Catch The Snitch

Full Name: Rowan Woodward
Age: 60
Birthdate: 1945
Profession: Wandmaker
History:

1956-63: At Hogwarts, Rowan was always curious about wand-lore and why wands performed differently and why different wands were better matches to different witches and wizards. Unfortunately, there were no good books that he could find that answered his questions satisfactorily (some books even contradicted others). It seemed that wand-lore was generally a poorly-understood subject, and what little was known about it, was gate-kept by the wandmakers of the world, who feared trade secrets getting out and ruining the profession. By his third year, he had already determined that he was going to crack this enigma, but he faced an uphill battle. Ollivander's politely declined his summer job applications, and continued to decline even after he'd left Hogwarts. The wand-shop in Knockturn Alley was just as bad, though less polite. It seemed that he had to go about this the hard way, by traveling to foreign lands where the art of wand-crafting wasn't quite as closely-guarded.

1964-71: His first stroke of luck was at the age of 19 when he found a wand-crafter in New York who agreed to teach him if he accepted a five-year apprenticeship contract and signed a non-compete agreement, which he did. From this experience, he became very familiar with the wand materials most commonly used in the United States, and he was exposed to more wand-lore than he ever knew existed, though he was disappointed to find that it was still more of an art than a science. Many material combinations could only be made to work through trial and error and many adjustments. Still, he was appreciative of his master, and he had the beginnings of a promising career.

1971-73: Rowan returned to Britain, but he knew he couldn't compete with Ollivander's yet without more training and a substantial inventory. He'd brought some materials with him from New York, and he assembled a rudimentary workshop in his flat to practice crafting wands using a mix of common American and British materials. He didn't sell anything that he produced just yet, though.

1973-76: In 1973 he found a second apprenticeship opportunity, this one for three years with a wandmaker in Florence, Italy, who agreed to teach him only because he already had substantial experience. His new master used a greater variety of exotic woods and a completely different selection of cores, mostly native to magical creatures (and some plants) found in Europe. While the crafting techniques were similar, working with the new materials was more nuanced. This experience filled in a number of gaps in his knowledge, and by the end of his contract, he was producing wands of equal quality to both his masters.

1976-78: Rowan spent the next two years traveling the world, building up a stock of materials and making contacts with other wandmakers. Some agreed to share some of their hard-earned knowledge in exchange for some of his own.

In 1978, Rowan returned to Britain. He expanded his workshop and began to build up his inventory. Ollivander's used phoenix feathers, but he didn't have a reliable source for them, so he concentrated more on dragon heartstrings, unicorn tail hairs, and hippogriff feathers as cores (Ollivander's didn't use hippogriff feathers), which were more readily available.

In 1982, at the age of 26, Rowan finally opened his wand shop on Diagon Alley, named Swish & Flick. He lived in a flat above his storefront. Ollivander's made for fierce competition, so he had to advertise that he used a broader range of materials, so he was more likely to find the ideal wand for any witch or wizard. He's been operating the shop ever since.

Once he was earning enough revenue to justify it, he began offering summer jobs to Hogwarts students, limited to one or two positions at any one time. This was partly to snub Mr. Ollivander down the street, but also because he believed in sharing knowledge rather than keeping it locked away.

Personality:

Rowan is about what you'd expect for a Ravenclaw, eager to learn for learning's sake, and with a bit of social awkwardness thrown in (think Asperger syndrome: narrowly focusing on one thing at a time, and diving deep into any particular subject, prefering depth of knowledge of a few subjects over breadth). He's tenacious, and when he can't get wand materials to cooperate, he'll conduct endless experiments until he finds out why or works out a solution to make them compatible.

Children who come to him seeking their first wand see him as a kind, grandfatherly-type person, and less eccentric than Mr. Ollivander.


Face Claim: Anthony Hopkins

Basics:
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Residence: London, England, in a flat above his storefront in Diagon Alley
Relationship status: TBD, will seek familial connections to other players' characters
Blood status: pure-blood
Pet: a cat
Wand: multiple
Certifications/skills: Wand-crafting

Family Members:
Children: TBD, will seek familial connections to other players' characters

Hogwarts:
House: Ravenclaw
Years/dates attended: 1956-1963
Favorite subjects: magical theory, charms, transfiguration

Appearance:
Height/build: 5'8", medium build
Hair/eye colour: white hair, blue eyes

OOC information:
OOC username: Fox
Preferred means of contact: Discord