Rutman’s is an excellent company run by a former concert violinist- so he is extremely knowledgable, not only about the pieces themselves but about playability. He listened to me play while I was searching for a bow and gave honest, direct, and ultimately correct advice! I ended up borrowing a few bows to try over a weekend through a convenient trial arrangement, and I bought a fiddle bow from him and it plays very well. A few months later, I had a slight problem with the bow-it is delicate because its very light, and it needed tending to- he fixed it and sent it back within a couple of days.
Don’t be deterred by the smaller selection- its quality- and most people who walk into a violin or viola shop intend to buy one instrument, maybe a couple of pieces, but not the entire store, so I think you’ve got a really good chance of finding what you’re looking for.
Rutman’s Violins