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Cutting Wood for Violin and Cello Tops

Cutting Wood for Violin and Cello Tops

Last month I had the opportunity to fill a gap in my luthier's education. Even during the Redwood Violin project where I made a violin from scratch, I did not cut and process my own wood, yet this is something that some violin makers do for themselves, and I had...

Mexico. A short trip with a violin in a box

Mexico. A short trip with a violin in a box

As part of the Violinabox project I carried the violin down to Mexico. The first stop was to visit Damian Stoppani, one of the most unusual violinmakers you'll ever come across. Originally from Villa Constitución, Argentina, Damian now lives and works in a 1970's...

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

I recently fulfilled an old dream: to deliver an instrument to a musician in an exotic part of the world. Daniel Prazeres is principal viola at the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira,  in Rio de Janerio. He has been searching for a viola with particular rich and dark tone...

Visiting violin maker: Claudia Reynoso, Mexico City

Visiting violin maker: Claudia Reynoso, Mexico City

Claudia contacted me last fall asking to come and spend some time at my shop in the spring. We had been Facebook friends for several years, I think that I was drawn to her photography which shows that she has a great eye for things besides violins. She stayed for the...

Moreland Violin Shop, Battleground, WA

Moreland Violin Shop, Battleground, WA

I took a working vacation at Mark Moreland’s Violin Shop in Battle Ground, Washington, spending two weeks working on a fiddle while Mark worked on a new cello for a Singapore client and took care of his normal day to day business. Apart from the social call I had...

Violin making Safari – Pacific Northwest    2013

Violin making Safari – Pacific Northwest 2013

I’m taking a working vacation, spending a couple of weeks with Mark Moreland in Battle Ground, WA. Along the way, I’ve been dropping into some of the violin shops to visit old friends and make new acquaintances. Most of these violin makers I’ve met at makers conferences but have never visited their shops