Illinois woman pursues passion by manufacturing her own harps

BETHANY, Ill. -- Christina Marshall's dictionary may lack the word "impossible."\nBut the 23-year-old Bethany, Ill., resident's picture could appear next to "tenacious."\nHer latest challenge is developing her fledgling harp manufacturing business into a full-grown enterprise. And considering her past accomplishments, some of the best harps could one day bear the name "Marshall."\nBy 1998, the ambitious Marshall had mastered playing the piano and the violin and was looking for her next instrument. She chose the harp.\n"I saw a picture, and I thought it would be cool to do," said Marshall, who was homeschooled with her sister and two brothers.\nHarps, however, were out of her price range, so she decided to make one; simple as that.\nHer father, Neil, promised to help her if she ever found the right design schematic. Marshall, who goes by the nickname, Nina, said her father thought it was a promise he wouldn't have to keep.\nHe was wrong.\nAside from the design, the other major difficulty was getting the costly cured hardwood to form the harp's body. Rather than buying it, Neil Marshall broke out his chain saw.\nThe Marshalls then constructed their own saw mill and a kiln to cure the wood. Now, in addition to their many other ventures, they sell wood cut and cured in their mill.\nIt took Nina Marshall all of three weeks to build her first harp. Since then, she has made five small "lap" harps, which sell for $300 each, and seven large harps, which go for $2,500 a piece.\nShe consults with other harp makers over the Internet, but there's a limit to the knowledge she can glean that way.\n"Once you start doing it, you do it a lot by trial and error," Marshall said. "Not everyone wants to give their harp-making secrets away"