The Ukulele Festival Hawaii, organized by founders Roy and Kathy Sakuma and held at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand in Waikiki, is a cherished annual event drawing thousands of attendees to celebrate the ukulele and its impact on the musical world. The festival attracts many ukulele makers and enthusiasts and culminates in a concert featuring an 800-piece ukulele orchestra comprised mostly of children. It truly is a sight to behold! The Sakumas have worked tirelessly to promote the ukulele and the joy it brings since organizing the first Ukulele Festival in 1971.

While attending the 49th Festival in 2019, Bill Seymour (Pearl Works) and Casey Kamaka (Kamaka Ukulele) agreed that Kamaka Ukulele and Pearl Works should join forces on a special project to help celebrate the Festival’s 50th anniversary in 2020. Both parties wanted to honor the Sakumas for their passion and hard work. The result was two Sakuma signature Kamaka ukuleles, one with Roy’s signature and one with Kathy’s. The signatures were made with Mother or Pearl and inlaid on the 12th fret. The ukuleles also featured a special 50th anniversary banner on the headplate, also using Mother of Pearl.

Due to the global pandemic, the 50th Ukulele Festival Hawaii could not be held in the traditional fashion. However, it was held virtually and broadcast on Hawaiian television for the world to enjoy. You can see a recording of the event here: https://www.ukulelefestivalhawaii.org/en/oahu/tv-special.htm. A few days later in a special presentation at the Kamaka Ukulele factory, Roy and Kathy were delighted to receive their own signature Kamaka ukuleles.

Pearl Works was honored to work with Kamaka Ukulele and pleased to donate our services to such a worthy cause. Though we couldn’t be there in person this year with Roy and Kathy, we very much look forward to the 51st celebration next summer.

The holiday seasons often inspire new ideas and creativity. The design team was challenged by Bill Seymour to create an ornament as a gift to honor Jean Sifel, the former owner of Pearl Works. The inspiration for the ornament was a well-known holiday song. The running family joke from Jean’s childhood was that her father really did not enjoy the song at all.

The result of Bill’s challenge is the whimsical “Partridge in a Pear” ornament. It was designed by Marc Thompson and Daniel Panza and brought to life using various shades of Mother of Pearl, wood, and Reconstituted Stone. We were excited to utilize our new laser CNC machine to produce the ornament.

Not only was this a unique and special ornament for sentimental reasons, it was also a milestone for Pearl Works since the ornament would feature our very first double-sided inlay. Inlaid discreetly into the back of the ornament, using beautiful Mother of Pearl, was the beloved phrase “He always hated that song” in honor of Jean’s father.

Needless to say, Jean was touched and greatly appreciated her ornament. So enthusiastic was the reception from the rest of the Pearl Works team that we decided to make a limited run of ornaments for their families to enjoy. It just goes to show how a thoughtful idea can blossom into a work of art that can be appreciated and cherished for many years to come.

Pearl Works was pleased to have the opportunity to work with Lowden Guitars on the production of a beautiful new custom model this past year. Lowden is based in Northern Ireland; however, as luck would have it, their client for this project was conveniently located within driving distance of the Pearl Works factory, giving us the somewhat unusual opportunity to work directly with the end user on the development of the related designs and the selection of inlay materials.

Our task was to create a heron-themed inlay on both the fretboard and head plate. The client envisioned a heron “dancing on the fingerboard” and we worked diligently to achieve this effect. The inlay utilized solid Mother of Pearl, solid Black Lip Mother of Pearl, solid Brown Lip Mother of Pearl, Paua Heart Abalone, and various colors of Reconstituted Stone to bring the design to life. The addition of lily pads as fret markers was a subtle homage to the natural habitat of the herons native to the client’s home.

The Lowden Heron model debuted at Winter NAMM 2020 in Anaheim. We are grateful to our friends at Lowden for including us in this special project and look forward to future opportunities to create similarly challenging and rewarding projects such as this. Thanks as well to Alastair Simpson for providing us with these outstanding photos to share with you. Enjoy!

Pearl Works is fortunate to work with a variety of manufacturers—from large companies to individual luthiers. One of our valued partners is Elrick Bass Guitars, who creates custom, hand-carved bass instruments. Rob Elrick recently returned from the Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin, an invitation-only show for hand-built guitars and basses, where he exhibited several of his finest instruments.

With Elrick's input, we designed a cascading series of rectangular inlay that runs the length of the fingerboards. Depending on the model of the bass, and preference of the customer, the inlay is done in solid shell, Dichrolam, or contrasting woods.

2017 will mark Elrick’s 25th anniversary, and we are delighted to be working with them on an exquisite 25th Anniversary Model. Like Elrick on Facebook for upcoming sneak peeks of this one-of-a-kind instrument.

Pearl Works recently returned from Phoenix, Arizona, for the opening weekend of Dragons and Vines: Inlaid Guitar Masterpieces at the Musical Instrument Museum. We were truly impressed by the care and thought that went into every aspect of the exhibition. Hats off to MIM’s curators and their entire staff for the beautiful installation and displays, videos, photography, and text.

