Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Eubanks.
Hi Steve, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
While I’m not a California native, SoCal has been my home for over 30 years. My wife and I came to California as a young couple, still figuring out what we wanted to do, and who we wanted to be, and our time here has shaped the way we answered those questions in more ways than we could have imagined. Since then we’ve grown, learned, raised a family and come to see Southern California as home.
I’ve enjoyed building things for as long as I can remember. From Legos and Pinewood Derby cars in my childhood to metal and woodworking classes in high school, making things has been part of who I am since the beginning. Over the years I’ve built everything from furniture to classic cars, home renovations to custom golf clubs. The workshop is my happy place, and I’ll take almost any excuse to experiment with new tools and techniques and make interesting things.
I’ve also played the guitar off and on since I was in high school, and a little over ten years ago I started to experiment with restoring and modifying guitars and ukuleles. The combination of my love for building, my enjoyment of music, and the endless possibilities in the design and construction of instruments turned into a passion for building guitars, ukuleles and other instruments. For the last decade, I’ve been designing and building instruments that reflect my love of building, music and SoCal.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Learning to build instruments at a high level is a long process that involves a lot of experimentation, trial and error, and making mistakes. Over the years I have had countless projects that started with great expectations but didn’t quite hit the mark. The experience of recognizing failure, learning the lessons of that failure, then starting again is always hard. There are times when I feel like I’m really just not good enough, and imposter syndrome is a beast I fight with on a regular basis. But ultimately, the solution is a combination of resilience, creativity and a strong support network. I’m incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by a family that believes in me and my ability to accomplish what I set out to do. When I struggle with a new technique or a build goes off the rails, that foundation of support helps to keep me on track.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At heart, I am a builder. I enjoy almost any opportunity to take raw materials and transform them into something useful and beautiful. Over the last ten years or so, I have built a business called CalStyle Studio around building, restoring and modifying musical instruments. The focus at CalStyle is building instruments that are a reflection of what I have come to love about California – the style, culture, beauty and people that make it so amazing.
I build both production instruments for sale locally and online, as well as custom instruments to individual specifications, and I restore and modify instruments that have interesting or unique stories. I hate to see any instrument die, and will often rescue instruments from flea markets or garage sales and bring them back to life. For me, building anything is essentially an act of artistic expression. And building instruments adds another layer in that I am creating art that someone else will then use to create art of their own.
As much as possible, I source the materials for my instruments from here in California. Many of my builds feature urban timber that is harvested in SoCal through our partnership with Street Tree Revival in Anaheim, CA. Street Tree makes some of the most beautiful woods available to local builders and makers, keeping these trees out of landfills. My designs often include references to the incredibly diverse beauty of California, from designs inspired by the surf community, the high Sierra wilderness, the Mojave and more.
I have been privileged to build and donate a ukulele to the annual Switchfoot BroAm charity auction, as well as a custom uke for Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman. Switchfoot is a San Diego based band with deep roots in the community. They support a number of San Diego charities through their BroAm Foundation and their annual BroAm concert and surf event at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.
CalStyle participates twice a year in the Queen Bee Market at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, typically in May and December. This is where people can see and put their hands on some of the instruments I’ve built. I love meeting and interacting at these events with people who share my love of music and beautifully hand crafted instruments.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
You’ll never find yourself lacking things that you ‘have’ to do. From work to financial obligations to family responsibilities, things you have to do will always find you. But you will have to take the initiative to find and pursue the things you ‘want’ to do. Circumstances will not usually just give you the things that feed your passion, give you satisfaction and bring you joy, so you need to go find those things and then make space in your life for them. You don’t have to run from your ‘have tos’ to be happy. You just need to balance them by making room in your life for your ‘get tos’.
Pricing:
- Production ukuleles starting at $155
- Production guitars/basses starting at $1100
- Custom instrument design starts with a $25 deposit
Contact Info:
- Email: calstyle@calstylestudio.com
- Website: http://calstylestudio.com
- Instagram: @calstyle_studio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CalStyle
Image Credits
Steve Eubanks
CalStyle Studio
