In 2010, I picked up the ukulele after a lapse of many years. The next year I visited a luthier with the intention of ordering a custom instrument. He generously spent quite a bit of time showing me his shop and methods. I was irresistibly drawn to the building process and set out to build one on my own. Before hearing the siren of ukulele building, I had built sailboats and had also enjoyed the precise demands of machine work. This background has served me well. In fact, sailboats and ukuleles have two things in common: they have to function well and be pleasing to the the eyes.
Ono Ukuleles are handmade in my workshop in Ashland, Oregon. I allow myself the luxury of building at my own pace, so I can take all the time I need to achieve a level of quality that gives me great satisfaction.
Scroll through the images below to see some of the more than one hundred Ono Ukuleles built from 2011 to the present.
