IRIS GUITAR COMPANY
1891 Williston Road, Suite 19, South Burlington VT 05403
Phone: 802-495-0893
Email: adam@irisguitarcompany.com
christina@circlestrings.com

Established in 2018 as a division of Circle Strings, Iris Guitar Company is a small team of highly skilled and seasoned luthiers who are dedicated to building a modern instrument that captures vintage-inspired tone and aesthetics. Iris guitars are handmade using a combination of state of the art techniques and old world craftsmanship. The model line represents our interpretation of depression era flattops, admired guitars from the mid century, and are meant to serve the everyday musician. For this, we have taken measures to provide an instrument that is simple, reliable, and elegant all at an affordable price point. In fact, you're probably going to want two Iris guitars at this rate.

Christina got her start in the acoustic guitar world as the Purchasing Manager for Santa Cruz Guitar Company. During her four years at SCGC, she forged strong connections with artists, dealers and vendors within the industry, which led her to meeting Adam through his luthier supply company, Allied Lutherie.

October 2021, Christina made the trek to Vermont and accepted an offer from Adam to assist in supporting the integral areas of this fast-growing company. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations, she handles sales, bookkeeping and customer service for not only Iris Guitar, but the affiliate companies as well, including Circle Strings, Fairbanks Guitars and Allied Lutherie.

While she is the only person in a guitar shop that doesn’t actually play, she appreciates the artistry of the craft and admires the skill behind each build. Maybe one of these days she’ll pick up a guitar and learn a tune or two ;)

William Hylton has been using CAD and CNC technologies professionally for the past 15 years. Over this time, he's had the privilege of working with hundreds of luthiers throughout the industry, providing professional design and manufacturing insight to beginners and top-tier luthiers alike. In June of 2019, William joined forces with the Circle Strings team to provide them with the same professional expertise and skill set in the ever-evolving CNC technology field. William is dead set in helping the company grow and has become an key part of the day-to-day operations at Circle Strings, Iris Guitars, and Allied Lutherie.

Christian, a native of Burlington, NC, took a keen interest in music and art at an early age. As much as he enjoyed playing music, he found himself more interested in the mechanics and designs of stringed instruments, often taking things apart. In 2006, Christian graduated from The Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. Since then, Christian has worked for Collings Guitars and Ellis & Pava Mandolins where he dedicated his time towards mandolin construction and highly detailed finish work. Christian joined the Iris team in December 2020. At Iris he is hands-on with assembly, neck shaping, and finish work and also oversees high-end production for Adams line of Circle Strings guitars. The Iris RCM-000 is named after Christian too!

Jay Brown has spent the last 26 years in the woodworking and music industry. After attending the Leeds guitar making school in the mid 90's in Massachusetts, Jay set out to study music in California where he ended up getting his first production woodworking job at Roe and Company furniture maker. From there his travels and music took him to Austin and Houston, Texas where he worked for El Dorado Woodworks, Winn Wittman architecture, and Collings Guitars. After moving to Vermont with his wife and three kids, he found his way to Iris Guitars where he works in the body build department.

“My passion for lutherie started during my senior year of high school, where I built an electric guitar in my woodshop class. After graduating, I took a brief detour to college, however I quickly lost interest in what I was doing. It didn't take much thought as to what I wanted to do instead, so I enrolled in Brian Galloup’s School of Lutherie in Big Rapids, Michigan, where I took the six-month master’s course. In my time there as a student, I built a solid body electric guitar, two acoustic guitars and an archtop. After receiving my certificate, I was approached by luthier Sam Guidry, an instructor at the school, about starting an apprenticeship there. I accepted and spent the next year and a half working under Sam and the many other talented instructors there, including Brian Galloup. When the end of my apprenticeship drew near, I was lucky enough to be introduced to Adam Buchwald of Circle Strings, who met Sam at a guitar show. After speaking with Adam, it became clear that his shop in Burlington, Vermont was a perfect spot for me to continue my work as a builder of handmade guitars.”

