Canadian luthier Ian Crawford McWilliams studied violin making at West Dean College in Chichester, England, finishing in 2005. After working in London for J. P. Guivier & Co. managing the bow department, McWilliams moved to Montpellier, France where he worked for Frédéric Chaudière making new violins, violas and cellos. Settling in Germany in 2010, McWilliams built his current workshop in the historic town of Brandenburg an der Havel just outside of Berlin. His main focus is building modern violins, violas, and cellos, and he is a yearly attendant of the Oberlin Violin Makers Workshop. In competitions held by the Violin Society of America, McWilliams won a Certificate of Merit for Tone for a quartet submitted in 2014 and a second Certificate for Workmanship for a cello in 2018.
