I met David as a young man in 2010 when he came to Farmington to pick up his Halo. I was immediately impressed with his intellect and maturity for his age. I quickly saw his enthusiasm and drive for creativity as well as for these instruments. During his college years, he and I stayed in touch and I even worked with him sparsely on building his own steelpan during his occasional visits to Farmington.

Just before Jim passed in June 2016, we hired David to come on board and program a machine Jim had been building for many months. David is now working on a new and exciting project with more planned in the future. We are glad to have Mr. Griggs on the team and look forward to what the future holds.

“I grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, and was shocked in 2008 to find one of the first handpan producers in the world just one hour away from home!  I was blessed to be able to purchase Halo #51, and thus began a friendship with Kyle Cox over lunch in Farmington.

I received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at University of Virginia in 2014, where I discovered strong interests in machine design, electronics, and material science, all of which are well suited to benefit the nascent handpan industry.  In my college years, I worked on a six-foot-tall 3D printer, a 3D-printed jet engine, a mars-mining robot, and taught a seminar in which thirty fellow students built their own Caribbean steelpans from scratch.

After graduation, I tried my hand at traditional white-collar engineering, and found out that hacking & making custom devices in my apartment was much more interesting than my real job.  In 2015, I left the corporate world to pursue my dream of building never-before-seen machines, and as it happens Pantheon Steel was in need of just that!  I am designing, building, and programming automated equipment from the ground up to make the best metal canvas possible for our tuners.

Aside from engineering work, I enjoy making electronic music, playing games with friends, traveling whenever possible, and spending time in the Great Outdoors.”