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Magic happens when one's life focus is to get extraordinary beauty and divine sound to prevail.
About Marion
In the artist town of Kirkcudbright, nestled in the mull of Galloway, lies my cosy workshop. I carefully select the highest quality, ethically sourced raw materials that have been harvested and used in the same tradition for centuries by the early masters. I have made very little 'improvements' to a tradition of making that has achieved perfection generations ago. It's in the spirit of these old masters and their understanding of aesthetics and acoustics that I work.
I am a well-respected and much-loved maker of violins, violas and cellos with nearly 20 years of experience. I am deeply passionate about music and bringing beauty through sound and crafted instruments into the world.
My background is in music, the visual arts and wood working. I combined these passions when I studied my craft at the prestigious Newark School of Violin Making and Restauration, Nottinghamshire, England.
My husband is also a luthier - Douglas Macarthur and we regal in sharing our theories, explorations and experiments.
I am a Woman in Lutherie , part of a network of female makers all around the world redefining our industry. While the history of lutherie includes many women, their contributions have often been overlooked. Our work highlights their legacy and advances a more inclusive future. This isn't about exclusion, It's about inclusion: female makers and restorers bring unique insight into the needs and aspirations of players , and that deserves recognition too.
Watch to find more about me:
Ethical Choices
I make radical choices for my business which cost me more but cost less to the planet and its people:
- My spruce and maple are sourced in Europe.
- My ebony is ethical and sustainable as much as it can be traced. As a result it is not entirely black and I don't dye it because that is not environmental.
- I rarely use other exotic woods for my fittings but prefer local and European wood such as olive, box and certain fruit woods.
- I have stopped using real horse hair for bow re-hair because horse welfare is no longer guaranteed. In some cases horses go through unspeakable atrocities. We are now very far from the traditional hair harvesting of the past. I may consider Coruss or other synthetic alternative upon request.
- I cook my own varnish and use very little to no pigments or dyes in the varnishing process of the instruments.
I am Women In Lutherie, part of a network of female makers celebrating an alternative way to sell and interact with players branching of from 'traditional' lutherie. Women are taking the place that is their due in an industry that has always been mixed but in which history has compulsively forgotten their great female makers and luthiers and would do so again and again. Being a woman feminist is not about being anti-men because that would be paint the world in binary terms. But female makers can 'feel' the needs, longings and aspirations of their sisters in playing. That cannot be overlooked.
- Finally I stand with Palestine in many different ways. You are welcome to not buy my instruments if this doesn't sit with your ethos.
