Meet Victor Kuhn of Vikies Bows&Arrows in Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Victor Kuhn.

Victor, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have been making and shooting bows and arrows throughout my whole adult life, starting as a kid I’ve been reading books and educating myself in the “primitive” technologies as long as I can remember. I would have different jobs and hobbies but primitive archery has always been in and out of my life like a thread. For me making traditional bows and arrows is a journey without end in sight, like climbing a mountain witch peak you can not see. With every new bow, I get a little better, new ideas come up, new designs of inlays start to float in front of me as asking to be executed. Even thou the technical part of how bow and arrow work does not change it is the nuances that keep reveling themself.

For most part the bones (structure and design) of my bows are ancient and I invent nothing, it is the fine details that I strive to bring to perfection.

In my bow and arrow making I want to stay as pure and as honest to ancient technologies as I can so even thou I use modern tools all the materials are natural and contain no artificial/petroleum products (except occasional bowstring on some hunting or target archery bowstrings) Also I harvest all the materials I use.

Directly connected to my craft is archery. Bows and arrows are functional objects, so good looks aside they have to perform. Bow has to shoot good and arrow has to fly good. I am a passionate archer and shooting a lot I know what good bow has to be like so as the maker I don’t rely on other archers’ feedback but I test all the bows personally.

As a result of me shooting so much, I was led on the path of becoming an archery instructor and teaching archery.

Has it been a smooth road?
For last several years, I have been turning my hobby into a business and it has not been smooth sailing. One of the biggest obstacles was realizing that being a good bow/arrow maker is only a small part of running business. Sometimes I have to spend much more time and energy on stuff that is not related to creating or shooting which is hard.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
My business is rather unusual. I make bows and arrows for people who shoot target archery, hunt, shoot bow and arrow just for fun or buy a bow or arrow to hang on the wall of their home or office as art. I am proud of moments when I introduce archery to someone who never shot bow and arrow before and it opens up whole new world for them.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Denver/Boulder and the whole front range is a very good place for primitive archery. It is almost as if Colorado and the mountains either draw certain people or maybe this environment awakens something up in people that makes them open to try new things that are more down to earth.

Pricing:

• My prices vary greatly from $20 an arrow to $2000 bow for archery aficionado and everything in between.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1730 Bluff st.
  Boulder Colorado
• Website: vikies.org
• Phone: 303-217-6265
• Email: vikin@live.com
• Instagram: @vikiesbowsandarrows
• Other: https://www.vikies.org

Image Credit:
Some of the images to be credited to Castnerphoto.

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