The rosewood and mahogany varieties and several other hardwood species at Roberto-Venn were originally collected by John Roberts in the late 60’s, with the help of the indigenous Miskito people in Nicaragua. He gathered the wood with the dream of building a yacht. At the time, John was employed by Robinson Lumber Company as their executive pilot, at their lumbermill facility in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.

When John’s friend, an experienced boat builder, left the country, his ‘yacht’ dream dissolved and he decided to ship the wood he collected to New Orleans and on to Phoenix, on three railroad box cars, to start ‘John Roberts Import Hardwoods.’ That dream lasted awhile but was a fledgling operation. When John met guitar makers Carl Samuels and Ron Carriveau, who taught him how to make guitars, the wood started to find its voice.

After building guitars for a few years John started the Juan Roberto Guitar Works, where he taught locals how to build their own guitars. William Eaton was one of those sign-ups in 1971 and would later return to build another guitar in 1974 and with a business plan in 1975 to help found the school along with added partner Robert Venn, a guitar maker from Bakersfield, California, who had joined with John in 1973.

Since the founding of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in 1975 over 3000 students have attended the school, from every continent except Antarctica. Graduates of the school have branched out to guitar making companies large and small, to repair shops, to wood and guitar parts suppliers, and many have become entrepreneurs themselves starting their own guitar making and/or repair shops, and other guitar related businesses.

The wood from the trees of Nicaragua has seemed to have its own volition, as the story continues, and we witness many fine artisan luthiers who are transforming this wood into beautiful expressions of form and musicality.