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On target: Google search leads Hollywood to local bowmaker

Grayvn Traditional Archery created prop bows for latest ‘Avatar’ film

Grayvn Traditional Archery owner Ned Miller works on a hickory longbow in his Altoona workshop. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Creating bows found nowhere else has been the key to success for an Altoona-based business whose work can be seen not only in the real world, but also in the digital world of “Avatar: The Way of the Water.”

The movie opened in theaters Friday.

It’s Grayvn Traditional Archery’s biggest project to date, said Ned Miller, who owns the company along with his wife, Marlana.

“We have worked on this for years with their props department,” Miller said, noting he traveled to California about four years ago to help put the project in place.

The audience will see a digital representation of the bows Grayvn designed for the movie.

From left, Gavyn, Greyson, Bayla and Ned Miller work on a traditional bow at their shop in the Greenwood section of Altoona. Courtesy photo

“The biggest challenge is that it is a 100 percent digital movie; you never see the bows we built,” he said.

The bows Grayvn created for the movie were made of PVC and wood. Then, using the magic of computer-generated imagery, or CGI for short, those pieces were transformed into the bows seen on the big screen.

While “Way of the Water” is purely digital, traditional Grayvn bows have appeared in other movies, though the company’s name won’t appear in the credits, because to be listed there, the Millers would have had to pay a large fee.

Instead, they rely on the quality of their products, word of mouth and Google search engines, which Miller explained is how Grayvn was located and the Millers were contacted about making bows for movies and shows.

Earlier this year, Grayvn built Comanche bows for the movie “Prey,” Miller said, which “was a great film.”

Grayvn Traditional Archery owner Ned Miller works the wound grip of a hickory longbow in his workshop in the Greenwood section of Altoona. The business is a family affair, with Miller’s wife, children and father taking part in crafting the traditional bows. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The bows created for the movie had to resemble bows from hundreds of years ago, he said. “It was neat to see them on film.”

In 2021, Grayvn created Japanese Samurai Yumi bows for the Netflix series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a project that the Millers’ children got involved in.

“That was a fun project,” Miller said. “Their input and ideas are really great; they help with the process.”

Grayvn has built original designs or provided technical advice for TV, film and web series and has built bows and arrows for the Erik MacRay Film Project, “The Hunt for Gollum,” “Born of Hope,” the “Rangers” web series, “Once Upon a Time,” the “Ren” series, AMC’s “Turn” series, WGN’s “The Outsiders” and a TV series pilot, “Rayden Valkyrie.”

‘Lord of the Rings’ spikes interest

Miller’s interest in bows sprang from the original “Lord of the Rings” movie in 2002, when he became obsessed over the bows and arrows used in the film.

“All I wanted to do was make and shoot one of those bows,” he said.

A one-day bow building class he and his dad, Perry, took in Philadelphia “lit a fire in me to continue building and designing my own bows,” Miller said.

He admits the learning process “took time, blood, sweat and tears” and he worked out of his one-car garage on a makeshift workbench until he designed and built his first bow — the Heritage Longbow, which continues to be one of the company’s best sellers.

Today, Grayvn is a complete family business, with Ned and Marlana joined by Ned’s dad, Perry, a craftsman completing bow prep and sanding; son Greyson, 15, completing leather work; Bayla, 14, building arrows; and Gavyn, 12, staining.

“We are 100 percent family run, and we love it,” Ned Miller said.

Several businesses in one

The Millers started Crows Head Archery in 2006 to offer unique bows and well-known brands, but today, their enterprise is basically three businesses in one — Grayvn Traditional Archery, Crows Head Archery and Kustom King Traditional Archery.

The Millers’ children also have their own business, GBG Youth Archery, and are featured in their own YouTube channel that includes demonstrations and trick shots.

According to the kids’ website, gbgarchery.com, they had to learn how to build the bows, launch their website and market their brand.

Greyson, who enjoys small game hunting and 3D target shooting, designed the Eagle Eye PVC Longbow, while Bayla designed the Firefly Recurve and enjoys distance and trick shooting. The youngest, Gavyn, likes distance shooting and trick shots and designed the Grizzly Bear Horsebow.

The children’s business is doing well, Miller said.

The kids are part of the Arrows Christian Academy archery team, whose coach Theron Glenny, said Grayvn’s bows are a perfect starter bow for kids learning archery.

“I’ve bought their bows for my own kids, my friend’s kids and for the kindergarten through second grade students at Arrows Christian Academy to shoot since the arrows come with rubber tips, which are perfect for younger ages,” said Glenny, who is also the school’s founder.

Bows for hunting, fantasy

There are three basic categories of customers, Miller said — target archers, bow hunters and fantasy enthusiasts.

Grayvn makes about 2,000 bows a year and has about 5,000 customers, he said, noting the business is best known for creating bows that can’t be found anywhere else.

“Archers want to shoot a bow that is made by hand,” he said, adding that most of the bows are custom made to the specifications the customer ordered. “Our products are not sold in stores.”

Grayvn focuses on traditional bows, a small subset of the archery world, and is the only shop in Pennsylvania that manufactures traditional archery, according to Miller.

In addition, the business offers arrows, quivers, arm guards and other supplies. Grayvn also has bow-building kits for those who want to create their own piece, and Grayvn gear, such as pens, patches, mugs and hats. Bows include the classic English longbow and the classic traditional longbow, along with the Elven Army bow, inspired by “The Lord of the Rings” movies, the Forest Runner Katniss Longbow, inspired by “The Hunger Games,” and the Ranger Bow of Adrasil, which is perfect for cosplay, live action role play, target shooting or hunting, according to its description on grayvn.com.

There are also Medieval-style bows, Native American bows and Asian and bamboo bows, to name a few.

The traditional archery niche has grown every year, Miller said, most notably when movies featuring traditional bows have been released.

“We saw our biggest growth after ‘Lord of the Rings,'” he said. Then, when “Hunger Games” came out in 2012, the shop got another boost.

Not only were the movies good for business, but the COVID-19 pandemic also boosted sales.

“A lot of people had a lot of time to go out and shoot bows,” Miller said. “We saw a big boost during COVID time.”

According to the company’s website, the Millers love traditional archery and everything it stands for — adventure, tradition, heritage, history, simplicity and taking the road less traveled.

“We feel traditional archery is more than just shooting a wooden bow, it’s a way of life,” the website states. “When you hold a traditional bow in your hand you feel a connection to something deep within your soul, a connection to the past and the spirit of traditional archery.”

Miller said he is optimistic for the future of the business, driven by its hand-crafted traditional bows.

“As the world gets more modern, we are staying with what got us here, a simple traditional bow,” he said.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.

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