My deepest and sincerest apologies to those of you who have responded to the Farnham Caseworks Inc website and MA Gordge. Due to circumstances beyond my control I have experienced some delay with respect to re-establishing the MA Gordge company in Canada under the umbrella of Farnham Caseworks Inc. I anticipate the product will be available as from the summer of 2011. My hope is that it will be an auspicious year!
Your patience in this matter is saintly and we hope soon to be of service to your requests for replacement covers, rebuilds and cases from new. Thank you.
A number of years ago I represented Canada as President of the Canadian Viola Society at the Viola Congress in Austin, Texas. As I was getting out of the shuttle at the Austin, TX airport to catch a flight home there was the sound of something being run over by a limousine. We were in the third lane from the curb letting off passengers to go into the terminal and someone had put their viola on the ground to go around our vehicle to pick up luggage and then this really horrible sound arose as a low-slung Mercedes limo ran over the viola case. I didn't have the heart to stick around to find out what the damage was, but the case was completely done and had sustained damage sufficient enough that it the outcome for the viola inside looked pretty grim as well.
Years before while studying with Nathan Gordon in Detroit, I was at his home waiting on a lesson when he arrived to announce that someone in the orchestra had just run over their viola. Apparently this person had both arms full of things and put the viola down on the ground to place items in the car and then forgot about the viola. Not good.
From then on, I decided that although I didn't own a priceless instrument, the one I did own meant the world to me, and replacing it would doubtless prove difficult especially on short notice. I then formulated and follow a simple rule - the viola (in it's case) stays in my hand always between the venue/house and the car. It cannot leave my hand in between. If I have to make a second trip - so be it. You will have to decide for yourself if your instrument takes precedence over your sleeping child!
A few years ago I started to toy with the idea of producing a case that would physically stand up to a vehicle running over it. A fair bit of research and then course work in composite materials has taken place as a result of this fascination. And in the near future we plan to bring to market a case made of composite materials.
Meanwhile, in the summer of 2007 the sale of the MA Gordge company came to our attention and we decided to acquire the company since it has a fine reputation for excellent cases and would make a good fit with our intended market. I own a Gordge case and have always been impressed with its construction and after a decade of use find that it is still in excellent condition. Gordge will be the line of cases offered by Farnham Caseworks Inc. that have a wooden plywood shell.
While there were and are cheaper cases than the Gordge on the market, for beauty, art born of tradition, cost effectiveness and the proven ability to protect a good instrument, we feel there is no better wooden shell case on the market. We have in our possession several cases from over the years that were sent back to the factory demonstrating tire marks and looking somewhat the worse for wear. They had to be replaced with new and yet there are no reported instances of damage to an instrument while in a Gordge case. This is the type of case that Farnham Caseworks Inc. wants to be involved with and whose continued existence we think is important for the priceless instruments of the world.
In 1967 Mick Gordge established the eponymous firm to bring to market the cases that would establish him as one of the world's top premier violin and viola case makers. Over the years his cases would carry and protect innumerable rare and precious violins and violas around the world.
As a young lad he showed an unusual penchant and ability for working with wood by turning crates (used to ship perishable goods to his families small general store in London) into toys for play. As his woodworking skills increased he became more intrigued with the art of fine wood working eventually producing items for use around the house. In his late teens he apprenticed to the nearby and renowned violin shop W.E. Hill & Sons on Bond St. to learn the case making trade. After completing his apprenticeship he worked at Hill's until being lured away to work as a sales representative with another famous firm, this time the electronics maker Marshall Amps in Bletchley, NE of London. (Historians will note that this is the location were the British and their allies managed to decode the German Enigma enciphering machines. The transcripts of these efforts were limited in distribution to only a hand full of people and marked "Ultra". One of the by products of this deciphering work was "Colossus" the first programmable digital computer as developed by Alan Turing and others on the team to speed up the deciphering process.)
After serving Marshall for a couple years Mick found himself drawn once again to the art and practice of case making and purchased machinery and leased space in Bletchley at 3 Mount Rd. to continue the Hill tradition of case making. Here he produced his life's work, at times working all the hours sent his way.
Mr. Gordge lead a life rich in many ways. Aside from the artists and trade professionals he came to know he found time to raise a successful family, indulge himself in fine cars, travel fairly extensively and on occasion play a bit of pool and take in a pint or two. Everyone who knew him appreciated his ability to partake in the "la dolce vita" but even more so, realized he had an eye for fine lines and detail, qualities which underlie the many fine attributes of his cases.
Mr. Gordge, thank you for carrying on the wonderful tradition of Hill style cases and your years of dedicated work, producing cases which truly protect our fine instruments.