Brent and Annette Cole (Alaska Specialty Woods) lost home to fire

[Joel Teel]

Hello all,
Many of you folks probably know of, and have purchased soundboard material from Brent and Annette Cole at Alaska Specialty Woods. These are the folks who supplied the "Ancient Sitka" soundboard to our very own Steve Sheriff (theEdwinson)...being used in the current build for GaultierRedon14. If you remember, it has been paired with that amazing set of Bois de Rose, and is currently in finish.

Last month, there was a fire that destroyed the Cole's home and office...Brent and Annette survived, though Brent was sent to the burn unit in Seattle for the injuries he sustained.

I've posted a link to a page which gives a very descriptive account of the fire (and the story also contains a link to a go fund me account that has been set up to help these folks in their time of need). You can also help out by going to their website and purchasing any of the wonderful soundboard and bracing material that ASW supplies. Whether you need soundboard material right now, or not...you will need more in the future...and their need is right here and right now. You can invest in Brent and Annette's future, while also investing in the future of your guitars...win-win. 😋

http://www.alaskawoods.com/blog/alas...ole-home-fire/

JR...if you find that this isn't the appropriate location for this post, please move accordingly.

Thanks All, for reading...
Joel Teel (aka Wood Knot)

[Joel Teel]

Steve Sheriff (theEdwinson) bought this spectacular bearclaw top from Alaska Specialty Woods...
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=428698

And this spectacular 3000 year old Ancient Sitka top...
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=417651

Both links are current build threads, of Steve's, and worth the time to check out...

[theEdwinson]

I was absolutely shocked to hear about this disaster, and especially about Brent's burn injuries. WHY do bad things happen to such good people? It was encouraging to read Brent's description of the fire and the events around it, because he sounds fairly calm and cool, in good shape, and with the same indomitable and good-humored nature I've always known him to have. This could have gone an awful lot worse.

Now we need to pitch in and try to help Brent and Annette rebuild, and keep ASW on a smooth glide-path to greater prosperity.
I buy all my Sitka and Yellow Cedar from Brent, simply because I absolutely trust his grading to be the most reliable in the industry, and I've never once been disappointed with any of the wood I've bought from him. Brent's AAA top sets are routinely about the quality that other vendors call Mastergrade.

I recently bought ten sets of AAAA bearclaw, reclaimed from a float log that came from a tree that was cut in the 1980s. Just finished a new Siren guitar with this wood, and WOOOO, is it pretty! And the tap tone is just phenomenal. HERE is an example of what Brent sells.

I also bought four sets of AAA Pillow-quilt Sitka at the same time, plus a lot of split bracewood, which are all just about perfect.

One of the best things about doing business with Brent is, he ONLY sources wood from dead standing or blow-down trees, or reclaimed logs that were cut long ago. He is passionate about preserving this valuable resource, and also about wise and careful stewardship of the Tongass forest, stopping the clear-cutting and decimation of these giant, majestic trees.

Brent is a good man with a good heart, and he runs an upright, honest, super high quality business, supplying the best Alaskan soundboard woods for us luthiers and our clients. I urge everyone here to give him your business if you haven't already, and help him and his family survive and prosper; because as a result, we will all do better. Last time I talked to Brent via email, he said that Alaska Specialty Woods is truly a custom shop. And when you buy woods from them, you can be assured that you will get the custom shop treatment, all the way.

And by the way, Brent's prices are more than fair. You'll score a great deal on some great wood, and it will probably be better than you were expecting, especially for what you pay for it.

And Joel (Wood Knot) thanks a million for posting this thread. More people need to know about Brent and Annette and their business. And mostly, for now, I think we need to lend as much support as we can so that this conflagration fades into memory quickly, and the recovery is speedy and complete.

I'm hoping to sell another of my "spare" guitars, so I can spring the cash to order a stack of AAAA and Mastergrade unfigured top sets to round out my collection. These will help to elevate the prestige of my brand, and make my customers as happy as Brent has made me.

[Brad Goodman]

I have been doing business with Brent for about 12 years.

I met him a few times at the ASIA symposiums.

He is a great guy. I have always highly recommended his wood to other Luthiers. He has had some of the nicest Sitka (especially Bear Claw) that I have seen.

Any help we can give him I am sure would be greatly appreciated by him and his family.

[wannabeGP]

I went into Brent and Annette Cole's website but do not see the "go fund me" link that you mention. ?????

[theEdwinson]

I just posted a comment to Brent, on his website blog, requesting the link to the Go Fund Me page. I was looking for that too. Hopefully someone who has this information will post it here.
Anyone else who sees this, and wants to help, you can provide valuable assistance by posting about this on other guitar-related forums and all of your social media channels. We need to get the word out as widely as possible, so Brent and Annette can get the help they need. Thanks!

[Nemoman]

Here's the link to the GoFundMe page for the Cole family.

https://www.gofundme.com/5vzxk5gk

[wannabeGP]

Thanks all for your assistance in getting the website.
Ed

[Joel Teel]

Originally Posted by wannabeGP

Thanks all for your assistance in getting the website.
Ed

Yes...thank you!!! When I originally read the story on the blog, and subsequently posted that link here, there was an embedded link to the go-fund-me account inside.