icon caret-left icon caret-right instagram pinterest linkedin facebook twitter goodreads question-circle facebook circle twitter circle linkedin circle instagram circle goodreads circle pinterest circle

Conversazioni

Noemi Schembri's Journey to Masterful Guitar-Making

Wood has fascinated Noemi Schembri since adolescence, about the same time she picked up playing the guitar. Her interests collided, sparking a curiosity about how the wooden instrument was built.

Inspired, the San Cataldo, Sicily native, moved to Canada, where she studied under the guidance of renowned Master Luthier Sergei De Jonge. Noemi had the opportunity to learn modern building techniques for both steel-string and classical guitars.


It was a new way of looking at her favorite instrument, which inspired her, after her apprenticeship, to return to Italy, where she opened her first workshop in Solighetto. She has since moved production to a larger space in Susegana, where she builds guitars entirely based on customer needs: desired sound, wood choice, ergonomics, playability, and aesthetics. 

 
Noemi shared with me her journey and approach to lutherie, materials she uses, challenges she's faced, and more.



What inspired you to pursue guitar-building?

It was mainly the combination of my love for wood and woodworking and the fact that I started playing the guitar when I was 11. Over time, thanks to scholarly studies based on wood—from secondary school to university—my curiosity about how guitars are built and who builds them grew inside me.

 

guitar-front-365.jpg

 

How did your time studying under Master Luthier Sergei De Jonge influence your approach to luthierie?

My time with Sergei De Jonge left a fundamental imprint on me. I had no experience and no references, and his open approach to guitar-making is what I still follow today while building my guitars: trying different ways and learning from my results.

 

How has your experience working in both North America and Italy impacted your guitar-making?

Steel-string guitars have deep roots in American culture, and classical guitars have ties to Italian culture. I naturally started exhibiting in both places, lately more often in the U.S.A. Now, my market is 90% in the U.S.A. with steel strings only and 10% in Europe with mainly classical guitars.

 

My goal is to bring classical guitars to the U.S., learn their needs from the classical guitar player's perspective, and respond to them.

 
Noemi-Schembri-365.jpg

Tell us about your workshop. You recently moved to a larger space.

It was time to move to a bigger one and have proper spaces dedicated to the building process and to the customers who come and try my guitars. It took me a couple of years to find the one I liked, so even if it was bigger than what I was looking for, I decided to keep it and have extra space for the future. You never know!

 

Can you describe the most challenging parts of building a guitar by hand and how you overcome them?

Well, in the beginning, you think that steps like bending sizes, carving the neck, and routing the dovetail joint are the most challenging, but the more you build, the more you learn how to realize those physical parts and the more you focus on the main thing: the sound! Making a guitar sound as you "hear" it in your mind is the most challenging part, and while working on it, at the same time, you are building your personal sound, the sound that players will identify as their sound.

 

guitar-back-365.jpg 

What materials do you use?

The only material is wood, except for the strings, tuners, nut, and saddle.

 

I use different wood species, grain directions, and ways to cut every piece of wood according to its function. Sometimes, I work with wood species that I have never used before, and in that case, I have to learn how to work with them.

 

Can you share a challenging request?

It wasn't a customer request but a challenge that I gave myself: building the smallest body guitar I have, with the brightest sound wood I had at that time for the back and sides, adding a cutaway (which means taking off air volume from inside the guitar box), and achieving a big warm sound as if it was coming out of a big body guitar with a warm tone wood.

 

I was very happy with the result and even happier seeing people's reactions when they realized how small the guitar was!

 

What do you hope people will take away when they purchase one of your guitars?

Inspiration, wider explorations of the field, and joy while playing it!

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to my newsletter for more content and updates!

Semolina MKE: Reviving Old-World Pasta in Milwaukee

Set in Milwaukee's Bay View, a historic Italian enclave, Semolina MKE proudly carries on old-world pasta traditions while catering to an appetite for regional flavors and staples. 


Owner Petra Orlowski's maternal grandparents were Sicilians from Chiusa Sclafani and Vicari. She credits her grandmother with teaching her how to cook pasta, among other things. 


Today, Petra gives that knowledge back to her community, teaching pasta-making classes and showcasing high-quality Italian specialty items like olive oils, vinegar, honeys, salts, wine, and cheeses.

 

"I'm all about sharing," she says. "I want people to make food. I don't want to be a gatekeeper holding these recipes for myself. Everybody should be cooking."


