What’s new?

We’ve been super busy! We’ve re-kitted out the workshop with better workshop tools and temperature control, hired a full time master flute maker, apprenticing up a new flute maker and brought on a person to administer the office and business development.

You’re probably wondering what I do with my time now hey? Well being a Steiner teacher and Dad has really shifted my focus and priorities, and balancing this with Southern Cross Flutes was becoming unsustainable for me.

Thankfully Bruce – our humble Flute Maker Master – has shown how he can take the brand of Southern Cross Flutes to a whole new level, offering the most elegantly crafted flutes I’ve come across anywhere. His work has been filled with weird and wonderful commissions that gets him scratching his head – but not one to be confounded for long, will craft something spectacular. Recently we gave him a break from commissions to stretch his creative muscles and craft a flute any way of his choosing. Check out the Osprey Head Flute Bruce came up with.

What is also making this shift easier for me is my partner Ahly coming on board as the office administrator and business developer. She is a self confessed systemiser and has cleaned up my processes and documentation and book-keeping no end. She had a large part to play in the development of the new website too. Oh yeah, Ta DAAAAH… the new website!! THAT took every evening and spare Saturday morning we had last year. It’s a family business through and through when both Ahly and I are thinking, dreaming, breathing flutes.

We have a new addition to the team too, Roger, though you won’t see his efforts for a while yet as he learns the craft of flute making, and helping Bruce out in the workshop. Roger is an accomplished musician in his own right, a hobbyist wood maker, yoga teacher and stock market trader. An unusual combination of talents and interests you might think, but the fit is just right and he laughs at my jokes.

While I’m still actively involved in training and handing over responsibilities to my team, it is my hope to be able to return my attention (and love) back to facilitating flute circles and – if the stars align – organise another one of our very popular Flute Camps Aotearoa.

In the meantime, I’m here to answer your questions and help you find the best flute for you.

Yes, it’s a far cry from when I first began the business of Southern Cross Flutes in 2011 where I did everything from flute making to website building to frequenting festivals and markets to sell my flutes. I didn’t have much business nous or experience, but somehow my passion for the flutes carried me through those untraversed territories. And here we are.

I’m really proud of where Southern Cross Flutes is headed and look forward to being of service to you further in your fluting journeys.

Todd Chaplin
Founder and Director of Southern Cross Flutes