Mon-Sat 10-6 | 360.733.5840

About Us

Photo of our staff

Our Story

Bellingham Wind Works has a history in Bellingham and the surrounding area for providing the highest quality wind instrument and string repair. We regularly receive and repair instruments from all over the country, specializing in double reeds and saxophones. Our string technician has more than 35 years establishing a great reputation in the Northwest. With five highly-trained brass and woodwind repair techs and an experienced string tech, we have established a solid reputation for quick turnarounds and friendly, knowledgeable service.

Our goal is to offer services that aren’t being fully met to the musicians, teachers and students of Whatcom and Skagit Counties. In 2011, with the closing of several local music stores, we noticed that few shops carried the level of wind accessories we know players and educators need. In December 2012 we expanded our business to include accessories for brass and woodwinds, including professional-level reeds and mouthpieces, as well as a full array of wind player needs.

Likewise, Bellingham and the surrounding areas lack sufficient quantities and selection of rental horns. In 2013, we began to rent out woodwinds, brass and basic percussion, and in 2015, began to offer orchestral strings as well as the less common rental instruments.

Our goal is to continue to provide for the musical needs of our community and make face-to-face connections with musicians of all ages and abilities.


Our Staff

Ed DeVaney with a machine
Ed has always liked machines.

Ed DeVaney (He/Him)

Ed began repairing musical instruments in 2000, when, fresh out of high school, where he played trumpet, he apprenticed with David Laws. He studied Band Instrument Repair in Red Wing Technical College (Now Minnesota State College – Southeast Technical), earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in Band Instrument Repair, and returned to Bellingham. In 2005 he purchased the facility he was working in and named it The Repair Shoppe. The facility moved into its current location in 2011 and became Bellingham Wind Works. As the proprietor and primary technician, Ed plays everything that comes through the shop. Ed’s favorite musical is West Side Story. He is the owner of a magnificent beard and wants to learn to tie flies someday.

Kat DeVaney posing with a computer
Kat stops for a selfie after setting up the front end computer.

Kat DeVaney (She/Her)

Kat earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Western Washington University in 2005 while studying bass clarinet. After teaching band and orchestra in western Washington for two years, she returned to school and graduated from the Musical Instrument Repair Technician program at Renton Technical College in 2007. Kat began working at Bellingham Wind Works in 2009 as a woodwind and brass technician, and has graduated to running the retail side of the shop as well as coordinating events, handling customer relations, and managing IT. Her primary instruments are bass and soprano clarinet, ukulele, and tin whistle, and she looks forward to learning harmonica and accordion. Kat’s favorite song is a tie between Alan Hohvaness’s “Prayer of St. Gregory” and Stan Kenton’s version of “The Holly and The Ivy.” Kat spends her free time reading fantasy and sci fi, gardening and eating soft cheeses made from cow’s milk.

Dave preparing a cello bridge
Dave shapes a bridge for a local school.

Dave Payne

Dave Payne was invited to bring his extensive knowledge and experience of music retail to manage the Wind Works team in 2013. A professional musician and luthier for 40+ years, Dave is a Fender, Gibson, and Taylor certified repair technician. As a lifelong bass player and having worked in local music stores for nearly 30 years, Dave brings his skills to Wind Works with a smile and a thumbs up. He is the third David to join our team, and at the shop, usually goes by Dave to differentiate himself. He can often be found playing bass with local musical theater groups. Dave’s favorite color is green and his favorite music is the Beatle’s White Album.

Andrea standing at our front counter
Andrea helps keep us organized, on the computer and off.

Andrea Paulson (They/Them)

Andrea came to us in 2017 with the expansion of our school liaison/delivery driver position. In addition to their normal delivery duties, they are building Wind Work’s relationships with local school districts, and has taken on the role of event coordinator for guest artists. Outside of their regular position here, Andrea teaches voice and performs in the community. They hope to learn as much as they can in this position, and regularly uses their clarinet skills to assist with petting zoos, clinics and other events with schools. Their favorite pieces are Heitor Villa-Lobos’s “Bachianas Brasilieras #5,“ and they happen to be an avid lover of Jurassic Park and dinosaurs in general.

Spencer polishing an instrument case
Spencer polishes up a customer’s case before sending it out.

Spencer Le Huquet

We hired Spencer in 2017 as a sales associate and all around helper/good egg. He is always ready with a cheerful word and likes to listen to happy music. Spencer plays French horn, harmonica, and trombone, and is eager to learn brass repair to further expand his already prodigious skill set. Spencer came to us as from a career as an auto mechanic, and thus maintains the Wind Works van (and frequently volunteers his help to his co-workers). He hunts mushrooms on the weekends and can wiggle his ears. Spencer is an accomplished head-patter/tummy-rubber. Free high fives given at request.

