IRIS CARR

RESTORER OF FINE VIOLINS, VIOLAS & CELLOS

In 1996 I graduated from the Newark School of Violinmaking with distinction and was offered a position at Charles Beare’s Shop in London

There my training in restoration of violins, violas and cellos started and it was a privilege to be taught by some of the best craftspeople in the profession and be surrounded by and work on some of the finest instruments.

In 2004, after 8 years of working at Beare’s , I started up my own business specialising in major restorations of violins, violas and cellos. The main bulk of my work comes from violin dealers but also directly from musicians worldwide.

Since my self-employment in 2004, my restorations have included examples from makers such as Stradivari, Amati, Bergonzi, Joseph Guarnerius, S. & G. Seraphin, Gabrielli, Balestrieri, Gagliano, Bellosio, Gobetti, Testore, Rocca, Landolfi, Goffriller, Lupot, Postiglione, Siani, Tecchler, Rogeri and many more.

Since 2012, I have been giving courses, teaching general restoration work and retouching. Fertans in France has been one of my regular locations for hosting weekly courses twice a year for the French Violinmaking Association Aladfi.

I have also been one of the teachers at Oberlin, Ohio, in 2016 and 2018, organised by the Violin Society of America and at the Restoration Course at West Dean in the UK in April 2015 and 2017.

In March 2018, I taught retouching at the Tottori Violin Making School in Misasa, Japan and in November of the same year I lectured at the Violinmaking School in Poznan, Poland.

Unfortunately, the Corona virus pandemic put a temporary end to my teaching courses which is why I decided to embark on creating online courses as a teaching resource available to violin repairers and restorers all over the world.

Read more on my website iriscarrrestorations.com