Fox Guitar Craft was formed January 1st, 2016 in the great state of North Carolina. From 2016 through 2020 we were located in Winston-Salem with plans to build our workshop in Pilot Mountain – the stars were not aligned. FGC has found a new home in Leesburg, Virginia and before you know it we’ll be handcrafting guitars in our full-service workshop.
Scott started honing his craftsman ways at an early age building balsa wood airplanes and a kite from scratch at age five. Like many of us he moved on to models, rocketry and many other hobby projects. He attended Jackson High School and was a straight “A” student in the vocational welding program, graduating in 1981. After graduation, Scott entered and served honorably for ten years in the U.S. Air Force as a avionic electronic technician on aerial reconnaissance cameras and sensor systems. The military career was not fulfilling his inherent desire to build and craft things with his own hands – so he turned back to his metal fabrication and welding skills. Scott went on to manage a shop and build custom metal products for the multi-million dollar yacht industry as a full-fledged metal fabricator, machinist and welder with pictures of his work published in the premier yachting magazine “Yachting”. At this point in his life he was ready for new challenges and opportunities – so he pursued a more technical career in electronics manufacturing. During this time Scott built space flight hardware and was NASA-certified in all disciplines of space flight manufacturing with his handcrafted work currently in service on communication and weather satellites, and the International Space Station (ISS). He even got to build some complex and difficult to fabricate cable assemblies for NASA’s Enhanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) astronaut spacesuit! Scott had also been attending college pursing a degree in Information Technology (IT) – so you guessed it, he eventually decided to pursue a career in IT. He formed Mobile Waza, Inc. in March of 2006 and provided information, systems and key management support services for federal government customers through 2015. During the IT days in 2012, Scott developed the “Joggit Memory” app for Apple iOS to promote brain health and Alzheimer’s disease awareness. To date, Scott continues to provide contract services for federal government customers in order to support his luthier lifestyle.
Scott picked up the guitar at age 14 and many lessons later was playing in a band named “Mercedes”. Instead of working in the fast food industry, Scott paid the bills playing fashion shows, high school dances, parties… those were the days! He’s still practicing and playing, who knows – he might be good someday. Scott was also extremely active in martial arts starting in 1984 through 2005 where during that time he learned patience and perseverance while achieving 2nd Degree Black Belt in Bujinkan Budō Tai jutsu and 3rd Degree Black Belt in ToShin Do. Scott’s lived an interesting life so far and the culmination of his skills are a perfect fit for his final venture – “The Art of Lutherie”. Scott’s guitar building instruction and guidance has been with luthier Brian Hawkins of Hawkins Guitar in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Scott feels blessed to have Brian as a teacher and life-long friend. Scott has also attended the American School of Lutherie with pioneer luthier Charles Fox who has been active in the development of modern lutherie for over 40 years and often referred to as the dean of educators in the field.
Scott married his high school sweetheart Kimberly in 1981 – they’re inseparable! Scott and Kim welcomed their only child Erika into the world in 1985.
OK, this all may sound like Scott’s eulogy – but it’s his story and rest assured he has much more to do. Scott has said, “my passion in life is art and it gives me tremendous pleasure to handcraft unique custom guitars that touch the heart and enrich the lives of all those who come in contact with them.”