Our hand-selected luthiers for the Summer 2026 HDLI (May 31st, 2026)
-
Unga Guitars
Perry Vasquez
Albuquerque, New Mexico
I have been a luthier for over 25 years. I design and build guitars, basses, and other unique stringed instruments. I like to take the wants and needs of the player and use my experience as a luthier to create a tool that works specifically for them.
I have a preference for thin, almost bare-wood finishes. I feel this approach lets the player connect with the instrument with more grace and ease. I want to build an instrument the player doesn’t want to put down.
I also teach luthiery!
-
Felix Violins
Julia Felix
Santa Fe, New Mexico
My interest in lutherie began in college when I began to make a connection between my love of music and my love of woodworking. After graduating with a degree in Studio Art, I attended North Bennet Street School's Violin Making and Repair program in Boston, Massachusetts, where I learned how to build violins and violas in the traditional Cremonese style.
In 2019, I returned to my hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and now focus primarily on making new instruments out of my home workshop for violinists and violists around the country.
In addition to being a violin maker, I have a 5-year-old son, a 10-year-old pomeranian, play classical guitar, organize socials for the Women in Lutherie Facebook Group, and volunteer at my local makerspace, MAKE Santa Fe.
-
Anaya Custom Guitars
Patrick Anaya
Belen, New Mexico
Anaya Custom Guitars
I’ve been a bass player as long as I’ve been a woodworker. After 30 years of working with timber, Anaya Custom Guitars was born out of a personal mission: I wanted a 4-string bass that looked and played a specific way, without having to spend endless hours searching through music store racks.
As a native New Mexican, I build these instruments in Veguita, with a deep respect for the material. My background in high-end furniture allows me to approach lutherie with a unique perspective—I understand how different wood species behave, how they age, and how no two grains are ever truly the same.
There is nothing like the feeling of watching a player see their instrument take shape for the first time; it’s not just a build, it’s a soul coming to life.
The Wood Barn: Heirloom Craftsmanship
Two years ago, I established The Wood Barn to give a home to my passion for custom furniture and boutique woodworking. Whether it’s a dining table or a one-of-a-kind built-in, my philosophy remains the same: let the wood speak for itself. I also sell premium hard woods to the public.
While Anaya Custom Guitars focuses on the "tone," The Wood Barn focuses on the "texture" of home life. Every project is a study in the organic beauty of nature, crafted with the precision that three decades in the shop provides. From Veguita to your living room, I bring the desert’s rugged elegance into every piece I create.
-
Goateed Skull Guitars
Patrick Hepburn
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Guitar-builder and artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
-
Longbow Guitars
John Longbow
Albuquerque, New Mexico
We specialize in arch-top, solid bodies and flat-top hollow body electrics and basses.
-
Müller Guitars
Gary Müller
Hermosa, Colorado
I wanted to create something beautiful with my hands - something that would allow me to pursue my love of music and woodworking. I chose luthiery - the construction and repair of fine stringed instruments. I am working in a 120-year-old barn, armed with chisels, saws and an old, hand-me-down work apron.
I truly love this ancient craft. I handmake these intricate instruments out of varied and beautiful tonewoods. I am grateful everyday to be fashioning these precious materials into acoustic guitars, ukuleles and cigar box guitars, that are a pleasure to hold, play and study.
Thoughtfully designed and passionately crafted, no two instruments are exactly alike, but each is a functional work of art.
-
Mallory Guitars
Fox Fletcher
Albuquerque, New Mexico
I wanted to play the music I heard and build the guitars I played.
I design and create handmade, solid-body electric guitars. I pride myself on being a meticulous craftsman.
I completed the master’s program at Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair. Then, I worked for Collings Guitar for 5 years as an electric set-up specialist. In 2020, I launched my own business as Mallory Guitars.
I am a luthier, certified fretted instrument repair tech, musician, avid comic book collector, photographer, and lover of all things metal and pop songstress Sia.
-
Wesley Janecka
Wesley
Jemez, New Mexico
I was born and raised in Austin Texas. I graduated from the University of Texas with a BFA in Studio Arts where I was exposed to the different mediums for creating art. I was drawn to creating works from the various types of wood.
After graduating I packed my 55ft trailer of tools and headed to the southern end of the Rocky Mountains in Jemez Springs - a quiet town nestled in the valley just an hour outside of Albuquerque.
Immersing myself in the natural elements every day have brought a grounded sense of purpose to my work. It is the attention I give to each piece that I feel resonates most.
I hope that when you see and feel my work that it shows you the journey, and complete mindfulness used in my creative process.
As I continue to work in my woodshop, I find new ways to connect this beautiful medium to others with pieces I design or customized per request.
I am always looking for a new challenge on how to integrate my craft into your connection to art, life, everything and everyone.
-
Quantars
Quanah Lee
Santa Fe, New Mexico
A one-man-shop building custom, handmade electric guitars and basses in the little hills of New Mexico.
-
Zara
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Zara makes custom basses (electric and acoustic), as well as electric guitars.
-
LS Custom Guitars
Leo
Albuquerque, New Mexico