Bob

The chief woodworker at marimba one--Bob--had years of experience before he came to us (most recently, at Arcata's Wallace & Hinz, the premier maker of wooden bars, as in bars and grills. That is also where marimba one founder Ron Samuels once worked). But the 35-year-old artisan in charge of rails, headboards and center supports--all the frame pieces--had to learn on the job when it came to picking the wood and matching the pieces.

"You've got African mahogany, which is resilient, and American cherry, which is more delicate," he said. Then, too, he has to understand how the artists use the marimba. "If I bought it," he asks rhetorically, "how would I want it to look?"

Bob loves working at marimba one. "The shop is the best in terms of both cleanliness and modernity," he says. "It's nice to work somewhere where we can learn to grow and function together."