Our next meeting will be virtual, held on May 12, 2021. Our presenters will be furniture maker William Brown and luthier John Bogdanovich. We look forward to seeing everyone on May 12.
About guitar maker, John Bogdanovich
Guitar maker John Bogdanovich has a background tailor made for guitar building. John began woodworking and playing guitar at the age of 12. He majored in music at what is now Richmond College studying performance and composition, and studied classical guitar privately with Julio Prol.
John served as an apprentice cabinet maker for 3 years in a well known cabinet shop in New York City training with old world European craftsman. This is where he began to develop the foundation of skills he would later be known for in guitar building.
After completing his apprenticeship John returned to college where he received a BSEE in electrical engineering from Pratt Institute and a MSEE from Polytehcnic University, both in Brooklyn, NY. Upon graduation John worked as a design engineer in research and development at AT&T Bell Labs in Holmdel, NJ. and retired after 10 years of service. Then returned to woodworking starting a small business designing and building furniture in Freehold, NJ. He was a member of the CJWA and served as the very first VP!
John studied fine woodworking with James Krenov for two years at the College of the Redwood Fine Woodworking program in Fort Bragg, California. Upon completing the woodworking program took a guitar building class with Charles Fox. John built his first guitar immediately following and began his journey in lutherie.
In 2003 John was approached by Sterling Publishing and asked if he would like to author a book on guitar making. He had been given a rare opportunity to share techniques and thoughts about something he loved. This would prove to be a challenging project. In 2006 “Classical Guitar Making: A Modern Approach to a Traditional Design” was released. The book was instantly successful and is widely accepted as the ultimate reference for building classical guitars. After the books release he was quoted as saying “I just wanted to produce something that I would be proud of.”
About William Brown
William Brown is the owner of the Maine Coast Workshop, and an 18th Century-style furniture maker. His furniture and carving website: LineAndBerry.com
He grew up on a farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he apprenticed in the workshop of E. Townsend Moore. During this time he gained a love of fine Pennsylvania-made furniture from the 18th century.
William’s career path took him into the medical field, where he became a successful anesthesiologist, but all the time he continued to build high-end furniture to sell to clients and to beautify his own home. William has been building furniture for over 40 years, which is obvious in the details of his immaculate furniture.