About me

I was born in Bari, south Italy, in 1980. I started my training in stringed instrument making and repair in 2005, after a Degree in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bari. My first teacher was my father Arturo Ceci, a very well known luthier, piano tuner, and restorer in Bari. After a few years of work in my home town as an instrument maker, repairer, and bow rehairer,  I decided to improve my knowledge in 2014 in North Italy following stages in Turin and Milan.
In 2015 I had the opportunity of an internship in the workshop of maker and restorer Master GUUST FRANCOIS in Amsterdam. Here I made my  first "dutch" instrument, a viola.  In April 2017 I took a course in the restoration of String Instruments at WEST DEAN COLLEGE in Chirchester (England). My tutors were Master WARREN BEALY (a maker and restorer in Canada), Master GUDRUN KREMEIER (a restorer in Amsterdam ) and Master IRIS CARR (restorer in London an expert in retouching techniques and treaning). 
In 2017/2018 with Master BAS MAAS I began further training to refine her set-up and new making techniques. In the MAAS shop I worked with colleagues who helped improve my knowledge, like Master ROBERTO FURNARI (restorer and expert in dendrochronological analysis of stringed instruments), and Master LAMBERT HOUNIET (violinmaker and restorer). 
In 2018 I started further training in bow making and restoration with Master MICHAEL YEATS.
In 2021 I became the official manager of the collection of instruments made by LORENZO STELLUTO and I'm working on the huge project to restore the whole collection and  writing a book about his life and work.
In 2022 I started and intense collaboration with THEO WENTINK owner and general manager of Strijkinstrumentenshop.nl the biggest shop in Netherlands regarding renting of stringed instruments and retail of all sort of accessories related to stringed instruments also on-line.
In may 2022 Theo opened a new shop in Prins Mauritsplein 19 in The Hague and offered me the position of resident luthier, which I very much gladly accepted.
Here I do maintenance, repair, restore of stringed instruments and bows and of course I keep building my instruments. This is actually the only shop in Nederland that offers a complete service related to stringed instruments and the most competitve prices. 
--->click here <---  to visit the shop !

Ornella Ceci