Great Scott! The website is FINALLY here! After what seems like YEARS of saying “it’ll be done soon” i have actually pulled my finger out and got it finished!
It’s always been something that i felt needed to be done properly if it was to be done at all. I felt the time was right, and that i now had enough finished work to present on here to justify the existence of such a site, SO HERE IT IS!
If i’m honest, the main reason for the delay in finishing this site was because i wanted to make sure i was ready. Make sure i was ready to deal with all of the potential attention. Make sure i was ready for all the potential work. Make sure i was ready to deal with thousands of pounds of other peoples money to produce professional quality instruments in exchange for their hard earned cash paying my wages.
We have all seen luthiers come and go – they ignite a fierce online marketing campaign, throw a few fancy instruments at high profile musicians, become flavor of the month then disappear a few months later (when they start to finish customer instruments) because everyone realizes that despite being fantastic at marketing, they’re actually just a bit shit at their job.
I didn’t want that. I wanted to be 100% sure that my instruments were the absolute best that i could produce before offering them to the world market. I wanted to be sure that what i believe to be ‘professional quality’ and what i actually produce in my workshop tied in together with what the world expects from such a craftsman. I wanted to be 100% sure that what i charge was a completely justifiable cost for a hand made instrument. And now, after a LONG time in the making i can confidently say that i am happy with this. I am happy to stand by the quality i can achieve and i am happy to stand by what i charge for it.
You will not see any of my instruments hung in shops. All of my guitars are built to order and i do the bulk of my work using hand tools. I have often thought about mechanizing my process and splashing out on a CNC machine but no matter how good the ‘numbers’ look on paper when i realize how much faster i could be doing things, i always come back to that single thought. The thought that keeps me working 7 day weeks, year in, year out, i love what i do. And i don’t actually want to speed things up. I enjoy producing twenty or thirty guitars a year all (for the most part) made by hand. I accepted a long time ago that i would never be rich as a luthier and that is fine. As long as i have enough work to keep the bills paid and a roof above my head i am happy.
Please have a browse of the site and check out the galleries of finished work. If you like what you see and are in the market for a new instrument please feel free to submit an order form for quoting. It’s only me running everything here at Carillion, so i’ll do my best to get back to you with a quote in good time!
I’d also just like to say a massive thanks to Jonathan law of Feline guitars, Will Satchwell and Neil Hart, without whom this website would not exist. I know i’m a massive pain in the ass control freak OCD nightmare to work with but i truly appreciate you all being so patient with me and my perfectionist ways.
