About…

What can I say about me?

Persona

I’m a tranquil retired man full of hobbies and other interests.

I have two dogs, one called Kochanski and another one called Kashtanka (that I sometimes call conker). I love to cook, read, and travel. But wood (no pun or jokes intended) is my passion.

Well, now introductions: my name is Riccardo Soffitari, a luthier and woodcraftsman based in Cremona, Italia. I was born in 1958, my father was a woodworker and cabinetmaker and my mother was a teacher of Italian for youngsters.

I grew up making wooden items for play and fun, where I developed my love for craftsmanship and working with wood.

During my early age I went to the prestigious Academy of Higher Wood Studies near Cremona to take in-depth knowledge of all things related to wood and lutherie. I ended up achieving a Magna cum Laude degree on “All things Wood”. I’m very proud of this achievement.

Do get in touch with me for any questions related to lutherie, old tools, and woodworking.

Cheers!

Riccardo

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Olivo Ollari, a famous sketcher based in Spuria came to my office and kindly made this drawing, which I keep it close to my heart:

Hobbies

Besides violin making, I love going to the pub. Every opportunity I get, I message the boys and we go talk and have fun together!

In the photo you can see Mickey Coote, Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee,  Hogan from County Tyrone and Johnny McGurk. Good lads.

I took the picture and Malone from Westmeath went to the bathroom right that time. O’ “Slugger” O’Toole and William (Bill) Treacy from Dover couldn’t make it that day. Next time for sure!

And sadly, Mick MacCann (from the banks of the Bann), our forever Skipper, had a stroke of bad luck and passed away, with his dog. We miss you, Skipper!

Images

I try to generate all the images on this blog, sometimes I just can’t, so I cite the source or the link that originated it. Well, the site doesn’t get almost any traction or reads, so, I guess it’ll matter when it gets famous and accessed. By then, even Google will try to ‘convince’ me to add ads and profit from my user base. My intention as of 2023 is to deny and allow my content to wonder free in the internets.

Ramblings

I’m a life long learner. I strongly believe in the fact that we are always learning.  And learning leads to wisdom, the ultimate objective. My own name is a contraption of this, Riccardo Soffitari has its influences on Sophia or Sofia (Σοφία) meaning “wisdom”.

Contact

Disclaimer

Everything you read here is a work of fiction (except the content about lutherie and wood), ie, this persona I’ve created, the location, contact information – nothing is real. 

Just go along, and enjoy my content, really.