Meet the Maker: Dmitry Zhevlakov

by Federico Sheppard

Originally published in American Lutherie #89, 2007



I first became acquainted with the name of Russian luthier Dmitry Zhevlakov when I received an inquiry from a guitar maker looking for veneers to duplicate one of his famous rosettes. After some research, I discovered that Dmitry is well known in some parts of the world, such as Paraguay and Australia. In the Soviet days, Dmitry’s family was extremely limited in who they could do business with, but the Internet has done wonders to increase his contacts.

Although I attended medical school in Russia before the iron curtain came down, I don’t really speak Russian. Dmitry and I communicate through a translation program, and sometimes interpreters. And his English is getting better all the time.

I was impressed with Dmitry’s guitars as well as his decorative work. I decided to visit his shop in Tula, Russia. And when the guitarist I was traveling with had his guitar damaged by the airline, I found that Dmitry’s skills extended to guitar repair too!