1 mins
HUTHMAKER FAMILY
A peek into lutherie workshops around the world
ALL PHOTOS DIXIE HUTHMAKER
LUTHIERS
LOCATION Suwanee, GA, US
We’ve been based at this workshop on the outskirts of Atlanta for the past ten years. Before we found this place we were in a suburban area and we wanted to find somewhere more historic. The building is the former Rhodes Hotel, built in 1880, so it’s fairly historic for this area. It was built next to the railway line as a place for trains to stop, and in the 1940s it was a favourite of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind.
When we moved in, we agreed with the local government that we wouldn’t make any huge changes to this historic building, such as knocking through any walls, and to respect the building as it is. So we’ve adapted our workshops to the spaces we have. All the workshops are upstairs except the one for cellos and basses, so we don’t have to carry them all the way to the top. We also have Anna’s ‘bow kingdom’, which is one of the smallest rooms in the house. The workshop in the photo, which is 4.5m x 4.5m, is used by Roland.
Atlanta is a very musical city; not only do we have a world-class orchestra, ballet and opera company, but there are also a large number of community ensembles based around the city. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Dixie and Roland had to leave the building for a month while Anna stayed to keep the business going as best she could. But necessity is the mother of invention: she began posting videos on YouTube about learning to play, information about instruments, bows, horsehair, ebony and so on, which got a huge reaction worldwide a nd it ended up being a fruitful time for the shop itself.
There are several spirits that occupy the hotel and which we’ve noticed several times; some of them can be seen while there are others we can smell. You can find out more about them in the video we made about our workshop here: bit.ly/3Liy5rt