Perhaps I was meant to be a craftsman. I was born to a family of artisans. My father was a photographer, artist and cabinetmaker who emigrated from Russia as a child. My mother was a photographer, portrait painter and a music lover of Czech decent. They filled our home with beauty and my young life with the joys of music, art and crafts. In turn I was a creative child. I drew, painted and worked with wood. At age six my mother took me to painting classes. At age ten I began violin lessons. By the end of my childhood music had captured my heart but my soul belonged to the crafts.

As a violinist my interest in bow making began in college where I attempted to make a “Bach" bow to play his Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas and Partitas. I continued to pursue violin performance in graduate school where I was a student of artistes Ruth Posselt and Richard Burgin. It was then that I had discovered my true calling. With a fascination for bows and only a modest talent for the violin, I decided to become a bow maker. My studies were redirected and I set up 'shop' in my apartment closet. In 1975 I completed my first bow.

After receiving my master’s degree I accepted a job as bow maker with Emile Baran Instruments in Decatur, Georgia. In 1980 I rented a studio in the Artist's Space of Nexus Inc. where I independently made, repaired and studied bows. During this time I also worked closely with the concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, William Steck, for critiques and advice. When Mr. Steck became concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra, he and others asked me to relocate to the Washington, D.C. area to further my career. In 1983 I opened my shop in the Torpedo Factory Art Center of Alexandria, Virginia. In 2001 I moved to commercial district of Old Town Alexandria and worked in association with violin maker Michael Weller. In 2017 we retired our public business, Michael moved back to the Netherlands and I set up a home-based workshop.

Today I continue to develop my craft. In retirement I am still working on new bows and publications. My goal has always been to be a master practitioner of my craft and to be an integral part of the musical community. I achieved that by creating bows of high level artistry and functionality, by maintaining them through the preservation of their originality and enhancement of their usability, by increasing my professional skills and knowledge, by diversifying my creative output, by giving accurate and reliable appraisals and opinions on bows and by selling my work and services through the operation of a sound business.

For the past four decades I have offered to the arts my intelligence, dedication and skills. And in the service of music I hope to continue for many years to come.

Of Distinction

• Gold mounted 'COHEN' violin bow accepted into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Musical Instrument collection, December, 2011.
• U.S. Premiere of Cello Concerto No. 2 by Krzystof Penderdki, performed by Mstislav Rostropovich with the National Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Krzystof Pendereki. November, 1983.  Instruments used in performance: 'STRAD' cello, 'COHEN' bow.
• Many world premieres of contemporary music performed by Anna-Sophie Mutter with her 'STRAD' violin and 'COHEN' bows since 1983.

Exhibitions and Awards

• “Certificate of Eminent Playability" Fifth International Competition and Exhibition of The Violin Society of America. November, 1983. Salt Lake City, Utah.
• “A Regional Exhibition of Contemporary Crafts" Atlanta, GA, 1981 Juried, cataloged exhibition.
• The High Museum of Art, “Artists of Georgia, 1980." Juried, cataloged exhibition.

Inventions

• "The Bow Hair Bender^tm,” a compound clamp for precision bow rehairing. Granted a U.S. Patent in 2018.
• "WildHorse^tm Bow Hair," a dyed bow hair product created by me and introduced into world commerce in 1999, the first product of it's kind.

Publications

• THE RED BOOK, Auction Price Guide of Authentic Stringed Instruments and Bows. 2006, 2009 and 2012 Editions.
• WORKBOOK FOR BOWMAKERS, Design Geometry and Analysis of Bows for the Violin Family. Upcoming.
• WILLIAM LEWIS & SON  CATALOGS - THE NUMBERS, Database.
  An upcoming online searchable database. . .(Just what the world needed, another list of numbers!)

Public Speaker

• Guest speaker at Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to introduce the art of bow making and the "Jano Shultz" bow collection to museum patrons. 1995.
• Interviewed on NBC's "Sunday Today" with Al Roker, 1991.