Joerg

I was born in 1965 in the small town of Anklam, Germany, near the Baltic Sea coast. My father had a workshop in his garage and we spent many days of my childhood working together on engines and with wood. I soon built my own workshop in the cellar and spent my time hidden away carving and turning wood. Those days saw the birth of my two passions- engineering and wood working, which have accompanied me throughout my life and influenced my professional career later on.

After an apprenticeship I worked for several years as a technician in telecommunication. In 1985 I went to Berlin still working as a technician. A few years later, in 1993, I founded my own parquet floor making company which was soon very successful. We specialized in fine quality hardwood floors, from simple floorboards to more complex parquet and detailed marquetry.

I became interested in the making of instruments when I met my wife, Steffi, who was at that time already a luthier. I was so fascinated by the process of making and sculpting a violin that I longed to do the same. After work experience at the workshops of Bastian Muthesius in Berlin I decided to leave my parquet business and dedicate my life to making stringed instruments. I applied to the Newark School of Violin Making where I attended 3 years of training and graduated in violin/ cello making and the repair of antique stringed instruments. I have also been trained in bow re-hairing and repair by Bastian Muthesius and Kai Dase.

I am now working in our own workshop ‘Koplin Violins’ in York – mainly as a maker of violins, violas and cellos and also re-hairing and repairing bows.