For the last 10 years, Will Scherer has paired his love of music and making violins with being an entrepreneur. But last December a fire ripped through Boulder County, leaving his home and violin shop incinerated.
Will’s home and shop were one of more than 1,000 homes and businesses burned due to the Marshall Fire.
While Will’s house and shop didn’t completely burn, it remains uninhabitable and has been gutted to the studs. “My violin shop was in the lower level, and everything that was in one part of the shop was completely destroyed because of the fire,” Will says. He saved as much as he could, but a lot of tools and violins in his shop were too damaged by soot, smoke and water. Although Will had business insurance, it wasn’t enough to cover his losses and left him to make the hard decision to close up shop.
But nearly eight months later, after community support, word of mouth and a GoFundMe page, Scherer Violin Shop reopened on Main Street in Louisville.
“I had this imperative that I reopen up the shop because all of a sudden people were reaching out, supporting us,” Will says. “I realized how many people in the community really wanted the violin shop back up and going. So I had to answer the call.”
While Will investigated ways to reopen and rebuild, the late Andy Clark, owner of Moxie, launched a GoFundMe page to reopen Scherer Violin Shop. The fundraiser went on to raise over $53,000. “Andy was a phenomenal person and a big supporter of the community, art and music,” Will says.
As fate would have it, news of the shop reopening and the need for a new location spread. The Boulder County music community came together and through word of mouth, helped Will find a storefront for his business. Located at 844 Main Street, Suite 103, Scherer Violin Shop now has a retail space in the front and a workshop in the back, perfect for the work Will does.
“It reminded me how lucky we are to live in this community. We’re a community of doers,” he says. “Whether you’re into climbing or you’re into cycling or into music or making things, it just seems like the fact that we have all these things in common makes the fabric [of our community] so much tighter.”
Will can be found at his shop nearly every day making violins, repairing bows and bridges and putting violins from the community back together. He says the process of losing nearly everything and then reopening with a massive amount of support has made him realize music can heal and solve a lot of problems in the world.
“It’s healing to share music, whether it’s making music or listening to music. And, for me, the healing has come through playing music and through having people share music with me, and also through getting back to do the work that I love, which is the crafting of things,” Will says.
Will and his family plan to rebuild their home in Louisville and will keep the shop on Main Street. “Having a studio at your house is one thing, but having a retail store is something completely different. And having regular hours where people can walk in and visit with you just because they’re walking down the street is pretty cool,” Will says. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
In true Boulder County fashion, the community has rallied behind Scherer Violin Shop. In the nearly 10 years the shop has been in business, Will says September was his best month yet, and he credits his success to a lot of hard work combined with people wanting to see his business reopen and thrive.
But the community support and outreach don’t stop there. Will donated all of his charred instruments salvaged from the fire to local artist, woodworker and childhood friend Matthew Neidenberg. Matthew plans to use the charred violins, broken tiles and glass, old fence posts and other wood from the burn area to create four phoenix bird sculptures, each representing a different season. Matthew says the art will represent the “continuity of nature, resilience in our natural world and how we can learn from that and the resilience in our community.”
The art was put up for auction in late December, and proceeds will go toward tree-planting projects in the neighborhoods destroyed by the fire. More information, including a link to the auction website, can be found on Matthew’s website at MountainsideArts.com.
Scherer Violin Shop
SchererViolins.com
720-460-9403
Hours: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (open weekends and evenings by appointment)