FOR THE LOVE OF HAMILTON
For the Love of Hamilton: This regular feature highlights people from all walks of life who have embraced Hamilton as their new home.
DANIEL CLARK was born in Toronto and raised in Orangeville. The eldest of two boys, Daniel enjoyed his adolescence on a hobby farm in Mulmur where his parents still reside. He grew up playing sports but his true love was guitar. Pursuing that passion, Daniel graduated from Mohawk College in 2011 with a diploma in applied music. He then attended the LADO School of Lutherie. Upon graduation, he incorporated Cithara Guitars Inc. and set up shop at home with parents. Daniel then moved the company to Hamilton to begin the next chapter with a larger client pool and his college girlfriend. In 2017, the couple married and in 2023 they welcomed their son, Parker Jameson into the world.
What brought you to Hamilton?
I first came to Hamilton in 2007 to take the music prep program at Mohawk College and then continued my education with the three-year diploma program. I was elected to president of the Mohawk Students’ Association the year after I graduated, so I stayed in Hamilton another year to work full time at the college before continuing my education out of town. I met my wife while studying at Mohawk and she is from the Flamborough area so when it came time to set up the company somewhere full-time, we returned to Hamilton because it felt familiar to both of us.
Tell us about your guitar-making business
Cithara Guitars is a custom guitar and repair shop in Hamilton crafting approximately two dozen custom guitars per year and servicing well over 500 repair clients annually. Services offered include set-ups, fret dresses and refrets, refinishing and paint touch ups, custom wiring and pick guards, custom nut, bridge and saddle work as well as structural repairs for cracked bodies and headstocks. In addition to your basic luthier services above, Cithara is proud to be the certified Canadian installer for Glazer B Benders as well as an authorized warranty shop for popular brands like Fender, Guild and Taylor.
Our team includes principal builder, woodworker and CNC operator Jordan Poirier, repair technician Derek Cavan, social media summer student Olivia Mae Graham, and marketing manager Kat Cullen.
Some notable clients we have built custom guitars for include Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson, country artists Steven Lee Olsen and Jason Blaine and Hamilton’s own Tomi Swick just to name a few.
How did you get interested in being a luthier?
Music has always been a part of my life, I started playing guitar when I was about six years old. Over the years, I developed a passion for woodworking, and design. While I was attending Mohawk College for music, I discovered the world of custom guitars. Becoming a luthier just seemed like the obvious fit to be able to combine so many of my interests and skill sets.
What is the greatest joy in your work?
The best part of my job is seeing one of my guitars up on stage or just hearing a musician describe how the guitar feels in their hands. When it comes to custom work, being able to capture everything the client had in mind, their exact wishes, dreams and vision, and being able to turn an idea into something tangible is a great feeling.
What is the greatest challenge?
Our greatest challenge is dealing with people who do not appreciate the level of craftsmanship and training it takes to do what I do. People seem to think that they can haggle or bargain the price when it comes to the arts, but they would never do that with any other trade. It can be frustrating and disheartening to say the least.
What neighbourhood do you live in and why did you choose it?
We live on the Mountain in the Inch Park area. When my wife and I attended Mohawk College, we lived near campus so we felt like we knew the area well and once we moved in, we discovered our classmates must have felt the same because many of them are now living on neighbouring streets. We love the parks and green spaces available so close to home and our business is home-based so we needed a property that supported that as well.
What’s your take on Hamilton now that you've got some roots here?
Hamilton certainly feels like coming home now having been here for over a decade. There is something hopeful, promising and optimistic about this city, and it feels like rooting for the underdog so that someday when the rest of the world wakes up and sees what Hamilton has to offer, we’ll be able to say I told you so!
Favourite hangout in Hamilton?
My hangout in Hamilton is on the water, specifically Bayfront boat launch from the spring right through to autumn.
What is your favourite meal in Hamilton?
I’m a big pizza fan and Hamilton has so many incredible options from Detroit deep dish at Maipai to Chicago deep dish just down the street, and Cowabunga around the corner but our favourite place to grab a slice is at Concession Street Pizza (recently renamed Red Stone Pizza) where the owners are some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.
How would you describe this city as a place to live and work, especially in the music industry?
Hamilton is exceptionally well set up to live and operate a business in the music industry, proximity to Toronto and the U.S. border makes it an ideal place for us to best serve our customers who tour internationally.
Are there Hamilton arts or cultural events you most look forward to attending?
Supercrawl, Festival of Friends, the Winona Peach Festival
What do you like to do when you’re not working, on your personal time?
Entrepreneurs don’t get a lot of personal time while they are building a business, but the few hours we do manage to sneak away we spend as much time as possible out on the boat or just hanging out with family raising our baby boy.
What's Hamilton's best-kept secret that you've discovered?
I can’t claim to have discovered this since so many people know about it, but I would say it is under-utilized considering how easy it is to access: the Bruce Trail! Having easy access from the escarpment stairs to such incredible green space running right through the heart of the city is something pretty special.
What does Hamilton need more of?
Waterfront music venues and restaurants.
What does Hamilton need less of?
Potholes, lol.
What's the one thing you brag about Hamilton to outsiders?
The restaurants and music venues!
