I began my lutherie career in the early 1980’s while studying physics at the University of California in Santa Cruz, California. What started out as helping friends adjust their guitars soon turned into a fascination with string instruments. I continued to do repair and restoration work for many years and in 1994 began designing and building my own line of guitars.Although I am largely self taught, I have received instruction and inspiration from a few other guitar builders. In 1996 I attended an intensive “Free Plate Tuning” seminar with long time luthier and acoustics expert, Al Carruth. The theory and investigative techniques I learned from Al have led me to a greater understanding of what makes a guitar sound the way it does and has helped me tailor the sound of individual guitars in a predictable way.In the fall of 2000 I attended a week long intensive archtop building course co-taught by Linda Manzer and Tom Ribbecke. At this course, I was able to learn all aspects of archtop guitar construction from two of today’s finest archtop builders.I have been a full time guitar builder since 1998 and currently reside in Los Gatos, California.When building a guitar today, I draw from a lifetime of handcraft experience, many years of lutherie practice, and a collection of the finest tonewoods from around the world.Mark Blanchard