It is safe to say that a good portion of our roots are grounded in the traditional small boats and tall ships of the Northeast.  Both Grant Gambell and Brad Hunter were drawn to the historic windjammer community of Camden, ME, in the mid-1970s, and subsequently the craft that made them move. 
 
Grant had first become enthralled with the art of sailmaking while apprenticing under the young sailmaker, Nat Wilson, at the Mystic Seaport Museum, just up the road from where he grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut.  From there, Grant gathered a variety of experiences and sea time, and eventually landed in Camden with his bicycle in tow.  Between summers working aboard the local windjammers, he befriended and rented shop space from Jessie Reynolds, the step daughter of the turn of the century master sailmaker, Amos Perkins (A.P.) Lord, to pursue his own sailmaking ambitions.
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Brad had similarly found himself employed aboard the "Swift fleet" in Camden, between college semesters, and decided to make a career in the maritime trade.  He got a job with and cut his teeth under the guidance of the Rockport sailmaker, Henry Bohndell.  After a number of years honing his skills, he resolved it was time to try his hand at making sails his own way.  He had also met another likeminded sailmaker that would prove to be a fitting partner for the next 25 years, and thus Gambell and Hunter Sailmakers was born!