The hand behind the work.
A short essay, in Jeremy's own words, on the bench, the wood, and the road from Quebec to Columbia Falls.
From houses to guitars.
Jeremy Pappenfus started working with wood at age eleven, helping his father build houses in Minnesota. By his twenties he was doing finish carpentry: trim, cabinets, the work where precision matters and mistakes show.
When the housing market collapsed in 2008, Jeremy picked up a set of library books on guitar construction and started teaching himself. From 2008 to 2017 he built twenty-three guitars under the name Great Northern Guitar Company.
"Every guitar is a collaboration. Mine, the wood's, the player's."
Five weeks in Chelsea, Quebec.
In 2023, Jeremy traveled to Chelsea, Quebec, to study under Sergei de Jonge, one of the most respected acoustic guitar makers alive. Five weeks of intensive, one-on-one instruction in top making, bracing, and binding.
Guitar No. 026 was Jeremy's first build after returning to Montana. He deliberately duplicated de Jonge's dimensions, methods, and materials in his own shop. It was not a copy. It was proof the training had taken root.