A fantastic octagonal violin bow by Stéphane Thomachot, one of the premier contemporary bowmakers. 61 grams, made April 2021 with a lively resonance, strong resistance in the camber, full and springy character with a high fidelity focus.
Stéphane Thomachot was born in 1959 in Bourg-la-Reine, France, and studied bow making at Mirecourt under Bernard Ouchard from 1975 to 1978.
Upon graduation, he worked under Philippe Bodart in Marseilles and then at Max Möller & Son in Amsterdam. In 1981, he opened his own workshop in Paris, where he primarily did repairs. After winning gold medals for viola bow in 1982 and for violin bow in 1984 at VSA Competitions, he gradually turned his attention exclusively to bow making.
Stéphane Thomachot received a Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 1989 and the honorary title of Maître d’Art from the French Minister of Culture in 1994. Bowmakers from all over the world who have come to work at his workshop in Paris, many whom subsequently became award winning master makers themselves.
In 2001, he left Paris for Cucuron, a little village in Provence, where he has his studio today where he still continues to inspire the next generation.