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Made in Ukraine

One workshop. One pair of hands.

Open Your Drum is a small workshop in Ukraine. Every drum here is built from wood and goat skin, by hand, one at a time. There is no production line.

The Tree of Life is our signature design — the pattern and the technique were developed in this workshop, and remain the work most often asked for. Each frame is bent from solid wood and left to set for days. Each goat skin is soaked, scraped, stretched, and laced from the back. Each carved handle is shaped and finished by hand. Every drum is tuned by ear before it leaves the room.

We work to order. Pieces that are already finished and waiting are listed under Ready to Ship.

Tree of Life drums

How a drum is made

  • 1. The wood

    Each frame begins as a solid piece of wood, cut to thickness and left to rest before any heat or pressure touches it.

  • 2. Bending the frame

    The wood is steam-softened, bent around a wooden form, and clamped. It stays clamped until it learns its new shape.

  • 3. Preparing the skin

    We work only with goat skin. Every hide is soaked, scraped by hand, and rinsed until clean. No chemical tanning.

  • 4. Lacing

    The wet skin is stretched over the dry frame and laced from the back with rawhide cord. As it dries it tightens itself across the face of the drum.

  • 5. The handles

    Most drums feature the Tree of Life handle, while others use hand-carved alder handles inspired by animal, Slavic, or Siberian motifs. Each handle is shaped, carved, and finished by hand in this same workshop.

  • 6. Tuning and shipping

    Once it is fully dry the drum is played in by hand and tuned by warmth until it holds the sound we want. It ships from Ukraine with a beater made to match it.
See the drums

Ready to ship

Already finished and ready to leave the workshop.
Choose one, and it ships within a few days.