That's me...standing in a river with my baby, 5-year-old son, Yogi the dog and husband, Bill Oyster.
How did this happen?
While growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, there was no question that urban life was my only logical adult path. You know...city lights, concrete, loads of people, modern conveniences and great food. So, again, how did I end up in the mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia standing in a river?
This diversion from city life started 17 years ago when I met Bill Oyster in Athens, Georgia and he "left" his fly rod in my car. We were married a few months later. Fast forward a few years...while Bill was reading aloud from a John Gierach book about fly fishing, he said, "I want a bamboo fly rod." I said, "Make your own."
That was it...Bill made his own bamboo fly rod and then another and another. People saw the rods, people loved them, people started purchasing them.
We were too young and dumb not to follow our hearts. So, I took over the paperwork while Bill made bamboo fly rods and started teaching bamboo fly rod making classes.
Over the past 17 years, I have been introduced to and fallen in love with the woods, nature and all she has to offer and the simple life and style of the river. Once we had children, our want to move to a more fitting environment became a need.
We currently live in the woods and have a full time bamboo fly rod making shop on Main Street in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Our family practically lives at that shop. We work so hard (for example...it's 1:10AM and Bill is varnishing a bamboo fly rod) but never take our life for granted. We still follow our hearts.
