Richard Heeres (The Hague, The Netherlands, 1967) was trained as a cabinet maker and mechanical engineer. He started making guitars simply because he needed one.

At the age of 13 his uncle had taught him his first chords on a battered, old guitar.

Richard learned to play several styles and had been in some bands when, in 1992, the guitar finally gave up on him. He now had two options: to buy a factory made guitar or to build his own with Master Luthier David Freeman in Canada, who's add he saw in a magazine.

Being no stranger to adventure (Richard had travelled extensively through Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia in his late teens), he chose the latter.

Immediately, he fell in love with the craft. For Richard, making musical instruments combined engineering and the fine woodworking he had learned previously.

After a couple of weeks with David, he knew that he would build guitars for the rest of his life.

Back in The Netherlands he started his own company, still working as a cabinet maker to pay the bills, but with a fast expanding circle of clients.

At that time he was renting a single room in a student house. He would use it as a workshop during the day, then vacuüm, and turn it into what most people would dread to call their bedroom at night.

In 1998, he found a spacious workshop and started making guitars full time. The emphasis of his work is on fine flamenco- and archtop guitars, although he does still build some electrics.

"My instruments have been described to me as looking 'spectaculairly sober', which is a great compliment to me, because that's just where D'Aquisto was going. On every guitar, my goal is to combine great musical quality with that look".

Richard Heeres is a member of the Association of Dutch Archtop Makers and the Association of Dutch Musical Instrument Makers and has contibuted to Guitarmaker magazine and the Guild of American Luthiers quarterly journal and Gitaarnet.nl. His instruments are in demand by both amateurs and professional musicians.