Starting his woodworking career in a Connecticut boat works at the age of 10, under the tutelage of craftsmen– some of whom had come up working and sailing square-rigged ships in the late 19th Century – Michael Millard brings a unique perspective and set of skills to the task of building of individual instruments for individual musicians.

In 1970, Michael built his first Froggy Bottom Guitar in his apartment on New York’s Lower East Side.
In October of 1970, Michael had begun working at Gurian Guitars on Grand Street in New York City.
Michael’s first two Froggy Bottom Guitars were essentially Gurian shapes with significant adjustments: a lighter and different bracing pattern for the top and – what has become a Froggy Bottom trademark – high, thin, and highly arched back braces, which produced two lively and active plates for the instruments.
“Every Froggy Bottom I made after that,” Michael says, “has always been my own work.”
The goal of the company remains to build instruments that are capable of responding to and exceeding the functional needs and desires of individual players, and to provide guitars that spur the imagination and music of their owners.