Hi there Etienne:
We run a very busy and successful Lutherie shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We are not a music store and elected to avoid that and only do repair work.
Both my business partner and I have built a lot of guitars but neither of us is keen to build anymore. Instead we focus on repair work AND teaching mini-classes that help bridge the gap between builders and the human interface aspects of the instrument, fretwork, nuts and saddles, the physics of how the instrument works and what a perfect set-up is and how to accomplish it with a structured, sequential method.
We are asked likely weekly to take on apprentices and are not keen to do so at present and I wanted to let you know why so that your pitch might address this in the future and perhaps increase your success level AND the value that you bring to the table.
Ultimately your ability to secure the gig that you desire will be contingent on the value that you can bring to the table.
We have had an apprentice two summers now, the same individual and he is considered one of the most talented woodworkers in the states. He studied with Krenoff and was personal friends with him too.
Our apprentice was a great experience for us and we believe that he enjoyed it too in so much as he always wants to come back and we would love to have him back any time.
But this is not usually how it can go..... Instead it's often the case that there is little in the way of value-add coming from the apprentice initially unless they have existing Lutherie chops and can do billable work when asked AND can be trusted not to damage things....
Typically the Luthier or one of the principals has to spend a great deal of time with the apprentice showing them things. This has an "opportunity cost" on the business in so much as the teaching Luthier now is not doing billable work. It can also dramatically change the finances of a business to the negative....
You have to have something to offer since the cost that the Luthier will bear is great and needs to be countered at least pretty quickly by what you can bring to the business/table.
A misnomer that can even offend some of the hobbyist's here who like to call themselves Luthiers is that Lutherie is FAR more than woodworking..... Since the term "Luthier" includes builders and repair folks although all too nonspecific for some of us the term Luthier does not in any way in the US indicate a level of earned, vetted, and certified expertise and ability. It's simply a claim that anyone can make who dares to put themselves in the precarious position of having the ability to destroy the valuable personal property of others.... often....
Kind of a different take on this....eh....
Anyway long story short if this is indeed your dream occupation I would recommend going to a quality Lutherie school such as the Galloup school. Since we have dozens of folks asking us to to apprentice the ones with a formal Lutherie education will always come to the top of our list. We can also vet them with their instructors at the school that they attended. My business partner David Collins was a Lutherie instructor at the Galloup school as well and he got his start in the trade at that very school. His formal education and his ability got him a professional Luthier gig at a respected shop and then led to David owning his own businesses. Formal Lutherie education is highly recommended! I also know other folks who went to the Galloup school and now work in the trade.
Be mindful of the concept of "opportunity costs" in your approach to apprenticing and your goal is to reduce the likely opportunity costs of taking you on to the targeted Luthier and be in a position to enunciate this "value-add" that you bring to the table in the fewest, simplest words..... Or, what can you do for me lately!
When you have enough value to add to a business your story will resonate far more than when you are an unknown and just one of hundreds who has the same dream. A quality Lutherie education, again highly recommended... sets some folks apart for us and likely others too.
Most of the time the money is not great and the trade is very subject to the ups and downs of the economy as well. People do not spend their disposable income on a Luthier if they don't have any disposable income..... If you are very good though and know a few things about business too.... you can do pretty well but it takes time to develop the positive reputation.
So why then do we even do this Lutherie madness thing? Because we love it or love guitars or something like that that. We also may not be the brightest bulbs in the pack either to want to be a Luthier when I use the term as a working in the trade Luthier.....
Nonetheless a passion for one's profession is priceless and it can be a dream job for some of us. It most certain is for me most days.
The best advice that I can give you is regardless of how difficult it may be for you to afford attending a quality Lutherie school find a way to make it happen. I once sold Catalina yachts in a town with no water to put myself through university.... I graduated owning a custom built home and having no college debt. My first guitar was built in the kitchen of a Residence Inn in Sunnyvale California where I lived half the year for my work.... My second guitar was built in a spare bathroom in my condo.... It can be done if you are capable of putting blinders on and being hell bent on your dream. I'll add that I've only been a Luthier now for just short of 12 years. Most of my life I worked for corporations in the tech sector or defense sector. My ability to finance my learning was very helpful to me and in my case Lutherie was more of a retirement gig than a life long occupation. It also was baptism by fire for me when I started being a Luthier full time in so much as at one point I was doing repair work for my own business AND other entities such as busy music stores. Repetition served me very well because basically I'm likely stupid....
To be clear we are not a prospect for you but I did want to give you the perspective of the guy on the other side of the conference table/work bench, a hiring Luthier. Ultimately it will be all about what you can bring to the table AND a verifiable, quality, structured Lutherie education is one of the best ways IME to separate yourself from the rest of the very considerable... pack.
The best of luck to you.
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