Petra took time to chat with me about her journey to starting Semolina MKE, popular products and classes, and her hopes for her customers, many of whom she considers friends. 

 

 

Tell us about your background and what inspired Semolina MKE.

I worked as a dental technician for years, and then I got married, got pregnant with twins, and stayed home with them for four and a half years until they went to kindergarten. Then, I wanted to get out of the house again, so I started working at Sanford Restaurant as a host. I worked there for about 15 years and did everything but the kitchen. I did two years as a pastry chef for a different restaurant. Then, I was managing another restaurant prior to COVID, and that shut down. 


So, when I was sitting at home alone with no work to do, I started doing a really deep dive into pasta-making. I had always made pasta, but this was me making more intricate shapes and just kind of trying to keep myself busy. Then, I was making so much pasta that people started wanting to buy it.


I realized that pasta does not fall under the cottage food laws in Wisconsin. I had to actually find commercial kitchen space, and that's how Semolina was born.

 

You carry quite a few specialty items in addition to pasta. What are you particularly proud to showcase?

There's a brand, Bona Furtuna, in Corleone, Sicily. As far as I know, we're the only store that carries their products in Wisconsin. We actually just visited the farm, and the president of the company was there. We got to go out into the olive groves and pick wild fennel from the side of the road. Their olive oils are top-notch. They are a wonderful organic 1% for the Planet, B-Corp, the whole nine yards. So we're very proud to carry those products. 


I also carry olive oil from a company called Mandranova, which is another farm in Agrigento that we visited. 


Both farms are very modern. Everything is temperature-controlled, so the oil doesn't get too hot as it's being crushed and mixed. The polyphenols stay at their highest levels, and they are doing everything to make the highest-quality ingredients or products. 


We also carry some fantastic honeys from Sardinia. It's a mother-and-daughter team, Maria and Daniela. Maria is around 80 years old. She was a little spitfire and yelled at me for not knowing more Italian.


I love working with these small producers we get to visit and get to know. Also, while we were there, we went to a winery called Quignones in Licata. I can't carry Alfredo's wines, but I can carry some of his food products. So we are able to go there and have a wonderful afternoon with him. It's so great to be able to build these relationships with producers, and they're so happy to have their products in the U.S., too.

 

Semoline-MKE-interior.JPG 

What are the most popular products you offer?

Probably the most popular is the culurgiones [Sardinia's answer to the ravioli]. I make them every Sunday, and people have gotten used to having those available. My favorite is probably pappardelle, the simple egg pasta. I like the wide noodles. 

 

How did you learn to make pasta?

My grandma used to make pasta. Not often, but it's one of those things that I took upon myself to learn. I didn't take any classes. I just started making it and just figuring it out on my own. 


My husband and I went to Rome about six years ago and took a cooking class. It was about pasta-making and a bunch of other things, which really bolstered my confidence that I could do this myself and show other people how to do it as well.

 

Tell us about your pasta-making classes.

The classes in the shop are limited to a maximum of six people. I offer three different classes: classic egg dough, hand-shaped pasta, and ravioli. 


Each class starts out with making the dough from scratch. While the dough rests, we go into the kitchen. I show everyone how to make a sauce, and then we cook up pasta I had made earlier in the day. Everybody sees how I cook, sauce, and serve it. Then, they get their bowl of pasta and a glass of wine or some Italian non-alcoholic beverage. When we're done with that, I answer all of their questions about olive oil and cheese and whatever. During that time, we go back to the pasta room and do all of the rolling out and shaping. They can see the salt I'm putting in the water to boil and how I'm not rinsing the pasta. They can see my method of cooking so that they can replicate that at home.

 

What do you hope participants take away?

I want people to actually learn and walk away feeling like they can do it at home. And I know a lot of them do because they come back and buy flour to make everything at home. So, I am confident that people leave with the knowledge they need.


I try to teach them about the ingredients we're using so that they know how to buy olive oil and how to use it. They don't let it sit in their pantry for a year because they want to save it for a special occasion. It's food; you use it. 


I also just want them to feel comfortable and have a really fun time while they're doing it and that they can call me and ask me things. When they come into the shop, I want them to know that we have carefully curated, we have tasted things, and we have talked to the people who grow these things, so you can trust us when we tell you this is a good product. 

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to my newsletter for more content and updates!