Our Story

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There is something extraordinary about the simplicity of a styk and a string.

The quiet of the woods before daylight. The familiar weight of a longbow resting in your hand. The gentle resistance of the string as you come to full draw. And that fleeting moment when thought gives way to instinct, the string slips from your fingers, and an arrow traces its arc through the air.

For a moment, everything else falls away.

There are no sights, no mechanical advantages, no shortcuts. Just the archer, the bow, and a connection that is difficult to explain until you’ve experienced it for yourself.

Traditional archery has a way of drawing us closer to the natural world. It teaches patience, humility, discipline, and an appreciation for the smallest details. It asks us to slow down, to become more observant, and to immerse ourselves in the beauty of God’s creation.

But perhaps its greatest gift is the connections it creates. Connections to the outdoors, to generations of archers who came before us, to family and friends, and ultimately to something much greater than ourselves.

That connection is the heart of St. Patrick Lake Longbows.

Born From Passion. Built With Purpose.

St. Patrick Lake Longbows began with one man's passion for traditional archery and a relentless desire to build something extraordinary.

Founder Erik Hoff spent much of his life pursuing the outdoors with a bow in hand. But when he discovered traditional archery, something changed. The simplicity of the longbow awakened a connection he hadn't experienced before. The bow became more than a tool for hunting. It became an invitation to slow down, to pay closer attention, and to experience God's creation in a deeper and more meaningful way.

That passion eventually found its way into the workshop.

What began around 2013 with a simple bow-building kit soon became an endless pursuit of refinement. There were countless hours of experimentation, failures that became lessons, and small victories that fueled the desire to build another bow, and then another.

In 2016, St. Patrick Lake Longbows officially came to life, named for the northern Minnesota lake where Erik lived and where his traditional archery journey had taken root.

From those humble beginnings, something remarkable began to take shape.

Erik believed that the timeless designs of traditional archery deserved the same relentless pursuit of performance and precision found in modern engineering. He wasn't interested in simply reproducing the bows of yesterday. He wanted to honor their heritage while discovering just how extraordinary they could become.

That philosophy would become the foundation of St. Patrick Lake Longbows.

Defined by Tradition. Refined by Precision.

There is a particular beauty in a traditional longbow.

The graceful lines of the limbs. The warmth and character of carefully selected woods. The way each component comes together to create something that is as much a work of art as it is a precision instrument.

But beauty alone has never been enough.

Behind every St. Patrick Lake Longbow is a commitment to craftsmanship that reaches far beyond what the eye can see.

Alignment. Plane. Tiller. Draw weight.

Four essential elements, each demanding careful attention, each contributing to the harmony of the finished bow.

Erik's pursuit of these standards led him to embrace modern technology without surrendering the soul of traditional craftsmanship. Precision machining carefully developed processes, and meticulous hand finishing became tools in the pursuit of something greater.

The result was a family of bows that earned respect throughout the traditional archery community, including the American Styk and Mushin Styk, designs recognized for their exceptional shooting characteristics and performance.

The American Styk alone went through more than sixty design iterations before Erik was satisfied, followed by years of continued refinement.

Because perfection, while perhaps never fully attainable, is always worth pursuing.

That same philosophy remains at the heart of SPLL today.

We believe tradition and innovation are not opposing forces. When brought together with intention, they can produce something truly exceptional.

A bow that honors the past while benefiting from everything we've learned along the way.

Defined by Tradition. Refined by Precision.

Two Journeys. One Connection.

Sometimes the most meaningful paths in life are the ones we never could have planned.

Long before St. Patrick Lake Longbows became a possibility for its next owner, Kelley Foss was following a journey of his own.

Raised in a family of makers and craftsmen, Kelley developed an appreciation for creating things with his hands at an early age. That foundation eventually became a nearly thirty-year career in brick and stone masonry, where patience, attention to detail, and an uncompromising commitment to craftsmanship became a way of life.

Hunting and archery had always been passions, but traditional archery awakened something deeper.

