I was born in South Dakota in 1953 and have spent most of my life working wood. My father was a housebuilder and cabinetmaker who put me to work at a young age. I began building nylon-string guitars in 1992, although I have built and repaired other fretted instruments since the mid-1970s. When my daughter began to study flamenco dance, I became fascinated by the flamenco guitar, and still am. My first nylon-string guitars were flamencos. Now that I build mostly classical guitars, that experience has proven valuable in many ways, especially in achieving a quick attack and an easy playability. My climate-controlled shop is in my house, in the fashion of the German violin makers I visited in the ’70s, with large power tools outside in a big old barn. Healdsburg is a thriving center of lutherie, both classical and steel-string. It is the home of Todd Taggart’s Allied Lutherie, Luthiers Mercantile International and the biannual Healdsburg Guitar Festival. Sonoma County is also home to several notable guitar builders and the Luthiers School International.I am a member of the Guitar Foundation of America, Guild of American Luthiers, and Northern California Association of Luthiers.Eric Monrad