Juha Ruokangas Guitars

Ruokangas Guitars was founded in 1995 by luthier Juha Ruokangas. The story goes from repairing guitars in the late 80s to studying lutherie under guidance of the finest Finnish luthiers in the early 90s – then forming a company and building guitars alone in his 35 square meter workshop since 1995. Today Juha and his skillful team of luthiers make about 120 unique guitars a year in their facility of 350 square meters in the beautiful old Harviala Manor surroundings. This little series of photos should give you a nice view to the life of this small group of luthiers earning their everyday bread.

“I am fortunate to have now a handful of skilled craftsmen beside me. Together we stand strong against the tide of the massive guitar industry that sells more in a day than we are able to build within a year. Their main interest is the shareholders profit, whereas for us this is purely a labour of love.” – Juha Ruokangas