Spotlight-
The Wildwood Flower

The Tree

Joe had this uncanny ability to spot specific species of trees from great distances, a gift his father had as well.  After several months of getting acquainted while working on Joe's guitars and just hanging out, we began collaborating on building some custom string instruments from wood that came out of Maces Springs, Virginia. This is the location where Joe was born and raised by A.P. and Sara. It is also the home of the famous A.P. Carter Store and The Carter Family Fold, a musical refuge for thousands of visitors each year.​

    On one of his frequent visits to my luthier shop, Joe dropped in with some great news; he found the perfect tree.  It was a huge Walnut tree right out of Maces Springs, Virgina.  I was very excited! I knew he'd find a great tree for our musical purpose...he was very good at it.  

    Joe and I began our plan to harvest this beautiful tree that would sweetly sing in its new life as a series of one-of-a-kind musical instruments.  We cut, we hauled; off to the saw mill we went. It was September 11th 2001 a day I will always remember, and a date that we will never forget. We cut the log into several one inch thick boards. This was some premium Walnut...I was very happy.  We stacked and stickered it for air drying. Initially I was able to build Joe a couple of prototypes but sadly he passed away before the complete idea come to fruition. Fourteen years later I released a limited number of A.P. Carter commemorative guitars built in the style of A.P.'s personal 1930's Martin guitar. 

     It's 25 years later. The wood is now seasoned and mature.  I have decided to offer a limited number of the "Wildwood Flower" model featuring the  "Maces Springs Walnut" that Joe and I harvested all those years ago.