Like many other guitar enthusiasts I picked up my instrument as a teenager and haven’t been able to put it down since. My interest in woodworking and construction developed independently at about the same age. I decided to try to combine the two when going to school at Evergreen State College. My first foray into instrument making was the construction of a dulcimer that I managed to cobble together with information I got from the Guild of American Luthiers.I returned to Northern California where I grew up; there I found a guitar and violin builder in Santa Cruz and arranged to work in his shop. Under his tutelage and with lots of help from a book called Constructing a Bluegrass Mandolin: A Complete Technical Guide (by Roger Siminoff), I built my second instrument, an F-5 mandolin.Needless to say, I became hooked. I started a small shop in a garage and began building my first guitar. After the garage I graduated to a small store, where a friend and I did repair work and built a couple of guitars a year. After six years I was hired by the Santa Cruz Guitar Company; there I was able to hone my skills in all aspects of guitar production and repair work.I left in 1991 to open my current shop, which is is located in an old industrial complex that now houses a diverse community of artisans and craftspeople. I moved into the empty shell and proceeded to design and build my dream guitar shop.While I was developing my work space the bulk of my production consisted of repairing old Martins and other high-end acoustic guitars. It has been my good fortune to do repairs for some of the premier acoustic guitar shops of Central California, including Gryphon Stringed Instruments and Carmel Music.Currently the majority of my time is spent building guitars, although I still do some repair work and have occasionally taught workshops on neck resetting. I’ve developed a line of guitars that have a clean, classic look and simple elegance. I really like to let the materials speak for themselves. Tone and playability are crucial and because each player has her or his own needs, I listen carefully and try to make each instrument one-of-a-kind.I’ve been motivated from the very beginning to try to be one of the best at my craft. This is the focus of my business. I work by myself and I love what I do. I hope I have the opportunity to work with you!Jeff Traugott