Judith Kraft: Early instrument maker

Materially Speaking

See pictures and read more on materiallyspeaking.com

Judith’s workshop is in the 10th arrondissement, tucked away in a courtyard behind huge iron gates where tall white buildings house workshops, and motorbikes and cars are squeezed against the walls. There are lines of plants in terracotta pots and a small white dog.

Judith greets us in her office where a history of her instruments line one wall – some with painted gold detail and others with fine marquetry work in wood.

She makes instruments on commission for professional and amateur musicians, ranging from promising students through to well-established performers, from all over the world. She also creates instruments for Swiss and French music conservatories and does restoration work on old viols.

In her light and airy workshops, we find a large store of seasoned wood including many triangular shapes ready to form the instrument, and shelves holding a rich assortment of spirits, glues and waxes.

She speaks about how she sources the wood in the Jura and how you can tell the age of the wood in an old instrument, and judge the climate over the years, through the stripes you see in the wood.

There’s a half finished instrument in a vice on a workbench and Judith runs through the process of creating her instruments for us, each of which takes a couple of months to complete. All the tools of Judith’s craft line the walls, including a fine selection of blades.

Judith talks of the pleasure both of making the instruments, and of hearing them play in the hands of their final owner.

judithkraft.net

In 2018, Judith Kraft was named Maître d’Art by the French Minister of Culture.