Andy Nicoll is happiest when he's his own boss. “I have had many different occupations in my life, from musician to landscape gardener. I’ve worked for CN Rail, and worked construction. I have driven city bus and DATS disabled transport. I have worked for a paving company and have sold men’s clothing,” he says.
But music and guitars have always been a constant thread in his life. So around 1990, Andy bought a book on guitar making and, for a challenge, thought he would try to make his own. “I was not prepared for the obsession that was to follow, and continues to this day,” says Andy.
About that same time Andy had a chance to buy his own music store by Whyte Avenue and began to learn about repairing guitars. “After a few years, I found, much to my chagrin, I was far more interested in what went on in the back of the shop than on the sales floor out front,” says Andy. “Not a great formula for retail success.” But it did serve as a great beginning for Nicoll Guitar, which builds and repairs guitars for musicians across Northern Alberta.
