshop concerns, are all my other interests. Most people are aware of my involvement in the academic side of things, but I’ve also many many more things that I’m passionate about…ecology, bibliophilia, angling, gardening, food and wine. ( and beer, yummm beer!)

Time is the other concern. A few weeks ago I turned 65, and although I’m  healthy as a trout, it struck me that by the time I worked off the orders in the book, I’ll be nearing 68, or even 70.

I really don’t want to stop making flutes, (whoever said find a job you like and you’ll never work a day in your life was right ( or almost so)), but I need time to do all the other things, and there’s only so much of it there…

So what I’ve decided to do is to close the order book, dating from the 1st May 2018. ( appropriate date, I thought, International  Workers Day etc.)

What this practically means is that all orders already in the book, or in the book before that date, including upgrades will be completed within the normal waiting time.

Repairs and restorations, but only to my own flutes will continue as normal.

When all the instruments on the waiting list are completed, I’ll probably take a break, and then any flutes that I make after that, will be offered for sale on some sort of non-waiting list system, probably through this website.

Practice flutes are not affected by this. Contact me directly about low whistles.

So in essence, I’m not stopping, just doing things a bit differently, and in fairness I wouldn’t be in a position to do this without the wonderful support I’ve had from the flute playing community over the last 40 years.

So thank you, flute players from Ireland, England, Scotland,Wales, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Israel, Russia,  Japan,  South Korea, China, U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

Hammy