Category: Craft

Meet Marcus

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Marcus Bretto is a violin luthier, blacksmith, and artist. In his Generator studio, he crafts beautiful violins by drawing inspiration all over the makerspace – from the work of his knifemaker studiomate to the filament assemblies on the 3D printers.

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Path to Generator

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Marcus grew up in Hingham, Massachusetts and started making things from a very young age. Inspired by his musician father, Marcus remembers making cardboard guitars with rubber band strings as a child. He enjoyed playing instruments too – he learned to play the violin in sixth grade and soon picked up the drums and the keyboard. 

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In high school, Marcus realized he could pursue making instruments as a career. He went on to attend North Bennet Street School in Boston, where he trained one-on-one with a professional violin luthier for three years.

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Marcus moved to Burlington in 2018. Looking for a studio space to continue his violin-making practice, he found Generator. “I had always been looking for a space where I could share ideas with other people and artists and have access to all these neat tools,” he says. “I was on the lookout when I moved here, and that’s when I just popped in. I was like ‘What!? I didn’t know this kind of space actually existed. This is amazing!’ I got a membership as soon as possible after that.” 

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Inspiration and Experimentation in the Makerspace

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The collaboration and inspiration at Generator has been especially exciting for Marcus. He shares a studio with one of his best friends, professional knife maker Mats Thureson. The two started blacksmithing together, partially for fun, and partially to help Marcus gain a better understanding of metalworking. Marcus believes this collaboration has helped elevate his craft. He also credits inspiration to his studio neighbor, Leslie McCurdy, a fellow luthier who makes electric bass guitars. “Leslie is in the studio right next to me, and I get to peer over the wall and see what he does over there all the time, he says. “I’m like, ‘Oh, this is pretty cool. He’s got the cool stuff.’”

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Marcus also appreciates the creative exploration that Generator allows. “Almost every single time I make an instrument for myself, there is some experimentation going on, even if they’re just small adjustments in the process of making templates or, you know, how would I make this little section easier?”  Watching other makers create in other shops helps Marcus think outside the box. “There’s almost always some sort of example that’s coming from around here completely unrelated. I’m like, ‘Oh, I saw some way that somebody assembled something in the 3D printing area or like how people are doing laminations with the vinyl. I think ‘Okay, I can take ideas from this and make little adjustments to my process in that way.” The experimental and collaborative atmosphere at Generator help make Marcus’ violins unique.

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Advice to New Makers

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To new makers, Marcus says, “Don’t judge where you are in the process too early. I see so many people get discouraged about these grand ideas where they think they’re supposed to be. There’s so much that’s in front of you already, so much that you’ve made progress on and improved upon, and it might speak to people in ways that you don’t expect. Somebody will find something to like about your work. And what you do is just keep doing it.”

Meet Leslie

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Leslie McCurdy is a craft luthier who makes electric basses completely by hand. Prior to becoming an instrument-maker, he spent much of his life as a professional musician playing the electric bass. For the past 12 years, Leslie has honed his craft and artistry, building basses across the northern United States before joining Generator. He hopes to expand his sources of inspiration in our makerspace by taking jewelry or even 3D printer classes.

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Lesley was born in South America and grew up in the Caribbean, parts of Canada, and the United States. He eventually landed in Austin, Texas, where he spent several years playing with a heavy metal country rock band. 

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When he decided to move away from the band scene, instrument-making felt like a natural transition., “I got a little older and I just wanted to continue being involved in music, and what I know is bass. So I took some classes and started making instruments,: he says.

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Inspired by the likes of Leo Fender –“a semi hemi deity,” as Leslie calls him – Leslie dove headfirst into the world of bass making. He took classes in Michigan for six months before being hired by one of his other great inspirations, Roger Sadowsky.  Working with Sadowsky, Leslie learned to appreciate the art of hand-crafting instruments.  “I want the basses  to have the hand of the maker in them,” he says. “I want you to pick them up and go, ‘Okay, this was not made on a lathe or whatever, but this neck feels like somebody’s hand.’ That’s what I’m striving for.” Due to his handcrafted approach, each of Leslie’s basses are unique. “They’re all different. They have a basic template. But from there I just kind of go, ‘Oh, the grain is going this way. I think I’ll cut this, man.’ Or I’ll say, ‘This one is chipping here, so I’m going to do this here.’” 

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After working with Sadowsky for about a year and a half, Leslie opened up his own shop in Beacon, New York, where he worked for five years. Later though, having lived in Vermont earlier in life, Leslie realized he “never should have left,” and moved back to Burlington, where he found Generator.

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Inspiration in the Makerspace

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Leslie has been at Generator for less than a year, but has already felt inspired by other makers in the space. He worked closely with makers in the space, such as woodworkers Alex Brumlik and Juju Lobo.“There’s a lot of the social aspect of being here that’s very helpful, ” Leslie says.“ He also mentioned how the spaces around him at Generator spark interest, drive curiosity, and inspire ideas he hopes to implement into his work. “I’ve just been watching other people and seeing what they do,putting it in the back of my head,” he says.“The jewelry department definitely does know how to decorate things and make them look better. At the end of the day, you just want to make it look pretty.”

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Advice to New Makers

To new makers, Leslie says, “You have to decide early on whether you want to be ‘a craftsman’ or ‘an artist.’ If you want to be a craftsman, you have to consider starting to make things with more machines, making more of them, figuring out a way to market them more.I fall into the artist category. I want to do what I do, as much of it as I can, for the people who like it.”