What’s New with Shorty

Wow, what a spring this has been! The container was delayed for the whole month of May! Finally it came to port and passed customs (the x-ray machine was broken). It's here full of Ivory Coast Djembes (full size and new sizes 11.5" X 21" and 9"(or 10") X 18"), goatskins, cow hides. drum bags, drum shells, a few djuns, and some special orders(now is the time to make special orders for the next container). Sadly some of our prices are going up because of the increase in wholesale costs. The American dollar is weak in the world economy, and the carvers must charge more in order to make a decent living. I've also just received items from Senegal. Watch the website for these new things. The Ghana Djembes are very popular. Currently the small ones are in stock. These are very light and easy to carry from place to place. We will be getting a new shipment of the larger ones again soon. My friend Clint Bach has made some very nice Ashikos that you can find on www.goatskins.com. Our redesigned drum straps are now 2" wide. Sandy has made some drum strap pads to help ease the load on shoulders. She also can make fabric drum straps (both are special order). I am having a great time making bells out of metal pipes. In May I visited Drum Camp in Little Switzerland, N.C. The drumming was great. Now we've just returned from the Bark Bash in Cape May, New Jersey. It was good to be with old friends. There I had so many drums to fix and so little time. I did find time to take Sandy for a walk on the beach though. Tennessee is so green now. Our small garden is growing fast. Sandy and I are so happy that we made this move that we renewed our vows to each other this June. Life is Good!