Many friends and colleagues also attended the opening event, including fellow inlay artist Harvey Leach, musicians Al Petteway, Stephen Stills, and Laurence Juber, and representatives of many guitar manufacturers and luthiers, including Dick Boak (Martin), Kevin Ryan (Ryan Guitars), and Joe Knaggs and Peter Wolf (Knaggs Guitars).

We were overwhelmed with the magnificent tribute to Larry and the inlay work that he and our team at Pearl Works have done over the years. A visit to the exhibition is highly encouraged, if you find yourself in the Phoenix area anytime before September 2017. For more information, visit www.mim.org.

The wait is almost over – Dragons and Vines: Inlaid Guitar Masterpieces opens at the Musical Instrument Museum this Saturday, November 5.

This special exhibition features more than thirty inlaid instruments created by the greatest contemporary North American inlay artists and luthiers. The majority of the pieces are from the private collection of Pearl Works’ founder Larry Sifel.

Opening weekend activities include film screenings of Ballad of the Dreadnought – A Musical Icon Turns 100, talks by guitarist Al Petteway and Dick Boak of C.F. Martin & Co., and concerts by Stephen Stills and Laurence Juber.

After getting a sneak preview of the exhibition, Pearl Works’ president Bill Seymour said, “Larry would have loved MIM. He would be thrilled to know that this is where the core of his one-of-a-kind collection will, for the first time, be shared with the public… Dragons and Vines: Inlaid Guitar Masterpieces is an exhibition to remember.”

The exhibition will be open through September 2017, with continued talks and concerts throughout its 9-month run.  If you are in the Phoenix area, we encourage you to visit MIM and see Dragons and Vines for yourself!

Pearl Works’ greatest asset is our team of talented inlay professionals.  One of the key members of our team is Daniel Panza.  Daniel has been with Pearl Works since 2002, and learned the art and techniques of inlay directly from our founder, Larry Sifel.  Since then he has made increasingly significant contributions to both our design and production efforts.

Daniel is particularly adept at bringing our clients’ visions to life as inlay designs.  One recent project Daniel oversaw from start to finish was the PRS Private Stock Country Western Tonare. 

The design process began with classic symbols of the American West – such as a buffalo skull and horseshoes.  Daniel integrated these elements into a cohesive design, and created a digital mock-up.  Adjustments were made; for instance, the rosette began as barbed wire, but Daniel and the designers at PRS decided that a rope motif translated better into inlay.  Once the design was finalized, it was inlaid into the guitar with mother of pearl, black lip mother of pearl, gold mother of pearl, and mammoth ivory.

Contact us to discuss your next inlay project, and how Pearl Works can translate your vision to reality.

Starting this November, the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), in partnership with Pearl Works, will showcase the art and craft of inlay with a new exhibition, Dragons and Vines: Inlaid Guitar Masterpieces.  The exhibition will feature more than thirty exquisitely inlaid instruments, the majority from the private collection of Pearl Works’ founder, Larry Sifel.

Pearl Works is thrilled to be part of this historic exhibition at MIM, where the artistry of inlay will be celebrated on a global scale.  “Having Larry’s personal collection on exhibit at the Musical Instrument Museum is an incredible tribute to the work that he began, and the work we continue to do at Pearl Works,” said Bill Seymour, Pearl Works’ president.

The exhibition will be on display in MIM’s Target Gallery from November 5, 2016, through September 4, 2017.  Similar to other displays in MIM’s permanent galleries, Dragons and Vines: Inlaid Guitar Masterpieces will include high-quality audio and video content, including interviews with Pearl Works staff.  The museum will also feature artist talks and concerts throughout the exhibition’s run.

For more information, visit mim.org.

Pearl Works recently hand-crafted and inlaid a custom display case for Mānoa Chocolate, a bean-to-bar chocolate factory located in Kailua, Hawaii. Mānoa was interested in a way to display their products that complemented the premium quality of the chocolate bars.

The result is a custom point-of-sale display, handmade out of Curly and Quilted Maple by Pearl Works’ Michael Byle.  The front is inlaid with the Manoa Chocolate logo featuring East Indian Rosewood, Koa, Paua, and, Mother of Pearl.

Pearl Works President Bill Seymour just returned from Hawaii, where he got to see the display case installed in the Manoa factory store. “We are thrilled to partner in this way with the talented artisans at Manoa Chocolate and we look forward to extending the relationship with point-of-sale display cases and custom gift boxes in the months and years to come.”

Pearl Works is expanding our offerings and applying our core expertise outside the musical instrument industry, crafting inlay for items such as ornaments, boxes of all sorts, display cases, and more.  Contact us to find out more.

Pearl Works is pleased to announce that it has obtained an Import/Export License from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This license is required to ship any wildlife products internationally, including wood, shell, and other natural materials. Pearl Works is now poised to provide its world-class inlay services to manufacturers all over the globe. 

Our Inlay Manager Raymond Jefferies guided us through the months-long application and compliance process. Ray also manages Pearl Works’ material sourcing, handling issues like availability, regulations, and the sustainability and environmental impact of the shell supply chain. 

Ray’s interest and knowledge of the natural world continues to inform his duties at Pearl Works.  He has had a long interest in biology, and had considered becoming a biologist before joining Pearl Works in 2004. Ray’s skills and passions have truly combined in this new role, and he looks forward to deepening his knowledge of the natural world that produces some of our most beautiful inlay materials.