International Violin Maker Eric Blot Opens a New Showroom in New York City

Originally based in Cremona, Blot will now be offering sales and certification in New York

Throughout his career, violin maker and expert Eric Blot has restored classical instruments by violin makers of the 1600s, 1800s, and 1900s. Apart from restoration and expertise in Italian instruments, he also constructs new violins, violas, and cellos.

Based in Cremona, Italy, Blot will now open a new showroom in Columbus Circle, in the heart of New York City.

Blot told The Violin Channel that he made the decision to come to New York because of the sheer number of fine instruments in the area.

"They were massively imported in the past decades, and there are still a great number of them here in the city," he said. "Several dealer friends asked me to come here because they need an expert in town to examine and write certificates for Italian instruments."

"New York boasts a large number of professional and amateur musicians, enriched by top music schools and a vibrant array of musical activities," he added. "It is close to Europe and I have many friends here. And I love the energy of this city!"

Born in Paris in 1955, Blot attended the School of Violin Making in Cremona, Italy. Four years later, he returned to Paris to hone his skills in instrument restoration at several noted violin makers’ workshops. In 1981, he established himself in Perugia, Italy, where he worked for several years, restoring instruments for local musicians as well as those from Florence, Rome, and Paris. He eventually settled in Cremona to open his own workshop with a small team.

To much acclaim, Blot has been writing renowned books on Italian violin making. He recently started his own publishing house that trades the four volumes of his noted series on the various Italian-making schools. The most recent focuses on the Piemontese violin making between 1800 and 1960. Moreover, Eric obtained the copyright to Sacconi‘s “The Secrets of Stradivari” in 1999 and has reprinted an English version of this essential text. His publishing company is currently working on several forthcoming books.