Original article published January 11, 2014 Â
The Bend Bulletin stopped by our shop last year for a quick tour of our facility and to chat with Preston about his plans for expanding the business. They spoke with fellow team member, Gareth Jenkins on our unique approach to creating custom built guitars for each of our clients.
“We’ll build about 30 to 35 guitars over the coming year,” said Gareth Jenkins, a luthier from Portland who joined Thompson’s team this past fall. Because each guitar will be custom-made, “you get a relationship with the builders when you buy an instrument,” Jenkins said.
That relationship — which is built around a series of meetings designed to determine the buyer’s musical preferences and playing style — is part of the package Thompson sells with his instruments.
It’s also the source of a lot of fun that he and his fellow craftsmen are having in their new venture.
“Every person is different,” Jenkins said. “They all have different personalities, and that can be fun.”