Originally from Upstate NY, Storm moved to California in 2015 where he began his lutherie career at Santa Cruz Guitar Company. Throughout his 7 years at SCGC he primarily managed the Finish department, where he refined and mastered each process, but also gained extensive experience in neck-carves, set-ups and repair work, including Plek services. Deciding it was time for a change of scenery and wanting to be closer to family on the East coast, Storm moved to Burlington, VT in 2021 and found his spot at Iris Guitar. Storm now leads the Set Up department and assists with service and repair.

And yes, that’s his real name.

Zack didn’t submit his own bio, so we took matters into our own hands and typed up what we feel summarizes him best. Let’s dig in :)

Musician, skateboarding novice and bearded dragon dad; just a few highlights of who Zack Shafer is. An Ohio native, he has a heart of pure gold and an unparalleled sense of humor. When he’s not busting his butt at the shop, you can find him noodling around town on his skateboard or bringing his pet bearded dragon, Lemon, for an afternoon stroll down by Lake Champlain.

At Iris, Zack does all the set ups and makes sure the guitars are in perfect condition before shipping out dealers. He previously worked for StewMac, where his interest in lutherie sparked.

Just to be clear, he still can’t ollie.

Audrey grew up in China Spring, TX but found herself waiting tables in Austin after studying photography and sculpture. While serving, a customer who worked at Collings Guitars encouraged her to apply. While she had no inkling of building guitars, her background lent itself to the craftsmanship required. Learning on the job, she worked with them for 12 years, culminating with a department lead position building the Waterloo line. During the pandemic, she spent another year building to high standards with Ellis and Pava mandolins until Adam and Vermont came calling to put it all towards Iris.

She and her husband Andy joined the team in February 2022, so anything before then is not their fault, okay?

Andy Arazoza is a jack of all trades and master of one, having sprayed and sanded finish for 10,042 hours and counting. After completing the master program at Galloup School of Lutherie, Andy returned to his home state of Texas to finish mandolins at “Collings Guitars AND MANDOLINS.” Followed by a two year stint as most of the finish department for Moniker, Andy dove into the world of commercial beer brewing at 35. It’s basically the same thing.

And just when he thought he was out, Adam pulled him back in with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Will’s older brother leaves a basement full of guitars and gear when he moves out.
Will proceeds to take all those guitars apart so he can figure out how they work.
Will realizes he will have to put the guitars back together.
Will goes to the Red Wing luthier program where he learns to put guitars back together.
Around here is when Will realizes this is something he can actually do. Like long term.
Will gets a job at Santa Cruz Guitar Co. where he spends a few years bending, bracing, building and binding guitar bodies (and riding bikes).
Now Will is here at Iris, happily making and fitting necks.

Will has still not fixed his brothers old guitars.

Originally hailing from Wayne, PA, Sean came to Vermont in 2019 where he attended the University of Vermont and later earned a BA in Music Technology & Business with a minor in Math. As a musician himself, Sean is a fan of anything and everything that involves music. He is also an outdoorsman and ceramist who enjoys spending time outside and working with his hands as much as possible.


Sean joined Iris Guitar Company in late 2023 when he dove head first into the world of CNC operation and lutherie. He has been learning from and working under the watchful eye of the incredibly talented Chief CNC Wizard. Alongside The Wizard, Sean produces necks, bridges, fingerboards and other parts for Iris, Circle Strings, and Fairbanks Guitars, as well as any repairs that might come into Ben and Bucky’s.

Born and raised among the foothills of the Green Mountains, a modest upbringing meant doing things oneself. From gardening and home repair to writing and playing guitar, Willy’s childhood was steeped in the ethic of handwork.

After earning degrees in English and Philosophy in 2013, Willy explored a number of career paths before becoming a stay-at-home father in 2016. During this time he began making furniture. In 2018, Willy re-entered the work force by joining “The Joinery,” honing his skills as a woodworker. Meanwhile, the natural intersection of his two passions hurtled toward their inevitable collision.

In 2023, Willy wrote Adam explaining how desperately he didn’t need a job. A desire to apply his skills as a woodworker and build instruments had finally overcome him.

That September, Willy joined the Iris Guitar Company. So far, he has yet to build a square guitar or put strings on his cabinets.