BY TAYLOR OWENS

I love to work. I love to create. I have to create,” said Ren Ferguson, renowned luthier and owner of Ferguson Guitars. He’s seated in his shop, surrounded by pieces of his art that he’s built over his lifetime: guitars; guns; wood carvings; paintings; and many other mediums. The smell of wood fills the air. “Whether I’m building a rifle or a bow, painting a picture, doing a sculpture, carving a guitar neck, or doing inlay—it’s how I feed that part of my being.”

Each guitar that leaves Ferguson Guitars isn’t just an instrument—it’s a singular piece of functional art.

For decades, Ren’s work was known to collectors and musicians who sought out his custom-built guitars—pieces so refined and rare that they were often passed between private hands, almost never seen on the open market. Those guitars have always been elusive. Until now.

In his shop in Belgrade, Montana, Ren’s hands are always busy—chiseling, carving, shaping wood into objects that carry stories, soul and sound. That drive to create has fueled a lifetime of innovation, from restoring instruments in a Southern California music store to becoming one of the most respected names in guitar-making.

“Like everybody else in 1962, I taught myself to play guitar,” he said. “Some kids got lessons. The rest of us just sat around and jammed.”

Ren grew up near what is now the Los Angeles International Airport. As a teenager, he got a job repairing instruments in a local music store. His father owned a furniture store in Santa Monica, and Ren turned a space there into a small workshop where he began doing more intricate work on guitars.

“I was laying in bed thinking of all the projects—putting a bridge back on one, resetting a neck, replacing a top on a Gibson—and like the proverbial cartoon lightbulb, I thought: I could make a whole guitar,” he said. “I’d never thought of it before that. It just hadn’t occurred to me. I guess I had been waiting for permission.”

Eventually, he decided to pursue a different kind of life— one rooted in nature and tradition. Drawn by the wide-open landscapes and slower pace, Ren made plans to move to Big Timber, Montana.

But art has a way of finding its maker.

“I was living in Big Timber, and I got a phone call from a guy named Steve Carlson of Flat Iron Mandolin,” Ren said. “He told me he looked me up and found out all about me and offered me a position as manager of his company. After a few short years, his company was acquired by Gibson where I accepted a position as VP of R&D.”

Ren and Steve went to Nashville to acquire all of the old tools from Gibson’s Kalamazoo, Michigan factory that had closed.

“Steve was put in charge of the contracting of the building,” Ren said. “I, on the other hand, was given the opportunity to build all of the tooling, fixtures for the production of Gibson Guitars in Montana. The owners’ only request was to make the best and that he wanted no returns.”

For Ren, it felt like a “Wild West” scenario, one that allowed him the liberty to bring his vision and skills to the fore, knowing he had the creative freedom to do things his own way.

Ren Ferguson’s career spans several decades and is defined by key milestones, including his influential work at Gibson and the creation of the esteemed “Master Museum” series – highly ornate and collectible guitars revered by musicians and collectors alike. During his time there, he not only honed his own skills but also mentored hundreds of colleagues, passing on his expertise and elevating both the technological and artistic aspects of guitar making.

Ren’s work is highly specialized, producing rare, heirloom- quality instruments that often features intricate inlays and custom designs.

“I have not been very good at retiring,” he laughed. “I don’t seem to have an off switch and so I have to be doing something. If it’s not building a house or a pigeon coop or a rifle or painting a picture or whatever it happens to be I’ve got to keep creating.”

Designed to resonate with its future owner’s style and soul, every guitar is a handcrafted collaboration between master luthier Ren Ferguson and his two children, Timothy Ferguson and Virginia “Ginny” Staples. Together, they are doing something rare in the world of fine instruments: creating custom guitars with lineage, history and intention behind every curve.

“We live in a time where things are made fast and thrown away. This is the opposite of that. This is slow. Intentional. Built to last,” Timothy said. “When someone orders a custom guitar, they’re saying, “I value craftsmanship, individuality, and legacy—I want something made with soul that on one else in the world will ever have.’”

For the first time, those who have admired Ren Ferguson’s guitars from afar have the opportunity to commission their own. These instruments are not mass-produced or shelved in showrooms. They’re built one at a time, for someone specific. For someone who values artistry, playability, and permanence.

In a world of fast, disposable goods, a Ferguson guitar is the opposite. It’s slow. Purposeful. It’s designed to age beautifully and to be passed down. And because the guitars are so few and so individualized, they are also positioned as highly collectible—an intersection of craft and investment.

The Ferguson family’s commitment to quality is evident in every instrument, crafted from the finest materials Ren has collected over his lifetime. From rare, aged tonewoods to exquisite inlays, each piece of material is chosen with care, adding depth and character to every guitar. These materials, some sourced from locations with significant history, add a special layer of craftsmanship that makes each instrument a work of art.

At the heart of it all is a family making art together. Ginny calls the experience “something truly special,” not only because of what they’re building, but because of how they’re doing it— shoulder to shoulder, learning, creating, and honoring the time they have with one another.

There’s a shared sense among the Fergusons that each guitar carries more than sound—it carries memory, legacy, and connection. A moment sealed in wood. A heartbeat.

As for Ren, he’s still chasing that heartbeat, still crafting the next guitar.

“People often ask me, where’s the guitar you built for yourself?” he said with a grin. “I say, I haven’t finished it yet. I’m making another one. I always have to make another one. I’m pretty hard to please, and they keep getting better.”

Check out Ferguson Guitars online to explore heirloom-quality functional art in the form of stringed musical instruments.

Taylor Owens is the content marketing director at Outlaw Partners.