Herbert Chanon was born in Macon, France and studied violin performance at the Lyon Conservatory. He then trained as a violin maker with J.F.Schmidt in Lyon, but his real interest was bow making so he traveled to New York to work with Bill Salchow. He set up his workshop in Sherbrooke,  Quebec in 1978. His bows are used by musicians all over the world. He won a number of awards at competitions including the Violin Society of America.