About Zoe Guitars

Shawn Weimer is the owner and luthier of Zoe Guitars. He loves creating and building unique acoustic guitars. His love of both music and wood, high standards, attention to detail, and craftsmanship skills all work together to allow him to create exceptional, heirloom-quality, beautiful guitars.  

Shawn grew-up in Southern California in the 60's and 70's playing in local bands ranging from school symphonies to rock bands and to, yes, a traveling accordion band! He was occasionally frustrated as a young musician of not being able to afford high-end quality instruments, in particular, guitars. Already being proficient in working with wood and metal, he turned that frustration into a desire to learn what went into the making of a high-end guitar.

It was during college in Santa Barbara in the 80's that he got his first taste of what the building process entailed as he was able to watch and learn from a couple of local luthiers. Back then, there was little to no available information on how guitars were built, and the internet was still a pipe-dream. So, watching closely and a lot of trial and error was the only way to learn. Building the first few guitars was a continuing process of making critical mistakes forcing him to start a new one before the last one was finished. There were lots of partial guitar skeletons laying around the make-shift shop.

In 1991, Shawn earned a BA degree in illustration and advertising, and eventually most of his time was spent as owner and operator of a successful media production studio on the Central Coast of California and being the father of two children, Kelly (born the day after his college graduation) and Zachary, born in 1996. 

Although his ultimate career choice ended-up taking him in a different direction, music and guitar building was never far from his heart. 

After some drastic life changes (which you can read about in the next section), Shawn was finally able to achieve his dream of becoming a professional luthier in 2015. 

The word ZOE in Greek, literally means "life". But, not just life itself, but to live life in a more full sense. Abundant life. 

What I am about to share explains the how and the why behind Zoe Guitars. I don't often talk about this, since it's very painful and personal.  In 2008, our family was hit with the loss of our 12-year-old son,  Zachary, who was involved in a zip-line accident at a church retreat. Our daughter Kelly, who was also at the retreat, was able to be with him immediately after the accident. Unfortunately, after a long and hard five days in intensive care, Zachary succumbed to his injuries in October of 2008.

As you might imagine, the next few years were  definitely not easy, and the road to recovery was a long one for our family. Our lives were all changed forever!
We spent several years traveling around the world helping people in need. Our pain was somehow lessened a bit when we interacted with children and families in third world countries who were constantly faced with hunger, lack of jobs, sickness and, like us, death. I always took a guitar with me on these trips and sometimes found myself teaching guitar and even leaving my own instrument behind for an aspiring musician. 

After what seemed like a life-time of trying to find a passion to just live again, things didn't truly change until  2015. Our daughter, Kelly, and her husband, Daniel (both incredible musicians and song writers themselves), gave birth to our first grandchild, a little girl named Zoe. Seeing the incredible beauty of this tiny new life seemed to renew our desire to want to live again.  But, not just live, but to actually thrive.

 This renewed energy and desire enflamed my continuing passion to build high-end, quality acoustic guitars. In many ways Zoe Guitars is a symbolic statement to breathe and live again. 

Having lived through our own journey also made us realize that everyone has a story! Anyone who has experienced tragedy will have to find a way to decide to live again. For us, life will never be the same as it was before and, in a way, we will always mourn for that old life. There is a sweet sorrow in remembering those days but, for the first time in a while, there is a new desire to move forward and take one day at a time and try to appreciate and enjoy as much as possible from each day.

The other half of this business is Shawn's wife, Sally. She handles the marketing and business side of things, as she did for so many years with their production company. She sometimes helps Shawn at the initial, planning stages of building a guitar, giving her input about some of the many details and components.
Sally also has her own  business as a ceramic artist with her company Oceanside Ceramics.  She works in the same space as Shawn and they both really enjoy spending time together creating. 

Shawn spent three years accompanying Sally to all of her local art shows. They shared a booth under their corporate name of Timber, Love & Clay, which was completely unique since it included both guitars and pottery!  

Shawn and Sally also love motorcycle riding, mountain biking, hiking, exploring, adventure, walking on the beach, and spending time with their daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. They got married in 1985 and are still looking forward to many more wonderful years together, working and playing side by side!

If you are interested in learning more about what is involved in possibly having Shawn build you a new dream guitar, he will be more than happy to discuss all of the steps and possibilities. 

The process can definitely be a little daunting, so Shawn takes each step one at a time and at a pace that is comfortable to you. Building a  beautiful instrument can never be rushed. Time to complete a build can take anywhere from six weeks to more than a few months, although usually somewhere in between. 

For more information, please click on the link below.