My great grandfather, Silvio Fraulini, was a skilled stone mason and carpenter from Fiumalbo, Italy. He immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900's and found work as a coal miner. During Prohibition in the 1920's he was said to have made the best whiskey stills in all of Missouri and Illinois. Everyone in our family describes Silvio as a master of all trades and jack of none. He inspired his son Egidio to become a great craftsman, who in turn inspired his nephews, one of whom was my father. I chose the name Fraulini to pay homage to the side of the family that inspired me to work with my hands, as well as my head, and because it has a nice ring to it.

My goal is to track down seven great ladder braced guitars, preferably ones made by Italian immigrants, and name them after the seven sisters, maybe add the brothers if I find nine guitars, and the parents if I find eleven.

That would be a model named for every one of the members of Silvio Fraulini's family, pictured in the photograph above.