When Life Tests the Maker | Simon Padalka

Today's guest is luthier and architect Simon Padalka, a guitar maker with few peers.

In this conversation we talk about the dramatic events that unfolded at the end of the 2025 Boutique Guitar Showcase enTour season, when the Padalka guitar that sold on tour was caught in a truck fire in Phoenix, Arizona. Thought lost, then to everyone's surprise the guitar popped up again for sale a few weeks later, thickening an already unusual plot.

We talk about how to handle the tough situations that we inevitably encounter in business and life, the importance of keeping it cool when things get tough and how to make a Phoenix rise from the ashes of destruction.

If you care about boutique guitars, guitar designs, rare instruments or the human side of making and repairing things that are meant to last, this one is packed with insights, stories and a few moments you won't hear anywhere else.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Simon Padalka and I hope that you do as much as I did.

Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached

Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale

Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.