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Paul Saffold
09-09-2012, 10:20 AM
An interesting article in the Washington Post, 9-8-2012, about Howard Needham, a violin maker. It covers the difficulty of competing for sales at the top level of performance in a poor economy. I thought some here would find the article interesting whether or not their interest is in luthiery.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/for-violin-maker-howard-needham-a-rarefied-world/2012/09/07/b7075b10-e7e7-11e1-a3d2-2a05679928ef_story.html
Andrew Howe
09-10-2012, 10:56 PM
Great read:)
Phil Thien
09-11-2012, 9:47 AM
Great story, thanks for sharing.
David Weaver
09-11-2012, 3:00 PM
That's probably even more expensive than a George Wilson violin!
Gary Hodgin
09-11-2012, 5:11 PM
Good article. That'd be a tough way to make a living. I love woodworking, but couldn't imagine making a living out of it. Of course, I'm not even in the same state as this guy when it comes to skill.
John Coloccia
09-11-2012, 7:21 PM
I don't have the heart to read the article, frankly. It will just depress me. LOL.
David Weaver
09-11-2012, 7:37 PM
The article's actually not that bad. If the guy is one of the very best makers, he will always have customers, even if he doesn't move items as fast as he wants.
John Coloccia
09-11-2012, 9:36 PM
The article's actually not that bad. If the guy is one of the very best makers, he will always have customers, even if he doesn't move items as fast as he wants.

The sad reality is that none of us do it for the money. Maybe a couple of us do. The vast majority of luthiers I know are refugees from other fields, myself included. There are a remarkable number of engineers doing this, actually. There are only a small handful that actually make a living at it.

Nearly everyone I know doing this sort of stuff is either retired, independently wealthy, or has a significant other that pays the bills. There are only a handful that actually make a living doing it, and most of them have the skills to do FAR better working in some other field.

It's a labor of love. I try hard not to think about financial implications, because they're significant. LOL. :D
Will Boulware
09-13-2012, 11:26 AM
Great article! Thanks for sharing.