Last weekend, while at the Denver Fly Fishing Show, I came across the booth of a unique company. The Maine-Made Best Co. makes handcrafted fly tying desks, along with some accessories. There were several models on display, and the quality was outstanding. The drawers featured leather pulls, and the construction of the desks was solid, built the old fashioned way. I spent quite a bit of time talking with Evan Emmott, who builds each of these products in Maine. Evan was a very nice guy, a fisherman, and has an obvious passion for doing things the right way. His great grandfather built similar desks many years ago, and Evan is continuing the tradition.
Evan uses hand tools and turn of the century machinery to fashion each piece of tying equipment one at a time specifically for each customer and their requirements. He has several sizes of desks available, and also makes several accessories, such as fly tying tool bags.
I'm very fond of the State of Maine...and I enjoyed meeting a craftsman that appreciates "the way life should be..."
Maine-Made Best has a website,
www.mainemodernwoodworks.com. However, Evan told me that he spends most of his time building desks, so the best way to contact him is through his phone (preferred) at 207-790-2047, or email at evanemmott@gmail.com.
