To dispel any possible confusion that may be out there, Peter Hunter no longer takes an active hand in making these pipes.  The designs are largely unaltered as far as chanters go, though I have made improvements to the regulators (a new design from scratch) and flat drones (altered the bass).

I should explain perhaps who I am.  I am Sam Lawrence, I was born in 1976.  I play a large variety of instruments and began playing Irish traditional music when about 14.  The pipes were always at the top of the tree as far as I was concerned, and I jumped at the chance to visit the workshop of Peter when I was 17 or so.  I made myself a chanter with a lot of help – Peter was always helpful to any aspiring piper who had limited funds and plenty of enthusiasm – and later on made a half set.  I then went off to obtain a degree in Popular Music and Recording Technology from the University of Salford and was out of pipemaking for about 10 years.

I visited Peter again for the purpose of getting another concert chanter, and then never really stopped.  As my involvement increased, Peter’s slowly decreased until we closed the old workshop and I moved into a cellar workshop in my house.  As time went on I found it less than ideal to be working underground, and moved about a year ago to a new workshop in Leeds, on the second floor with large windows and a balcony . . . 

I play music as, in the words of my accountant, a “loss making hobby” with the Bradford band Wilful Missing, and also with Rosie Doonan (grand-daughter of John Doonan) and Gary Stewart.  I sometimes play pipes, but more often guitar, mandolin and accordion.

I feel very privileged to be carrying on the work that Peter started.  There is no one else I would rather have learned from, and our attitudes towards tone and aesthetics are happily very similar.

I would love in the future to add a potted biography of Peter to this page as his life has been a great deal more interesting than mine.  Watch this space.