“In 2018, and again in 2019, I hosted a weekend workshop in my Athens shop for anyone interested in guitar repair and building, with top-level instructors. Everyone in these workshops learned what they’d hoped for, and shared a special friendship. The third workshop, scheduled for spring of 2020, was canceled by covid and it seemed that the fun was over. However, one of the most popular instructors was Ian Davlin, a top-notch repairman and killer repair touch-up artist from New Jersey. Ian enjoyed our gatherings so much that he contacted our “students” and started the Looth Group, a live zoom meeting where we could keep in touch. To make a short story longer, our group grew fast (now over 1,000 members world-wide) and for me it’s the most special place I’ve found. We’re a community-driven organization fostering a supportive environment with a focus on providing information for members who are either professional, or aspiring to be professional, but not to the exclusion of hobbyists.”