Press Kit

Portland guitar has been operating for 15 years, since 2005, with shop and showroom in a southwest Portland house. Over 100 guitars have been made in that time with around 70 custom orders and the rest built on speculation. From young to old, around one to two people every year are taught how to make guitars.

For Jay Dickinson departure from the tech world of H.P. was imminent, he had saved enough money to retire comfortably in his Southwest Portland house, but the mind does not settle easily. A lifetime of woodworking, a love of guitars, and a little stress inspired Jay to make his first guitar. For a mechanical engineer, the mistakes present in the first one was not acceptable, and another was made. Soon he approached his guitar playing coworkers for interested clients and he was in business.  

Witnessing the transaction of money, Marianne Dickinson could not sit still. Her experience as a cost accountant and financial analyst spurred her to handle the finances of Jay’s endeavors.  

A Professional failure analyst and lab manager, he brought this mentality to the guitar making world.  Dedicated to making a product that spurns the corporate ethos of planned obsolescence. Jay sold his Jaguar sports car and converted his garage into a professional woodworking shop. He labored away building his new lab and perfecting his build process. Many innovations and improvements blossomed over time, creating two patented inventions and a system of adjustments that tailors the feeling of the guitar to the player

Max Dickinson grew up watching his dad build guitars through the years and witnessing the happy customers left a lasting impression on what focus and passion can accomplish. His interest in science and math led him to pursue a bachelors in those fields. Max saw the commitment to making a better guitar and was inspired to join Jay on his journey.

Stronger together, in the last two years all the sales, marketing and customer outreach were shifted to Max, allowing Jay to focus solely on building guitars. His innovations have flowered. A new art style with cutting edge techniques and two more patent pending inventions were created in this time. The future will bring more guitars and an effort to spread out roots in the Portland community.