2018 Julia Wenzel CD/CY

Julia Wenzel found out relatively late about her true passion - building guitars. At the age of 25 she decided to build a cedarwood canoe - while doing so she realized her magnificent talent in wood working. During the process of building the canoe, she somehow realized there was a similarity to how one would build a lute or guitar. Attracted to guitars all her life, she knew that to learn the technical details of the craft properly, she would need to study at the "Instrumentenbauschule Mittenwald" - a three year commitment, which she did, and ended up graduating at the top of her class. Six years later she completed her Master of Crafts Examination in Munich. Julia also befriended Florian Blochinger, and they built 4 guitars together in an apprenticeship in Munich. She has also had the great fortune to receive advice from Florian's father, the great luthier Edmund Blöchinger. After several years of working at her craft, Julia Wenzel was awarded second-prize at the prestigious Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in October, 2017.