OUR STORY
OUR STORY
..it's the one of a great passion!
MAKE BEAUTIFUL INSTRUMENTS AND MAKE THEM IN A UNIQUE WAY - WITH A FRENCH TOUCH
We are a team of passionate people, with different and complementary personalities, and we put together our positive (and overwhelming) energies in order to create for you the best instruments.
Since 2016, we are lucky to practice a "passion" job. Every day, we work with beautiful woods and think about the best way to share our vision of the guitar and bass with you.
De Leeuw's high quality guitars are built with respect to traditional lutherie, without renouncing to modernity (both aesthetically and acoustically).
We favour local wood species. We do our best to avoid plastic and solvents that are harmful to the environment.
We favor oiled finishesto let the instrument vibrate and breath ewe apply stains instead of paints to honor the nobility of the wood).
We specialize in instruments with through necks for obvious reasons of ergonomics, unusual playing sensations, better transmission of vibrations.
TIMELINE
January 2024
Showcasing our guitars at the NAMM Show (Anaheim, California)
December 2023
The personality, reliability and modernity of our guitars were enhanced by a partnership with the legendary Miraval Studios.
November 2023
De Leeuw wins one of the 5 most prestigious Grand Prix de l'Espoir du Made in France 2023.
We were honoured to take part in the We Are French Touch event, the high point of the French cultural and creative industries, organised by we are_ and La French Touch-Bpifrance.
February 2023
Seduced by De Leeuw french know how, the musician Johan Papaconstantino decides to get one of our guitars. The lacquered top of his instrument, with its unique motifs, is based on one of his designs.
September 2022
Opening of the new workshop in Pont-Sainte-Maxence. The team expands.
May 2022
De Leeuw is invited to the Paris Opéra House to present the expertise of French electric guitars as part of the Tous à l'Opéra event.
March 2022
The NINA DEEP BLUE wins the award of the Paris Guitar Show : Prix de la Belle Guitare, at the Paris Guitar Show in Montrouge.
October 2021
De Leeuw is the finalist of the award of the Paris Guitar Show : Prix de la Belle Guitare, at the Paris Guitar Show in Montrouge.
September 2021
Opening of our showroom in Paris.
September 2021
Birth of the De Leeuw brand. Installation of the workshop in Compiègne.
May 2021
Quentin De Leeuw and David Schwarz meet.
2016
Quentin De Leeuw opens his first workshop and officially sets up as a luthier.
OUR TEAM
An enlightened team with a shared vision
QUENTIN DE LEEUW
Raised between the Halatte and Compiègne forests, just a few kilometres from the Pont-Sainte-Maxence workshop, Quentin De Leeuw has been passionate about wood since childhood. After his A-levels, he decided to turn his domestic creations into a professional project, and successively obtained a Diploma in cabinet-making, a Diploma in mark-making, a Diploma in ornamental carving and an other Diploma in cabinet-making but at the highest level this time named 'brevet des métiers d’art en ébénisterie'.
An experienced musician and long-standing member of a metal band, Quentin relies on a sharp ear and solid stage experience to design his guitars. The intelligence of his hand meets the precision of his ear: he made his first guitar at the age of 18 and set up his first lutherie business in 2016, at the age of 21. He designed a few unique prototypes on request.
Meeting David Schwarz in 2021 enabled him to make his dream come true: to design and market an iconic guitar, the fruit of long reflection and a spirit of experimentation still at work.
DAVID SCHWARZ
Founder of one of the first start-ups in the Fellowship programme at Station F in Paris, David Schwarz has been trying to forge links between the world of arts and crafts and new technologies right from the start of his professional career. In 2016, he launched Mies House, a platform bringing together creators of visual content (photographers, graphic designers, stylists, etc.) and businesses. In 2019, David Schwarz moved away from the world of art and craft to develop SAAS software for the logistics sector.
But in 2021, his meeting with Quentin De Leeuw allowed him to reconnect with his past experiences and his interest in manual creation. Captivated by the shape and sensuality of Quentin's guitars, the character of the object and the technical prowess reminding him of his collaborations with the world of fashion and visual design, David Schwarz decided to put his experience of the entrepreneurial world and new technologies at the service of arts and crafts.
David Schwarz is responsible for the brand's identity, the development of commercial and artistic partnerships, and the company's administrative and financial management.