I create bespoke ceremonial drums through a deeply intuitive process that begins with divination and journeying to match the spirit of the drum with the person it’s meant for.
This is service work, not mass production. I make between 3-12 drums a year, working slowly and ceremonially with each one.
Why Commission a Drum From Me?
There are thousands of drum makers, workshops, and pre-made drums available. Yet people contact me from Greece, California, Santa Fe, Dallas, Amsterdam, Brussels, the South of France – all over the world – for their drums.
I often ask myself: why me? Why travel this far, when there are makers closer to home?
Because the drum chooses. The spirit of your drum is already in existence, and for some reason, it’s led you here.
My work is to meet that spirit and bring it into form.
The Process:
1. The Reading
Before I make any drum, we do a divination session together – drum work, card work, journeying. This isn’t about what you want your drum to look like. It’s about meeting the spirit of the drum that’s already waiting for you, understanding its medicine, and discovering what it needs to become.
2. Sourcing Materials
I work primarily with Red Deer or Fallow Deer hides, sourced ethically and in limited quantities from the UK. The frames are made from Willow or Ash.
The hide might be soaked in rainwater, or it might need to spend time at sacred sites – waterfalls, ancient trees, power places in Wales – absorbing the energy of the land before it becomes your drum.
3. The Making
Making your drum is a full day of ceremony.
The inside of the frame is pyrographed (wood-burned) with channeled artwork, symbols, and magical markings – a day’s work in itself. These aren’t decorative patterns; they’re the medicine and protection your drum carries.
Throughout the process, I keep you informed and involved via WhatsApp, email, or phone calls. Sometimes additional readings just happen – I’ll call and tune in, share what I’m hearing. You need time to tune in to your drum too, even as it’s being made.
4. The Beater or Drumstick
Each beater/drumstick is a work of art, made from sacred wood that I source uniquely for your drum. The beater head uses recycled leather and suede, often with fur, crystals, bells – whatever your drum’s spirit calls for.
I’m looking at one right now with a solid silver bell attached. They’re all unique.
I use ‘drumstick’ as the thought of ‘beating’ a drum kind of makes me wince – these are sacred tools of co-creation.
5. Optional: Matching Rattle
You can commission a matching rattle made from the same hide as your drum. Every component – the wood, crystals found on Welsh lakeshores, fragments of slate, various magical materials – is sourced during ceremony specifically for your rattle.
6. Optional: Drum Glazing
This is my own technique – a form of divination through pigment and ceremony.
Using professional-grade artist pigments, I work with the drum as it dries in a co-creative process. The drum is an active participant – it will literally push off colors it doesn’t want. It’s extraordinary to witness.
The result is a drum that looks like a living landscape, colors settling into the hide in ways that can’t be predicted or controlled. (See the image – this is what a glazed drum looks like.)
I was told by the spirits in my garden not to give these drums away to idiots. (I wondered if that was my dad speaking.) So I don’t. These drums find their people.
What You Get:
– A bespoke ceremonial drum made over weeks or months (sometimes up to a year)
– Pyrographed inner frame with channeled symbols and artwork
– Handcrafted beater, uniquely made for your drum
– A drum that has been to sacred sites, held in ceremony, and matched to your spirit
– Optional: Matching rattle in the same hide
– Optional: Drum glazing with artist pigments
– Full communication and involvement throughout the process
Materials:
– Red Deer or Fallow Deer hide (UK sourced, ethically obtained, limited availability)
– Willow or Ash frame
– Recycled leather and suede for beater
– Sacred woods, crystals, natural materials as guided
– Professional artist pigments for glazing
Availability:
I work on a limited number of commissions each year due to hide availability and the ceremonial nature of the work.
Drums have been made for clients across the UK, Europe, and internationally including the United States, Greece, and Australia.Commission Process:
Contact me to discuss commissioning a drum. We’ll arrange an initial reading to meet your drum’s spirit and determine if this is the right work for us to do together.
Each drum is entirely unique. Pricing depends on size, materials, and additional options (rattle, glazing). Contact for full details.
