Heidi Litke, Luthier

Red Sands Ukuleles / Heidi Litke / Clinton, Prince Edward Island, Canada / heidilitke@redsandsukuleles.com

In March of 2019 Heidi had the unique opportunity to spend 5 weeks with Master Luther Sergei de Jonge building a classical guitar using Sergei's methods. I was honoured when Sergei said that I just built       "a concert quality instrument"

Heidi Litke has been building instruments since 2007.

In 2010 Heidi had an amazing opportunity to better hone her skills, building Classical Guitars, traditional Ukuleles and the art of French Polish under Master Luthier Robbie O'Brien, a well respected classical guitar builder.

Heidi enjoys playing celtic, baroque and classical music on her ukulele. It is a fun and exciting little instrument and will put a smile on anyone's face.  Uke can change the world, one uke at a time.

In the spring of 2012 she then studied with Master Luthier Edward Dick of Victor Guitars in basic repair methods and also auditing a steel string class.

Heidi's path has taken her in a direction of building instruments with sustainable materials that can be gathered locally, thereby reducing the impact on our precious environment.  Her ukuleles and classical guitars are handcrafted using maple, birch and spruce. We do not accept commisions but rather build for the love and art of building. Retirement has its rewards.

"I met Heidi Litke for the first time when she walked into my university level classical guitar building course way back in 2010. She was already an accomplished ukulele builder and wanted to learn classical guitar making with me. An instant friendship began that semester and continues to this day. She has developed into an amazing luthier with a world renowned reputation. Since studying with me she has continued expanding her horizons by studying with other luthiers as she strives to get the most out of each instrument she creates."   

Robbie O'Brien

"I was flattered when I heard from Heidi Litke that she was going to take my guitar making course.  I knew that she was already an accomplished luthier.  

As the course progressed she was constantly ahead of schedule, which gave her time to do extra work; for instance she braced two tops so that she could take one home as an example.  She was also able to advise and help other students on that coarse, needless to say that was handy for me and it was great to have her here.  But what really made it a pleasure for me to have Heidi in the shop was her bright spirit and sense of humour.  Her presence added a touch of fun and laughter to my course, even more so at the end of the day when we would find ourselves dancing and joking around. As expected, she ended up making a great classical guitar.   It was lattice braced, the workmanship was excellent, and it sounded great—I was really proud of the guitar she had made.  All in all it was pleasure to have Heidi here."

Sergei de Jonge