WAITSBURG-Most aspiring musicians are eager to run down to the music shop, buy a guitar and play songs for screaming fans, and start selling out concert halls. Few give thought to where instruments come from: through the care of know-how of a luthier.

A luthier builds and repairs stringed instruments using their understanding of musical scales combined with the materials of the trade such as metal hardware and hardwoods, as well as craftsmanship to create a work of art you can play for years.

Local musician and luthier, Carrie Hendrix, has been interested in instruments since childhood. H...