Mountain Music
Remember attempting to make birdhouses in woodshop class back in high school? If you were born after the mid 90s you probably have only seen such classes on television, as they are not generally offered in public school anymore. Luckily for Christopher Capozzoli, his high school provided a curriculum that quickly culminated his love for building and creating. This access, plus his passion for guitar and a knowledgeable neighbor who loaned him “how to build a guitar” literature and advice, gave Chris the push he needed to build his first electric guitar for a high school project. And he’s been “making music” ever since.
Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Chris moved to Boone in 1999 to pursue an associate’s degree at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC&TI) and started working at Vaughn Woodworking in Foscoe. During the ten years he spent working here, he fell more deeply in love with the craft. Instead of going home after a long work day, Chris would stay at the shop to build guitars until early the next morning. With the skills he obtained from the shop, he decided to go into business for himself and began Capozzoli Guitar Company in 2010.
Currently, Chris designs custom made acoustic and electric guitars, electric basses, and sometimes other stringed instruments such as banjos and ukuleles. While he has used copied designs for these pieces before, he mostly builds instruments using his own personal designs. “There is a big business in making copies of other famous guitars, but I’d rather just come up with my own,” Chris says.
When Chris is asked to make a custom guitar, he loves to include his client in on the process as much as possible. “Talking with the customers is fun because they’re excited about it. They feel very special that something is being made for them even if it’s a piece of furniture.”
It currently takes a year for Chris to create ten guitars, but he’d love for that number to double. In the meantime, he also builds furniture for local contractors or clients who have heard about his products through word-of-mouth. His dream is to eventually build instruments full-time.
All of the wood he uses for his works is Forest Stewardship Council certified, meaning it was cut down responsibly and not clear cut. It takes approximately one month to complete each guitar, and Chris uses mostly local woods that he finds in the area from old barns, buildings, or scraps. “I really love to use local woods because there’s a lot of beautiful available wood around here.” Chris smiles, “I love being up here and being a creator because the environment is conducive to me. There are like-minded people around here who like to create and build.”
Chris draws inspiration for his work from nature and the beautiful Appalachian mountains that surround him. See this inspiration in the physical with the Capozzoli Kuiper, a left-handed piece he made in 2017 and one of our personal favorites.