About

My journey to create Hone Guitars started like so many other guitar enthusiasts, as a kid in school wood shop class. Trying to build my own electric guitar having been inspired by the likes of Edward Van Halen,  who was famous for building, altering and tinkering his own guitars to better suit his needs. As a young teenager, I thought that was the coolest thing in the world. I bought all the guitar building and woodworking books I could find and absorbed as much information on the subject as I could.

In 1995 at 24 years old I started my own company and acquired The Music Exchange, a retail music store that sold and rented instruments, gave lessons and sold accessories. I used this as an opportunity to once again dive into guitar making with the idea to feature and sell them in my store. I bought a  Sears bench top bansaw, spindle sander and a router and went to work out on the back deck of the house, and made a lot of sawdust and a few guitars too. Unfortunately, the demands of managing a retail store didn’t allow enough time for the guitar building to take off.  Fast forward to around 2003 the Maryland State Highway Administration came knocking on my door with news that road improvements would require eminent domain of the store’s property, forcing me to close.

Switching gears just a bit, I then spent the next 16 years trying to forge a career in the Federal Government within the Intelligence Community.
In early 2020 COVID happened and provided me time to reflect on a career that turned out to be unfulfilling and unrewarding, to say the least. It was at this time I decided,  with the loving support and encouragement of family and friends to leave the government and pursue a return to my passion for guitar making and woodworking.

It was the best decision I ever made. Since then I’ve been acquiring all the tools and equipment needed under one roof, our old horse stable which I had completely renovated to serve as a workshop, an art gallery, client consultation space and my office. When not with my family, this is where I spend my time creating my art and planning, designing and building my guitars and other woodworking creations.