David standing, holding a baritone saxophone body and bell
David with a disassembled bari sax.

David Decker

David picked up a saxophone when he was in 5th grade and never put it down, taking his playing all the way through a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in saxophone performance at WWU. After finishing school at Western Washington University in 2015, he went to Renton Technical College where he studied musical instrument repair and has been working at music stores repairing instruments ever since. David is an active performer around the Pacific Northwest, having played with the Equus Saxophone Quartet, the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, the Tacoma Concert Band, the Portland Wind Symphony, the South Sound Saxophone Ensemble, and was featured on Seattle’s KING FM with Equus. In his free time, David tends to his house and patio plants when he isn’t playing Breath of the Wild (the best game ever made, according to David).

Robin holding an accordion and a cornet
Robin bellows on a cornet.

Robin Elwood (He/Him)

We had always been aware of Robin as an accordion repair person, and we were delighted when he put in his application in 2021 for our brass repair technician spot. Robin’s repair journey began in 1997 when he bought a broken accordion and realized that no one in town could fix it, so he would have to do it himself. In 2000, he graduated from Fairhaven College with a degree in feminist theory and grassroots politics, which helps him to make sense of the world. Robin is primarily an accordionist (button and piano), singer, and guitarist, and also plays trumpet. Robin is open to all music, but the English folk tradition will always be dear to his heart. In his free time, Robin raises his kids, plays in local bands, gardens, sails, tends to his many chickens, makes sauerkraut and pickles, and rides his motorcycle.

Marcel with a contrabass saxophone that is taller than he is
Marcel playing his freshly overhauled behemoth.

Marcel Helland (He/Him)

As with many of our staff members, Marcel was a customer prior to becoming an employee in 2019, and he owns an incredible private collection of rare and unusual saxophones. He plays and teaches saxophone and clarinet, with a Bachelor’s degree in both and a Master’s degree in saxophone performance, with a preference toward the Rascher-school style of classical saxophone. Marcel considers himself a jack-of-all-trades, and when not playing music, he finds the most fulfillment in learning new skills. Marcel helps us as both a saxophone expert and as our Director of Operations.

Alexandra with her cat and her alto saxophone
Kitty + Saxophone = Joy

Alexandra Doumas (She/They)

Alexandra has been in Bellingham since 2010 and joined the Wind Works team in 2023. She is an enthusiastic multi-instrumentalist and music nerd, enjoying a little bit of everything…but most especially saxophone, drums, guitar, and musical saw. She performs with local chamber pop group Traesti Darling, formerly known as The Living Arrows, and hosts open mic night at the New Prospect Theatre. Her other favorite things include knitting colorful garments for loved ones, singing in harmony, wandering forests and beaches with her offspring, and watching birds do bird stuff. She can often be found giving spontaneous amateur haircuts to friends and strangers and listening to the same bands she has loved since 6th grade.

Maxwell plays a sousaphone in a colorful atmosphere
Maxwell plays sousaphone in a colorful atmosphere.

Maxwell Lemke (He/Him)

Maxwell Angelo Lemke is a musician, composer, arranger, artist, and band leader living in Bellingham Washington. He is previously known for his role in playing with Beautiful Freaks, an art rock group that has risen to prominence in the past several years, and has performed on the popular Seattle radio station KEXP. Currently he leads Analog Brass, a contemporary New Orleans style brass band that is known for touring regionally from Vancouver British Columbia to Eugene Oregon, releasing new art that pushes the boundaries of the brass band genre, and has even shared a stage opening for the world class touring band Lucky Chops. On a warm day you can find Maxwell rehearsing with his band, working up new music down by the water!

Eli in a suit holding a euphonium
Eli is a professional.

Eli Yost (He/Him)

Eli joined us during the summer of 2020. He had been visiting us as a customer long before his employment, before we expanded the shop. He plays euphonium, trombone, and guitar. Eli is currently attending Western Washington University for a major in Music Education. His favorite musical artists are Cory Wong, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Mac Demarco. When not playing his instruments, he can be found on Mt. Baker backpacking in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Lucas playing marimba
Lucas in his favorite place - playing a marimba.

Lucas Webster (He/Him)

Lucas originally came into our shop in 2014 looking for a new trombone mouthpiece, bought a trombone and various tuba equipment over the years, and joined our team in July 2020 as our resident percussionist! He is currently studying a double major in Percussion Performance and Music Education at Western Washington University, where he also works as the Band Instrument Librarian. Lucas loves everything to do with hitting things musically, and can usually be found on the far side of a marimba. He carries a passion for teaching music, learning new instruments whenever possible, and listening to as many styles of music as possible. On the rare chance he is not percussion-ing, Lucas likes competing in disc golf tournaments, writing out his own arrangements of music, and playing video games with his friends.

