About the Luthier
I first began learning about instrument making in the summer of 2009 at the age of 22. Over the next few years I built a number of banjos and guitars as an apprentice in the shop of Ari Lehtela while also attending the University of South Carolina as a music composition and guitar student. Near the end of my studies I had two of my guitars on exhibit in the South Carolina State museum. Around that time I was introduced to furniture making, and from 2016 on, I dedicated myself to making furniture, designing, and teaching.
In 2019 I moved to Lima, Peru, where I continued to make furniture and teach. I have taught woodworking and furniture making to hundreds of students in North and South America and for two years I was the editor of the Spanish language woodworking magazine Taller Revista. In the summer of 2025 I decided to leave teaching and writing and return to instrument making.
I love making things, I love music, and I love exploring the materials that nature offers us, especially wood. For that reason I am very happy to have found guitar making again, and I hope you will enjoy looking at and hopefully playing my instruments.
My approach to building
My guitars are made by hand one at a time in my shop in Lima, Peru, using hand selected Peruvian hardwoods and traditional tone woods. Each guitar is made to individual customer specifications. With the players needs in mind, my aim is to achieve an ideal tone, feel, and visual character in each guitar.
Craftsmanship is central to my work. While I made a handful of instruments when I was younger, I honed my woodworking skills making furniture. Instilled in me is the importance of structurally sound and neat joinery, quality handwork, and considerate wood selection; I bring this ethos along with me to instrument making.
I seek to use the best materials available to me. Being in Peru, I am fortunate to have direct access to some of the most beautiful mahogany and spanish cedar available. That fortune also includes access to dozens of other beautiful woods that might not be so well known. Many are under utilized or considered uncommon even amongst wood workers here, and many are rare. I find working with these materials really exciting and hope they will add a level of interest when you hear or play a guitar made from them.