The challenge of mastering a simple bow. The unmistakable flight of an arrow. The connection between the archer, the equipment, and the world around him.

It was a return to something elemental.

And eventually, that journey led him to Erik Hoff.

What began as a shared passion for traditional archery gradually became a friendship rooted in common values: faith, family, the outdoors, and the satisfaction of creating something meaningful with one's own hands.

Their paths had crossed at different times over the years, often without either realizing where those encounters might someday lead.

Both men shared a fascination with the simplicity of traditional archery and an appreciation for the craftsmanship behind a truly exceptional bow.

Both believed that the pursuit of excellence was less about reaching perfection than refusing to stop learning.

And both recognized something greater in the connections this way of life creates.

When Erik began considering the future of St. Patrick Lake Longbows, those shared values became the foundation for an unexpected opportunity.

An opportunity neither man had planned, but one both came to believe was guided by God's hand.

A New Chapter. The Same Commitment.

In 2026, St. Patrick Lake Longbows began its next chapter under the ownership of Kelley Foss.

But this transition was never intended to be simply the passing of a business from one set of hands to another.

It is the continuation of a legacy.

Erik and Kelley are working side by side through an extended, hands-on transition, passing along not only the designs, tooling, and processes developed over the years, but also the experience and understanding that come from thousands of hours devoted to the craft.

The subtle details. The lessons learned through trial and error. The standards that distinguish an exceptional bow from one that is merely good enough.

Those things matter.

For Kelley, the responsibility is deeply personal.

The goal is not to reinvent St. Patrick Lake Longbows, but to preserve what made it special while allowing it to grow naturally into the future.

Every bow must continue to reflect the precision, performance, and attention to detail upon which the SPLL name was built.

And every customer should feel confident that the craftsmanship and dedication behind that name remain as important today as they were when Erik built his first bow.

There is room for new ideas, new designs, and new opportunities. But growth will never come at the expense of the qualities that brought us here.

Quality over quantity.

Craftsmanship over convenience.

And a commitment to continually improving, one bow at a time.

More Than a Bow.

When you commission a St. Patrick Lake Longbow, you become part of its story.

From selecting the model and draw weight to choosing the woods, veneers, and finishing details, your bow begins taking shape long before the first pieces are assembled.

There is something meaningful about that process.

Natural materials, thoughtfully selected and carefully brought together, become an instrument uniquely connected to the person who will carry it.

Every curve has a purpose. Every detail matters.

And eventually, that bow will leave the workshop.

Perhaps it will accompany you through the quiet hardwoods of a November morning, the frost settling beneath your boots as the woods slowly awaken.

Perhaps it will travel across mountains, prairies, and distant landscapes in pursuit of adventures yet to be experienced.

Or perhaps its greatest purpose will be found in a backyard, where a parent places a bow in a child's hands and watches that first arrow arc through the air.

A moment that may become a memory carried for a lifetime.

We build bows with the hope that they become part of those stories.

Not simply something to own, but something to experience, to appreciate, and perhaps someday to pass along.

Because the true value of a traditional bow isn't measured only by its craftsmanship or performance.

It's also found in the connections it helps create.

The Story Continues.

St. Patrick Lake Longbows was born from a passion for traditional archery, strengthened by an unwavering pursuit of craftsmanship, and carried forward through the connections made along the way.

Those connections have brought together friends, families, hunters, craftsmen, and generations of archers who share an appreciation for something beautifully simple.

They have also brought together two men whose separate journeys eventually led to the same workshop, the same vision, and a shared responsibility to carry something meaningful into the future.

We believe God has a way of bringing people and opportunities into our lives for reasons we may not fully understand until much later.

And we are grateful for the road that brought us here.

Our commitment is to honor where St. Patrick Lake Longbows came from, remain faithful to the standards upon which it was built, and continue creating bows worthy of the stories yet to be told.

Because in the end, this has always been about more than a bow.

It's about connection.

Faith. Family. Friends. The Outdoors.

St. Patrick Lake Longbows