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Updates

06/01/26

Due to the ongoing preparation and travel time involved with my only major out-of-state event of the year, I will be placing a pause on all online orders until June 20th. Yeah, sure, you can order if you'd like, but I won't ship anything that is ordered until that date.

You can find my booth this month at the Tooele Arts Festival, which runs from June 12th to the 14th. I will be spending a few extra days in Utah on personal business and will be mostly unavailable during that time.

 

04/29/26

The month of April has been strange for me, that's for sure. I have been on-call for jury duty for the entire month! This has definitely put a dent into my work flow and my ability to have new instruments ready to offer here on the website and at markets.

Things are now settling back down and I am ready to get back to work. As always, I am open to create custom work, and custom builds always take first priority. My next priority this time of year is planning and prepping for the Tooele Arts Festival, which is both my biggest event of the year and my only major out-of state event that I will have on my schedule for '26.

More local market dates are coming. Other than a trip to Albuquerque in October and the occasional event date in El Paso, I'm sticking pretty close to the home office. I am also working on what sort of rolling setup I need to start playing at the local Farmer's Market so I can be present and available even on those dates I don't have instruments ready to sell. I'll likely start with those dates mid-May, and they will be posted on my event schedule.

One more thing - I have accumulated quite a bit of extra gear and I'd like to offer it to y'all starting next month. I am talking about things like record players, guitar pedals, strat pickguards, and even a few instruments that I simply don't play. I will be using my own website reather than Reverb because they take a cut of the sales and I'd like to offer a better deal - and let's be honest, meeting up in a rando parking lot with someone from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace is kinda sketch. I'd rather just pack things in a box and ship to your door.

Yeah, sure, it's all a hustle. That's how I pay for my groceries, and in this economy every bit of hustle makes a difference.

 

02/23/26

Hey friends, I've spent the winter working on personal projects and I am now busy in my workshop working on new instruments. I am planning on a return to the local markets in the later half of March and I am planning on a few changes in my booth for the upcoming year. I am also working on my summer event schedule and I will post any confirmed updates in my event calendar.

I have also been approved to perform music at the local farmer's market. This will allow me to share what my instruments can do even on those days when I do not have any ready for immediate sale. I'm not going to lie, I am a better builder than a performer and I am a bit anxious about the prospect of performing for a public audience. It should be interesting!

12/08/25

I am SOLD OUT!!! My shop is empty and my live point-of-sale for the season is shuttered. I am taking a few days to rest and regroup and then I'll be back in the workshop to start on new builds for '26. Thank you to everyone who has chosen to take home one of my handbuilt instruments. It means a lot to me and I couldn't keep creating great music makers without you!


12/05/25
I will have my live-point-of-sale set up with four builds on tap at Krampus tomorrow evening! (12/6) It will be held at the El Paso County Coliseum from 3pm to 10pm under the pavillion and not inside the stadum because there will be live pro wrestling happening inside. It promises to be a very busy might! I'll have a heater in my booth if y'all decide you want to pull up my stool and strum a bit.

 

11/25/25

Due to health reasons I have cancelled my live point-of-sale for 11/29. I realize that it is "Small Business Saturday" and one of my best sales days of the year so I do not take this decision lightly. Krampus is still on the calendar for 12/6 at this point. I'll keep y'all updated.



11/13/25

I've pretty much finalized my live point-of-sale schedule for the rest of the year - Saturday markets on 11/15, 11/29 and 12/20 and Krampus in El Paso on 12/6. I may also work the Chile Drop here in Las Cruces on 12/31, but that is not at all guaranteed or confirmed at this point.

This is your friendly reminder that the cutoff for custom builds to be under the yule tree is November 20th - after that I won't guarantee it'll happen. I'm sorting out my shipping dates for ready builds but it's very likely my shop cutoff for xmas delivery will be 12/16. I mean, order whenever you'd like, but those are the dates to get it under that pine.

The next six weeks are going to be busy!



10/06/25

The final day to get your custom order for delivery under the Yule Tree this year is November 20th! Any custom orders placed after that day will NOT be guaranteed for completion by Xmas.

Also, my guitars go about as fast as I can build them and I cannot guarantee last-minute availablity. NOW is the time to buy for that special holiday gift!


08/23/25

While a few details still remain in the shop reset, work has resumed. Priority will be given to pending custom orders, then shop builds for general sale - estimated availability time is on or after September 20th.

 

08/14/25

I have been busy retooling the workshop! There's a lot of work a lot of work happening behind the scenes with new tooling, new dislays, expanded products, and quite a few other tweaks for the better. I anticipate being back at the markets mid-Septemberish - you can also get your custom orders in with me anytime. Custom orders always first priority!

 

07/30/25

Change in policy regarding custom builds - please remember that I mostly build with genuine cigar boxes. Cigar boxes by their nature are used items and there will likely be some cosmetic imperfections and wear and tear, especially on the bottom/back of the box. This is normal and is part of what makes cigar box guitars unique instruments. Scores, dents, and other cosmetic imperfections are simply a part of cigar boxes and I will no longer offer refunds based on cosmetic flaws that are common in used cigar boxes.

I will also occasionally build with other types of wooden boxes from various sources. I prefer to use wooden boxes for my builds and since wood is a natural material there will be variation in grain and condition from box to box. While some modification is always necessary I try to keep and preserve the boxes in the condition I find them and I reserve the right to do so at my discretion. I will not offer refunds on builds that use boxes exhibiting normal wear and tear.

 

07/25/25

A few select art prints from the back catalog are again available in VERY limited quantites. I will not be making more - once they're gone, they're gone forever!

07/13/25

I am currently out of stock of ready-to-play instruments and I am in the shop working on several custom orders - once those custom orders are complete I will begin working on fresh builds for upcoming markets. If you would like to have a custom build made this is actually a great time to contact me!

 

 

***Price increases effective August 1st***

 

Due to a series of highly questionable decisions being made by the current administration here in the United States, price increases will go into effect on August 1st, 2025. This is beyond my control and will remain so until the next election cycle.

Tariffs are the reason.

For those of you who do not yet know, tariffs are NOT paid by the exporting country! For example, a tariff on goods imported from the PRC are not paid by the Chinese. It's a tax paid by the citizens living in the country that is imposing the tariff at the port, and is usually passed on the the next guy in the supply chain while that tariff money goes off to the Treasury to buy more paper shredders. If you are hearing otherwise you are being spectacularly misinformed.

The fact is we live in a global economy. Many of the parts and materials I use to build instruments come from overseas - everything from electrical bits to sandpaper to hardtail bridges comes from an importer.  Pickups use copper. My tuners come from Korea. The maple I use for my necks usually comes from Canada. And yes, cigar boxes are most definitely imports.

I am always looking for the best deal on quality bits for my builds - tariffs make that unnecessarily more difficult than it would otherwise be. Yes, I can source *some* items domestically, but not everything. Doing this also comes at an additional cost, and it's not always possible as some things simple aren't being made stateside.

After the next announced round of tariffs go into effect my overall price for materials will be over twenty-five percent more than they were at the start of the year. I am a one-person operation and simply do not have the mass to absorb these increases. It's not a business decision I make lightly but there's nothing else for it at this point.

What will it look like? It'll be a twenty to fifty dollar increase per build depending on the hardware choices while I'll keep the diddley bows and other items at their current price point.

I'm not going to mince words here. I build good instruments and I refuse to cut corners because an orange-caked buffoun who has bankrupted multiple casinos is in charge of fiscal policy. If you don't like it, vote better.


~Wolf

 

 

 

Last update: August 23rd, 2025