BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Tucked into the alleyway behind Depot Market Station is a not-so-secret gem for instrument enthusiasts and musically inclined collectors. You can find a small shop with custom and antique string instruments at Champlin Guitars, where the owner spends most of his days when he’s not performing at one of Bellingham’s various music venues.

Devin Champlin moved into the cozy storefront about four years ago after spending two years on Cornwall Avenue at what he said was the cheapest rent he could find. Champlin Guitars was born from his skills as a luthier and the idea that Champlin wanted to own a “cool guitar shop downtown.”

His time as a musician in Bellingham include as frontman of The Sons of Rainier, a robust solo career and the recently formed Devin Champlin’s Diamond Club.

Champlin began his music education at around 10 years old. His father and brother played guitar – which encouraged him to pick up the string instrument, and he sang in choir throughout middle school and high school. He started playing in punk bands in Chicago during the late-90s, making the transition to folk music shortly before moving out west to Bellingham 25 years ago.

“I played [a] couple punk bands, kind of punk and hardcore music, and then started teaching myself to finger pick and do folk music around that same time, like my late teens. And then did a deep dive into a lot of that stuff. Played a lot of like banjo and fiddle, and I don’t know, just to keep picking up things and learning them,” Champlin said. “[I] continue to do that through my life, just self-taught, self-guided play.”

Electric guitars line half of the main room in Champlin Guitars. Some are economically priced models, while others are custom or antique pieces. Champlin said his staff works on most instruments they sell before they go on the floor, and they try to keep prices reasonable. Photo by Emma Toscani

The multi-instrumentalist can play several string instruments to different degrees of proficiency and currently takes piano lessons to improve his abilities. He also paints, does lettering and makes what he calls “weird videos” in his spare time. His songwriting, however, is a core part to his music, guiding the creative process for The Sons of Rainier and his solo career.

The Sons of Rainier is a collection of musicians that, at the time of formation in 2017, all called northwest Washington home. Made up of creatives in their own right, bandmates Champlin, Dean Johnson, Sam Gelband (of Mr. Sam and the People People) and Charlie Meyer produce a simplistic, easygoing alt-folk sound. The group played a show at Boundary Bay this summer, marking the final time the now far-flung bandmembers would take the stage in the brewery’s beer garden.

“A bunch of people came out, and it started raining, and people just hung out anyway,” Champlin said. “I just felt super lucky. And just felt like the kind of musical love [in the yard]. But yeah, it was such a cool crowd and just so sweet. And I think the fact that it was raining [added] to the odd magic of it, that people were just kind of getting wet and hanging out and dancing and whatever, singing along.”

The Sons of Rainier perform at Boundary Bay on Aug. 14, 2025. It was a rare performance for the band whose members live in different cities in northwest Washington and New Orleans. Photo by Emma Toscani

Champlin said that right after the set at Boundary Bay, all four musicians made it into the studio to record a new album. Along with Johnson, Champlin will make it back into the studio for finishing touches later this year. The third album will come out either this winter or, at the latest, next spring.

A major aspect to Champlin’s music in a band setting is the harmonizing of vocals. Champlin’s new band Diamond Club is largely a backing band made up of Champlin’s friends. He said the three backup female singers in Diamond Club add a different quality to the music that he appreciates.

Plans to record music with the Diamond Club is not set-in-stone, but Champlin is enjoying being with a band that calls Whatcom County home. Diamond Club performed at this year’s Subdued Stringband Jamboree and will be putting on a show with fellow PNW act Von Wildenhaus at Boundary Bay Thursday, Sept. 18.

Devin Champlin lays strings into notches on the nut of a Martin acoustic guitar he had been working on. Photo by Emma Toscani

Champlin’s day-to-day life thoroughly revolves around music. He starts his days early with a coffee, breakfast and a round of practicing piano before heading to his shop ahead of opening. There, he works with his staff on restoring or building string instruments. Or at least tries to, as he often gets pulled into conversations with customers. Champlin said his team tries to keep it to a two-week turnaround on repairs for clients, but that varies based on what needs to be done.

“Some days people walk in with something where [they’re] like, ‘Oh, my guitar stopped making noise.’ And it’s like, there’s one wire to solder. And so, we’ll just do that while they wait,” Champlin said.

After spending all day at the shop, he will either play a gig somewhere in Bellingham or go home to play more music at his Birchwood home.

“I feel like the world is a crazy place. And honestly, I think it would just be depressing to not create stuff because I don’t know what else I would do. [I think] if I wasn’t making music and art, I think I’d just be like, spinning my wheels about how freaking terrifyingly weird the world is to live in, and how lucky and privileged I am in my position to be existing in a comfortable place.” – Devin Champlin

When asked about the ups and downs of owning a shop in downtown Bellingham, Champlin is amazed that any business, especially restaurants and music venues, is still operating. He said he understands that handling overhead costs at these businesses can be weighty.

“I see other small businesses, like all these places that I go to all the time that you don’t even think about, or [you] hear people complain about [a] music venue or something, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so insanely hard to like operate any business,'” Champlin said. “It just makes me respect and appreciate all the small businesses around, because it feels very fleeting, you know, feels like everything’s held together by [a] couple rubber bands right here.”

Champlin loves being in Bellingham despite the high costs. After spending a few years in Seattle, Champlin made the move back to Whatcom County several years ago and said he hasn’t thought twice about the decision to leave the area ever since.

“Every time I’d come back here to visit, I’d be like, ‘Oh my god, I just want to be freaking back here,'” he said.

Champlin considers himself lucky for being able to do what he likes to do, from being a creative musician and artist to operating a store that brings in people from the full spectrum of the Bellingham music scene.

“It’s hard [to] make a living [being] a musician. I don’t expect to, and I don’t really try to,” Champlin said. “I do it, because I just want to do it. And I’m lucky that I’m not trying to make my living playing music, because that would be really hard.”

We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.