HENRIK SANDBERG BALLOWITZ
I grew up in the beautiful Skanderborg-area of Jutland, Denmark, in a creative and musical home. My father was a talented cabinet maker and often let me play and experiment in his workshop. As I grew up, I began fixing my own instruments, and when I was 18 I build my first electric guitar. Though imperfect, it marked the start of my dedication to the craft.
My fascination with both music and woodwork manifested later in life, when I chose an education as a carpenter specializing in organ buliding. This was my trade for six years while alongside in my spare time building guitars, both acoustic and electric.
Discovering my passion building guitars and through years of having perfected my skill, I quit my job as an organ builder. Many month-long travels to the beautifully hilled land of classical guitars in western Spain has given me a deep sense and respect of the 500 year long tradition of guitarmaking. And it is in the village of La Heradurra, that I took my first spanish guitar building course, spending two months crafting under supervision of the guitar master Stephen Hill.
Today I’m combining the spanish tradition with my own nordic upbringing and aesthetics, building guitars full time in my small workshop collective ’61 Objekter’ in Amager, Copenhagen.