A man lying in the street parallel to drawn street art of a trumpet
Girard and D Street, courtesy of Sattva Photo - Artwork by Ruckas

Pace Rubadeau (He/Him)

Pace joined Wind Works as a sales associate in Fall of 2021 and ascended to the role of Assistant Manager in Fall of 2024. As a trumpet player and veteran of the Army Band, he's traveled across four continents and performed in all fifty states. As a producer, he's inspired by fashion and dance of the early jazz era. As a community advocate, he's drawn to learning from and contributing to the surrounding scene. Pace has called Bellingham home since 2015 and is grateful to all the friends who welcomed him in. He lives at Lettered Streets with his dream partner, near a magic parking lot that became a therapeutic spot to serenade the neighborhood during a difficult time.

Derek standing next to a bench holding a metal oboe
Derek in his repair environment

Derek Stephenson (He/Him)

Derek joined our team in 2022 as a woodwind repair technician. Specializing in double reeds, Derek has been playing oboe for more than twenty years and is looking forward to branching out and exploring the rest of the woodwind family. He has a degree in oboe performance from Western Washington University and completed the Instrument Repair program at Renton Technical College. Derek enjoys orchestral music with oboe features such as Bachanal from Samson and Delilah. In his free time, he plays DnD, makes oboe reeds, and spends time with his feline children.

Aster holding an ophicleide
Aster holding an ophicleide

Aster Lebitz-Braden (They/Them)

Aster started repairing instruments at Wind Works during summer 2021, and then attended the Band Instrument Repair program at Renton Technical College, graduating in 2022. They work summers in the repair shop while attending the Evergreen State College during the school year. Aster plays trombone, ophicleide, and mellophone and enjoys learning about, playing, and collecting unusual musical instruments. Aster likes a large variety of music, especially experimental and noise.

Woman holding a cello
Cori majestically performing her cello.

Cori Holquinn (She/Her)

Cori began her musical journey at the age of 9 on violin. After a year and a half of wanting to throw her violin across the room, she switched to cello and has never looked back. With music as the focus of study throughout her educational career, Cori has obtained an Associates of Arts and Sciences degree with a focus in music from Whatcom Community College (2013), and a Bachelor's of Music in Cello Performance from Western Washington University (2018). After graduating WWU, and being thoroughly exhausted from a rigorous performance program, she decided to pursue her interest in lutherie and contacted local master luthier Barry Hembree to ask to be his apprentice. He gave her a small hand plane, said, "sand these three sides until they're smooth and square, and bring it back to me." Three days of sanding and two very sore arms later, she returned the plane and upon inspection he says, "okay let's get started!" When Cori isn't playing, repairing, or apprenticing, she can often be found knitting several projects at once and most likely buried in yarn. Her cat and ball python are concerned about this hobby, but mostly just want to be fed.

Shirley with red tulips in the background
Shirley in her natural habitat – a tulip field.

Shirley Hutchison

Kat’s mother Shirley serves as part-time office manager, acquisitions, HR and bookkeeper. She is a retired manager of public health programs funded through federal, state and local revenues, and has additional experience as the interim Executive Director of a small nonprofit. Shirley’s favorite music depends on the time of year. In December, she enjoys the “Messiah,” and during the rest of the year enjoys Copland and hearing her son-in-law play-test instruments. She looks forward to seeing how many window displays Kat and Spencer can devise in a year, and when at home cultivates oysters, orchids and a Meyer lemon tree.

David Laws in a suit
David at his finest.

David Laws

David worked in music stores for eighteen years, from Federal Way to Marysville. In 1990 he opened West Wind Instrument Service in Marysville, and moved his repair shop to Bellingham in 1993. A prize-winning clinician at national repair conventions, he accepted the teaching position at Renton Technical College’s Musical Instrument Repair Technician Program, and retired in 1999, returning to Bellingham. As our Repair Technician Emeritus, he assists with repairs when we get overwhelmed. As with all of us, David’s favorite music changes regularly, but he continues to come back to the 1945 original video for Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” A lifelong scholar, he hopes to learn how to be more disciplined in his playing, listening and practicing. He plays saxes and piano, and is working on playing flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone and melodica. He was once shot at by a candidate for Seattle City Council, and confirms the words of Sir Winston Churchill: “It is exhilarating to be shot at without result.”

winds, strings, percussion repair, rentals, retail

Bellingham Wind Works

2405 Meridian Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

Mon-Sat 10-6

360.733.5840

[email protected]

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