George

George Paxevanos believes in making beautiful things. He has made furniture, houses and a variety of instruments, but he says for some reason violin-making has become his ‘addiction’. George migrated to Australia from Greece when he was young, and began making violins while recovering from a near-fatal car accident. He has been in almost constant pain since then, but says that when he is making a violin the pain is relieved, and he disappears into the process of making a beautiful instrument. It takes George about a year to make each violin, but he says the result is worth the time when the unique, handcrafted instrument is finished.

The beauty of making an instrument, to George, is the character that can be put into it. The shape of the instrument, the curve of the wood, the colour - are all crafted by his hand. George has found that people who want to make something beautiful, something unique, will often struggle to make money. He does not sell many of his violins because each one is individual and he can only sell them into good homes; George can remember almost all the people he has sold his violins to by name.

 

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