I was pleased as punch when an old friend, after years of mulling, finally decided to throw open the doors to his own guitar repair establishment: Chicago Fret Works.

Guitar repair is a tricky business, bringing into play the same questions of competency and trust that you find in the waiting room of a hospital. Musicians treat their instruments like family members, and need to feel that the folks about to perform surgery care for them too — and know exactly what they’re doing.

Though the budget for was small, we were able to put together a logo, signs, business papers and easy-edit WordPress website that perfectly fit this scenario. Steve and his partner Dan are both musicians and artisans, so their brand was constructed to evoke reassuringly been-there-forever master craftsmanship — and a sense of authentic connection with this century’s working musicians.

They’re right down the street from Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, so if you and your stringed instrument of choice are in the neighborhood, drop in and say hello.