ASIA was formed in the late 1980s by builders, repairers, shop owners, educators, toolmakers, and others involved in stringed instrument work. The idea was straightforward: give people a place to exchange practical knowledge, learn from one another, and strengthen the craft.
Early workshops and gatherings grew into regular symposia, newsletters, and Guitarmaker. The journal recorded techniques, repairs, tools, instruments, ideas, and the people doing the work. Over the years, those publications became an important part of ASIA’s record.
This site is bringing that material together and making it easier to find and read. The record is not complete—some things survive in print, some in photographs or recordings, and some only in memory—but what remains is a substantial history of instrument making as it was practiced and shared.