In the span of less than a decade, Meredith Coloma went from failing a high school woodworking class to building custom-made instruments for musicians who鈥檝e sold hundreds of millions of albums.
At just 26, Coloma is one of the youngest luthiers in Canada, if not the world.
The Vancouverite鈥檚 seemingly rapid success is a unique talking point in the larger discussion around her trade of choice. In a profession dominated almost exclusively by men, Coloma is one of roughly a dozen full-time female luthiers in Canada.
By contrast, there are hundreds of male luthiers across the country.
鈥淥n a regular day I鈥檓 wearing heels, but when I鈥檓 in the shop I鈥檓 totally plain-faced in the most atrocious attire, covered in glue and sawdust,鈥� Coloma said. 鈥淚 have to 鈥榙e-girlify鈥� when I鈥檓 working. I don鈥檛 think most girls like to do that. You don鈥檛 look great and you can feel really gross.鈥�
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Coloma came into luthiery through the back door. A prodigious fiddle player in her teens, she first opted for acting and set out for New York City. When those aspirations dried up, she fell into an apprenticeship with renowned New York-based luthier Roger Sadowsky, who鈥檚 built instruments for Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen and former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted.
Coloma was just 18 at the time.
Those pivotal years of study helped solidify her current career path: she鈥檚 now a full-time builder of guitars, mandolins, ukuleles and more. Her incorporation of highly detailed Art Deco motifs are sought out by the giants of rock 鈥榥 roll. But because many of those artists are subject to exclusive endorsement deals, Coloma can鈥檛 publicize who she鈥檚 sold her work to, nor can the artists disclose that info.
鈥淚t was a really intimidating career to enter at first,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I was in school operating tools, people would watch me very, very closely. If it was another young guy on a bandsaw, they wouldn鈥檛 give a crap. For me, I would have six or seven people staring at me. That is really nerve-racking.鈥�
Hotbed of talent
For whatever reason, southern B.C. is a hotbed for female luthiers, such that roughly a quarter of all those working full time in the profession call 麻豆传媒映画home. The rest tend to live in Toronto, Quebec or in the Maritimes. 听
The Courier spoke to three local luthiers at varying points in their career. Shelley D. Park has been building instruments for 20 years and is considered the preeminent gypsy-jazz guitar builder on the West Coast. Hana Boye began her building ways in 2010, while Coloma鈥檚 been at it professionally for about five years.
There are commonalities in each of their stories: they all grew up around someone who loved woodworking, their attentiveness is second to none, they build roughly 20 instruments per year and their individual works can fetch anywhere between $2,000 and $15,000 a pop.
Boye builds exclusively with her hands, eschewing the use of any machinery such as bandsaws, plainers or other heavy industrial tools. Coloma works in a similar fashion. There is a spiritual connection to the instrument and an almost Zen-like tranquility found in that approach.
鈥淵ou need to learn the alphabet before you can recite poetry,鈥� Boye said. 鈥淚 strongly value the skill over relying on a machine. It鈥檚 really important to me that I know that I can do this work by hand before relying on a machine.鈥�
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Park, however, is having none of that. While she respects and praises those who go it by hand, Park is all about practicality, minus any feelings of attachment.
鈥淚鈥檓 not the least bit sentimental 鈥� that鈥檚 just how I鈥檓 wired,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 quite content that way. I like efficiency and using machines helps me with that.鈥�
Originally from Winnipeg, Park was 19 when she moved to 麻豆传媒映画in 1991. She took a now-defunct luthiery course at Douglas College and worked in music shops and alongside more senior luthiers until 1998. She鈥檚 been at it solo ever since, specializing in the Selmer Macafferri type of guitars exclusively. The resonance, dimensions and tone found in a Selmer differentiate it from other, more traditional acoustic guitars and it鈥檚 used almost exclusively for playing gypsy jazz music.
Like her counterparts, her woods of choice include spruce, maple, cedar or Indian rosewood, among others. Park typically works on two guitars at a time and about 90 per cent of her clientele is from the U.S. Like those who typically build them, her buyers are predominantly men.
鈥淎ny kind of woodworking is not traditionally something that women are pointed towards as a career path,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any reason women shouldn鈥檛 be doing woodworking because they bring an interesting and different set of skills to the table quite often.鈥澨�
The go-to guitar guy
While luthiery is the full-time bread and butter for Coloma and Park, Boye gets to guitars when her day-job permits. A lawyer by trade, Boye鈥檚 two paths in life depend on details, details, details.
And those details are still very much a work in progress. That鈥檚 where Boye鈥檚 teacher, Geza Burghardt comes into the picture. A luthier with close to 60 years鈥� experience, Burghardt is one of the go-to guitar guys on the world鈥檚 stage. A Granville Island staple, the Hungarian ex-pat earned the title of master luthier after 15 years of training in Europe.
He has built instruments for, or taught would-be luthiers, from virtually every continent. He doesn鈥檛 advertise, yet has a waitlist that鈥檚 backlogged until next summer. His work commands upwards of $30,000 USD for one instrument.
He鈥檚 taught dozens of men over 20 years, but less than 10 women. Outside of Boye, he鈥檚 also taught Nicole Alosinac, a Vancouverite who has been in the instrument repair business for 14 years.
鈥淎ll the women who have studied with me have been enthusiastic and their attention to detail is amazing,鈥� Burghardt said. 鈥淥nce they learn the skills, they are totally equal to the men I鈥檝e taught, if not better.鈥�
