Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Driftwood Guitars. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Driftwood, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
As we started to gain traction and get success in our line of work, we constantly worried that it must be some kind of accident or mistake. It took us delivering our product to many, many customers before we finally realized we weren’t faking it until we were making it, we had become it. That being said, with every guitar that we finish we still feel a lot of anxiety about whether or not it is “good enough” but then when we get the positive feedback from our clients, it always helps to reinforce the idea that maybe we’re exactly where we need to be. Maybe to us, the imposter syndrome is not something that needs to necessarily be overcome, but it’s more of a tool that we use (like any chisel in our shop) to help us continue to make the best guitar possible.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Driftwood Guitars is based in Freeport Florida, and is run by luthiers Chris Alvarado and Matt Miller.
Driven by a passion to create one of a kind works of art, Chris and Matt pour their heart and soul into every instrument they make. Since 2006, Chris has been handcrafting guitars that pay tribute to the craftsman of the past, while keeping an eye toward the future of building innovations.
Chris makes it his goal to get to know every customer that commissions a piece, in order to build a truly custom instrument. One that not only looks like the guitar they have been dreaming of, but one that feels and sounds far greater than the guitar of their dreams. He helps guide every client through the build process and encourages feedback while including the customer in every step of the build process.
Chris and Matt began working together in 2021 when Chris was looking to expand. Matt was a long-time musical colleague of Chris’s, and a mechanical engineer. Together they have been working to continue building one-of-a-kind guitars and produce content on Youtube as Driftwood Guitars.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Fabrication is a huge part of what we do, so a general knowledge of tools and a fundamental knowledge of materials is integral to what we do here at Driftwood. Chris is self-taught as a luthier, and so the philosophy of not being afraid to make a mistake is crucial. We believe a mistake is just another small cost of tuition, and that philosophy is incredibly important to us, and nothing costs more than the fear of messing up.
As important is making mistakes are, learning how to recover from them is just as important in the learning process. A good luthier isn’t just someone with a lot of experience, a good luthier is somehow who knows how to recover from a mistake. As much as you shouldn’t be afraid of making a mistake, you should also relish the challenge of the learning that comes after that.
Finally, learning how to charge for our experience. Our time and the mistakes we’ve made are incredible valuable, and it’s taken us a long time to get to where we can command a price for that and be fairly compensated for it, but if we want to continue to operate as a business, that’s what we have to do. It seems crazy to say out loud, but we see so many young artists that operate at a level where they can’t survive. A mistake isn’t just a mistake at the end of the day, it’s another step towards profitability and doing what you love for a living.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
The biggest area that we’ve grown in the last 12 months has been in our marketing and outreach. We’ve been really focused on growing our Youtube channel and our Instagram to a certain extent, and we can’t say enough about how good it has been for us. It’s been wonderful for helping people learn about our guitars and our building processes, and combined with our passion for sharing our knowledge, it’s been incredible fulfilling. And fun too! We’ve enjoyed learning about the filming and production side of things, as well getting to meet and be part of the community of content creators in the luthier/maker space on the internet.
Contact Info:
- Website: driftwoodguitars.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/driftwoodguitars/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/driftwoodguitars
