Darren comes from a family of carpenters & cabinet makers and is a 4th generation carpenter/cabinet maker. His great grandfather emigrated to America from Germany working as a carpenter & cabinet maker. Both his grandfather and father were home-builders & cabinet makers so it was natural for Darren to learn the fundamentals of woodworking.

Having an interest in music he was attracted to the classical guitar and one day had an idea to build one for himself. As fortune would have it, he discovered a luthier nearby who was originally trained as a violin maker in Europe and then emigrated to America. Being a master luthier, he had successfully transitioned to guitar making. Darren was in his workshop admiring his fine guitars, asking questions how to make them and listening attentively as this master generously shared his knowledge & techniques.

He went home and replicated this luthier’s guitar on his own for his first guitar. After returning to show the master his new guitar Darren was encouraged to continue building. The master explained that, rather than copying other luthiers’ guitars, it’s better to create your own original ideas. Darren made the decision to become a guitar maker and began his long journey on the path of becoming a master luthier himself. Being self-taught, he gained valuable knowledge over the years by collecting, playing and studying fine Spanish and flamenco guitars. In this way the old masters served as his teachers. After perfecting classical & flamenco guitars, he began building acoustic steel strings.