Workshop

With a shared passion for detail, Mira and Gideon are committed to the making of high-quality string-instruments.

“For a while we made instruments next to each other, learned from one another’s particular experiences and soon realized how complementary our skills were. We then started developing a way of working together on each instrument that leaves our workshop. Our instruments are planned by two brains and realized by four hands. We both have areas in which we excel: Mira, cellist, has a magic eye for the sculpture of archings and scrolls. Gideon, violinist and violist, adores the play of colors and effects in varnish and its antiquing-process”


Mira and Gideon live in Berlin with their two children. They are regularly invited to participate in exhibitions and workshops in Europe and North America. The quality of their work has been recognised with many awards.

MIRA GRUSZOW

Mira was born in Belgium in 1984. She grew up surrounded by arts and music. Very early on, she was inspired to become a luthier, a vocation that would enable her to weave together her passions for the cello and for woodworking.


She graduated in 2006 from the A. Stradivari International School of Violin Making in Cremona, Italy. Beyond school, Cremona gave her the chance to immerse herself in a world of violin making that was both very much alive and deeply rooted in tradition.


Between 2007 and 2010 Mira worked in Montreal as the assistant of Isabelle Wilbaux, who taught her all aspects of her own approach to the craft of violin making. Isabelle Wilbaux remains an important inspiration for her today.
With financing from a grant offered by the Belgian Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Mira was able to conduct an in-depth study of instruments of the Amati family with the collaboration of luthier François Denis.


In 2010, she set up her own workshop in Quebec. During the past few years she has participated in various exhibitions and gatherings of north-American violin makers like VSA (Violin Society of America) and the Oberlinworkshops.


GIDEON BAUMBLATT

Gideon was born and raised in Berlin, Germany. Very early on he was fascinated by the violin and received his first lessons at the age of five. Combining his interest in woodworking and music, he started his apprenticeship in Cremona, which he eventually finished in Mittenwald, attending two of the most renowned schools in violin making.


After completing his studies in Mittenwald, Gideon worked for the master luthier Peter Körner in Mainz, Germany. There he learned how to restore and assess antique instruments. The study of the Old Masters became a passion for him and he was able to deepen his knowledge and understanding while working in Florian Leonhard’workshop in London.


In 2012 Gideon brought his experience and knowledge with him to take up new challenges in Montreal. He set up his own workshop alongside Mira Gruszow, dividing his time between restoring and making instruments. In a joint-effort with colleagues from Wilder&Davis Luthiers, he copied the “Countess of Stainlein, ex-Greenhouse” Stradivari-Cello of 1707 for the owner of the original instrument. Afterwards, Gideon decided to devote himself entirely to making new instruments. He had the opportunity to exchange ideas with many violin makers in North America at several exhibitions and the Oberlinworkshop.