ASHLAND – For decades, members of the Mohr family have been honing their craft of stringed instrument bow making and restoration.
Now, they are passing on their knowledge through their new business, Learning Trade Secrets.
Learning Trade Secrets opened earlier this year at 106 Hedstrom Drive next to Great Dragon in the former Walmart plaza. Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed the business to the community with a ribbon cutting.
The business is owned by Rodney and Ann Mohr and their daughter, Katherine Mohr-Burgett. Rodney and Ann also continue to operate their bow making and restoration business Mohr and Mohr, while Katherine also runs her own business called fille de Mohr.
At Learning Trade Secrets, Rodney, Katherine and several guest instructors lead various workshops throughout the year. Ann runs the business side of the operation.
The new business is an outgrowth of a concept that began out of the Mohr’s home on Center Street. (The couple is known in town for having moved their historic home from 608 Center Street to its current location at 513 Center Street in 2002.)
In 2013, the Mohrs began hosting out-of-town guests in their home for four-person bow making and restoration workshops.
Bows can cost anywhere from around $100 to hundreds of thousands of dollars, Ann said. But despite the fact that bows are expensive and fragile, bow work is often given to the newest and least experienced workers in an instrument shop.
As demand for the workshops grew, the Mohrs moved the classes into their garage and eventually decided to take the leap of spinning the workshops off into a seperate business in the rental space in the Hedstrom plaza. The new space can accommodate up to 15 students at a time.
With the new business, the Mohrs have been able to expand their offerings by bringing in guest instructors to teach workshops ranging from a course in retouching varnish to a frog and button making class. The workshops draw participants from all over the country, including some who are sent by their employers to gain new skills.
“A lot of shops don’t have that ability to teach people to do things, but education is great for employee retention,” Rodney said.
The Mohrs have 14 classes planned for next year, and Rodney said he hopes the business will benefit the local economy by bringing visitors to the community for weeklong classes.
“These people are coming, spending a week, staying in local hotels or bed and breakfasts,” he said. “And of course, we’re spending a lot of time at Uniontown (Brewing Company).”
In addition to their instrument and bow making and restoration offerings, the Mohrs are also exploring possibilities for adding workshops in skills like wood carving and knife sharpening.
“If somebody has an idea of a class that needs to be taught, let us know,” he said.
More information about Learning Trade Secrets can be found at www.learningtradesecrets.com or on the business’s Facebook Page or by calling (419) 922-9474.
