Violin maker crafts a strategy to deal with tariffs

Wesley Rule is the entrepreneur behind Knoxville Fine Violins, a violin sales, rental and repair shop in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. He owns the shop along with his wife, Lauren Rule.

Rule grew up working with instruments in his father’s pipe organ workshop. While his father may have preferred he play the piano, as a subtle means of youthful rebellion, Rule picked up the violin instead. “At one point, I was looking at the instrument and realized I had no idea how to make one,” said Rule. So, he decided to learn how by attending the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City.

In 2020, Rule opened his brick-and-mortar workshop in Knoxville. At first, it was just family members working. But as the business grew, Rule knew he would need additional help. He hired his first employee, Wyatt, who is also a trained luthier, or stringed-instrument craftsman, in February of this year. “Now we can get more repairs and more violin making done, which I wasn’t really able to do much making until we were able to hire him,” said Rule.

One thing top of mind for Rule lately has been the potential tariffs President-elect Donald Trump has proposed for imports coming from China. Rule gets a lot of his lower-end instruments from China, which allows him to keep his prices low. But right now, he’s exploring alternatives from Eastern Europe and the U.S. in case the tariffs take effect. “We don’t want to have a gap in inventory if something were to happen, and we don’t want to raise our prices, especially for our economy-model instruments.”

Through and through, Rule has a passion for his work. Not only does he enjoy working on repairs and restorations, but he loves helping customers find their forever instruments.

To hear the rest of Rule’s story, click the audio player above.