The Luthier - Ian Ellis
Ian Ellis, with his multi Award Winning guitar, 'SEARCH & DESTROY', at
the 2016 Royal Easter Show Preview Event
As an Antique Restorer and French Polisher since 1995, Ian found that he was still missing true satisfaction from his work. Ian loves the process of restoration, the returning of a piece of furniture to its former glory, the journey that you get to go on with each client as the piece for restoration comes to life, the emotion of the client in how the piece relates to them.
Ian still wanted more from his skills. Friends of his were playing in bands, and he knew that he could make for himself a better guitar than that what he could afford to buy and he was looking to take on a big project to further his skills, as well as focus his energy after the death of his father, Carl, in 2000. Ian took on the making of his first guitar. He got a book on how to build acoustic guitars, and taught himself. Five hundred plus hours and 3 years later he had completed his first instrument.
But it was only after playing this instrument for the first 30 seconds that he knew he was hooked on the process. It all came together, the emotion of playing what you make, the emotion of the music, the timber, the feel, the sound it all met in that first 30 seconds. It was all too much to leave and he had found his artisan outlet to complete himself.
Some thirteen years later Ian is still creating guitars. Making them solely from Australian timbers, making all of his inlays for them, and using timbers that are not commercially available. Ian also collects and seasons some of the timbers himself. Using timbers from the Australian bush that most people have not heard of let alone seen in an Instrument. Ian creates works of art that just happen to be guitars.
Ian has never made the same guitar twice. Nor does he intend too. Each one is its own creation to stand on its own two feet. Ian continues to create and design his guitars to push the accepted concept of what a guitar should be using his hand skills combined with the modern technology and techniques.
No two look the same. No two sound the same. Each one a work of art.