Gijsbert van Ziel - Achttienribbe Vioolbouw
Cello makers
Gijsbert G. van Ziel (1962) trained as a violin maker at the Newark School of Violin Making in England (1988–1991). During and after his training, he gained valuable experience at workshops in Berlin, Montpellier and Madrid. On his return to the Netherlands in 1995, he established himself as an independent violin maker. In recent years, in his workshop in Rotterdam, he has focused primarily on building new instruments, particularly cellos, but also violins and violas. In addition, over the years he has built up extensive experience in improving the sound of instruments and devotes a great deal of attention to the adjustment of both new and antique instruments.
As a child, Chaim Achttienribbe loved spending time in the workshop of his father, the Groningen-based artist Peter Achttienribbe. In 1999, Chaim decided to combine his love of working with wood with his love of music. From 1999 to 2002, he trained as a violin maker at the Newark School of Violin Making (England). After graduating, he worked for three years at Loerakker Violin Makers in Haarlem. From 2004 to 2017, Chaim was co-owner of Maas and Achttienribbe Violin Makers, and since 2017 he has been based at Achttienribbe Violin Makers on Czaar Peterstraat in Amsterdam. Currently, Chaim focuses primarily on new instrument construction and restoration at Achttienribbe Violin Makers.
