I started looking for a Luthier to make my dream guitar around the beginning of 2011. I wasn't in a huge hurry, as I knew it would take a while to save up enough money to even put down a deposit. First I had to decide on a couple of basic things that I wanted in a guitar. The main consideration, beyond the scale length, was whether I wanted a Flamenco Blanca or a Flamenco Negra.
The traditional flamenco guitar has cypress back and sides, and the tonal qualities of that wood helps with the sharp attack and short sustain that's desirable in a flamenco guitar. When cypress or similar, light colored wood is used it's referred to as a Flamenco Blanca. It's becoming more common, though, to find flamenco guitars with rosewood back and sides, which is one of the more popular woods used in classical guitars. When rosewood or some other dark wood is used it's called a Flamenco Negra. One of the reasons for doing this is to temper the flamenco sound a bit, providing an instrument that is more adaptable to playing classical and other music styles in addition to flamenco. Of course, the ability of the Luthier and even the player has a lot to do with the sound, but in general you'd look to a Negra for a guitar that can handle a wider repertoire than a Blanca would. After playing some good Blanca and Negra guitars, I pretty much decided I wanted a Negra.
I started my search at Rosewood Guitar in Seattle, trying out all of the better quality flamenco guitars they got in over several months. I also started searching the internet for Luthiers, particularly in the Pacific Northwest as I didn't want to buy an instrument without ever being able to meet the Luthier or try out any of the guitars they had made. This ruled out a fantasy of vacationing in Sevilla or Granada and having a guitar made to bring home. I found several Luthiers in the area (California, Oregon, Colorado, British Columbia, and of course Washington), with a wide range of prices. (As an aside, I even found a pretty well known Luthier of classical guitars in Oregon who has a base price of $16,500 and a 15 year waiting list. He's no longer accepting orders, but I have to wonder who would be willing to wait 15 years for a guitar).
I emailed a few of them, asking about their starting prices and how long of a wait they were expecting after receiving a commission. Unlike factory guitars, Luthiers only make a few instruments a year so it sometimes can take several months before they can start on a new one. One of the Luthiers I contacted, John Park, told me that he would be attending a Luthier's convention in Tacoma, Washington at the end of July. The Guild of American Luthiers convention is for people in the industry (Luthiers as well as people that supplied tone woods and the specialized tools used to build guitars), but there was to be an exhibition on the Saturday of the convention that was open to the public.
John and I corresponded for a bit, as I had been able to play an older Negra of his that was for sale at Rosewood and I knew that he was likely to be on my short list. His base price was right in line with the budget I was considering, and I told him I would be sure to come to the exhibit in July to talk to him in person and see his latest guitars.
I spent the next few months researching some more, and thinking about how I could accelerate saving up for this guitar - generally biding my time until I could go to the exhibit.
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