About Us

Husband and wife Charles Fox and Denise Richards are business and creative partners in Charles Fox Guitars.

Pioneer American luthier Charles Fox has been active in the development of modern lutherie for over 40 years. Charles is often referred to as the dean of educators in the field of guitar making, having introduced hundreds of people to this craft and counting many of today's successful luthiers among his former students.  Since 1968, Charles has been building guitars both as an independent luthier and as head of guitar production workshops.  In 1973 he founded the first school for guitar makers in North America, the School of the Guitar Research & Design Center in South Strafford, VT.  In 1993 Charles established the American School of Lutherie in Healdsburg, CA, where he also co-founded the Healdsburg Guitar Festival.

Charles enjoys an international reputation as an artisan, designer, consultant and educator.  His original design concepts, such as the thin-line acoustic guitar, as well as his building techniques and production devices, such as the Universal Side Bender, are widely used by guitar builders and factories all over the world.  In the late '70s and early '80s, Charles' GRD Guitars helped define the market for high-end electric guitars.  He is currently director of the American School of Lutherie and heads Charles Fox Guitars, a Portland-based workshop crafting performance-quality instruments for musicians around the world.

Denise Richards, former corporate public relations and marketing executive, is Charles' wife and his business partner in both Charles Fox Guitars and the American School of Lutherie. Denise collaborates with Charles in guitar design and material selection, shoots all of the guitar photography and manages the websites in addition to running the day-to-day business.