Setting up Old Phartt’s Archery and moving all my archery material there from my personal web site a year ago was one of those things that seemed like a good, fun idea at the time. However, it hasn’t worked out as I might like.
In moving the material from my site and setting up an additional site, I essentially doubled my costs. I felt this was worthwhile if it made all that building material easier for folks to find.
Unfortunately, I also created a situation in which too many folks regarded OPA as an archery business, which was not intended. I tried to make it clear that it wasn’t and that I don’t take orders for bows, but the message wasn’t (isn’t) getting through. I am repeatedly called to task for “promoting” my bows, no matter how many times I repeat that I do not take orders for bows. All I’ve been trying to do is share some enthusiasm and learning. I’ve posted hundreds of pages of web material on every building step I’ve taken, including showing every mistake so that others could avoid them. However, I’m tired and I’m simply going to stop doing it.
I am going back to my original set up and am moving all of the existing OPA instructional pages back to:
www.dickwightman.com as an indexed sub-section on that site, titled “Archery Activities”. I will be editing areas that seem to create the “business” appearance and doing away with any “Old Phartt’s Archery” page titles and references. I’ll still be building bows; I happen to enjoy it. However, if you want to see them, or see if I’ve learned anything new about building, you’ll have to go to my site to do it.
I’m posting this to alert those who have the buildalong pages for bows and bow making equipment bookmarked for reference. Hopefully, folks who had bookmarked the Old Phartt’s site will see this and change their bookmarks and others will still find the information on building bows and equipment. I’ve been told by several people that it’s actually helpful.
I apologize for the past confusion and also for the inevitable, but hopefully brief, confusion this material relocation may cause. Be assured that nothing is changing in what I do, just in how I present it. My interest remains building simple, traditional D shaped flatbows, and sharing information on doing that, but only where it will not be regarded as some kind of commercial competition.
Oh, yeah… I am not a custom bowyer… I do not take orders for bows.
Dick in Seattle
Topic: OPA Closing Site (Read 285 times)
