Edwin Halloran

Edwin began woodworking at the age of 7 when his mother surprised him with a set of S.J. Addis gouges that had once belonged to her great aunt who had been a furniture maker, potter, teacher, and suffragette whose initials KB can still be seen scribed into the handles. Edwin was asked to keep them a secret from his five older siblings out of fear that they would be lost or damaged. Thankfully he kept that promise and the set is intact and in use at his bench on a daily basis.

Throughout high school Edwin spent his free time repairing, rebuilding, and making guitars for a local guitar shop in northern New York. During his senior year, the owner of the shop recommended that he enroll in the guitar making program at Redwing Technical College. After completing the guitar program at Redwing, Edwin was drawn in to the violin making program by the hand tool wood carving aspect that seemed to be lacking with guitars. Edwin made his first violin in the elective archtop making program led by John Reed and immediately joined the violin repair program under the instruction of Lisbeth Butler who's knack for pushing her students instilled an attention to detail that is essential for violin making.

After Redwing, Edwin attended the North Bennet Street School in Boston, where he graduated in 2002. During his time there, he had the opportunity to glean knowledge from three different teachers; Kevin Kelly, David Polstein, and Thomas Hummel. Eager to strike out on his own, Edwin completed the program a year early while also building two extra violins and working part time at Johnson String Instrument.

Immediately after graduation, Edwin moved to Chicago for a job at Michael Becker Fine Violins doing instrument repair and restoration. After four years, he spent another five years working for Louis Torick Fine Violins in a position that focused on more extensive restorations of fine old instruments.

In 2012 Edwin left his restoration job and started Halloran Violins so he could build instruments full time. His violins are usually based on the Lord Wilton violin by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu and his violas are based on a model of his own creation for which he won a tone award at the 2014 Violin Society of America competition.