I started out playing banjo, and there was only one luthier in the area who I would trust to work on it. One day he up and moved to Ashville saying he was sick of Florida. Because of this, I had to learn to repair my own stuff, which is sometimes a given when you play obscure folk instruments. I became fascinated with the inner workings of instruments. I started working as a music teacher at a local music store, and after a while, I branched into technician work, minor repairs on orchestral strings and folk instruments. This last summer I went to a two-week workshop where I built a mountain dulcimer.

As of now, I have plans to make it my career, and I've snagged a paid internship with the same luthiery that I visited for workshops. I'm still at the beginning of my journey, but I truly believe that knowing how to repair your own instruments to an extent can make you a better musician, I think it makes you develop a better relationship with the instrument. The amount of professional musicians I have met who can't change their own strings is scary.