About ~
It is my pleasure to be able to share a little about myself, my inspirations and building philosophy and how these are focused into each instrument I create in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Luthiery ~
In 2002 I began what would become my luthiery career at Gilet Guitars School of Luthiery in Sydney, Australia. Under the guidance of master luthier of 40 years Gerard Gilet, I was educated in the 'hows and whys' of every aspect of instrument building from selecting the very best tonewoods and top voicing, to the development and realization of a customer's vision and a perfect setup.
In short, from the very beginning I was totally immersed in every aspect of truly custom guitar making.
In the mid 2000's I was invited to join the Gilet fold first in a teaching capacity for new students, then as a full time luthier of Gilet Guitars. Between four luthiers, we crafted only 35 high quality guitars a year, each being an individual expression of creativity and workmanship with no 'fixed' appointments at any stage. It is this fundamental principle of creativity and exquisite craftsmanship that I have continued with since moving to Grand Junction, Colorado in 2013.
Colorado ~
I now build around 15 individually handcrafted custom instruments a year in a fully humidity controlled workshop I rebuilt in 2016. Every aspect is meticulously executed solely by me. Here , in collaboration with the customer, I continue to design and create each instrument as a unique piece of heirloom quality art and expression of its owner, combining traditional with contemporary design and construction techniques.
Artistic Influence ~
I draw inspiration from my multi faceted education- For 6 years I attended a Waldorf (Rudolf Steiner) school in Sydney, Australia where I was immersed in artistic expression found in forms, line, colour and design.
It was here, at age 10 that I received my first lessons in fingerstyle guitar and first put chisel to wood, carving a swan floating on water.
I studied Fine Arts for 3 years where I majored in Etching and oil painting and minoring in Sculpture, Photography, Art history and Drawing the human form. Here I was influenced by the power and beauty depicted by the Renaissance and Baroque painters, the complexity of Arabic geometry, the serenity of Japanese woodcuts and calligraphy, the allegory of the Symbolists, the colour of the expressionists, and the design of the Nouveau and Deco movements.
After traveling through India, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia and New Zealand, I studied and taught Wing Chun Kung Fu.
I then began my Bachelors degree in Philosophy and Theology (majoring in both) for 3 years. Here I wrote on the brilliant minds of Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and also studied Iconography and illumination, which combine art with mind.
It is through this rich tapestry of influences in art, music, culture and modes of thinking that I draw from to create one of a kind custom instruments.
It is a pleasure to be able to showcase my work and I trust that every instrument seen here will be an illustration of who I am, and an expression of the owners vision.
Yours,
Beau Hannam
~ Crafting in the Gilet workshop at Botany, Sydney Australia. 2008~
~ Life of a Luthier ~
Creator Series Video (click on picture to start)
