Living the dream

By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

It all began when Ron Lamont found a picture he had been given in 1998 by an 11-year-old Kindersley student as a thank you gift from his class, for a presentation Ron had given. Now Ron wanted to return the work of art to Paul Hillacre, and find out where Paul’s artistic interests led him in his adult life.

Paul’s mother, Patty Hillacre, said her son was always ‘artsy’, and a builder. He started taking guitar lessons in Grade 5, and in high school watched a video on how to build a guitar.

Patty recalls asking her son what his dream job would be, and he promptly answered “building guitars”. His mom wasn’t sure if it was a possibility, but occasionally parents can be proven wrong.

“In his Grade 12 shop class, he asked if he could build a guitar instead of the typical project ... so he built his first guitar. It was pretty spectacular for a kid in Grade 12.” Patty said.

After high school, Paul worked for a carpenter, and built his second guitar. “He took his guitar to a music shop in Saskatoon, and the guy told him to show it to Sheldon Dingwall, who builds guitars,” Patty said. Three months later Paul was hired on at Dingwall Guitars in Saskatoon, where he is still employed 12 years later. There, Paul is dubbed as the master painter of basses. “He spends a lot of time in a paint booth,” Patty added.

After hours, Paul has gained quite a reputation for building his own ‘Hillacre” brand guitars. Dan Canfield, owner of Village Guitars, said in an interview back in 2016, “It’s a sea of builders out there. There’s a kid in town, Paul Hillacre, who makes insane, world-class guitars. He makes them by hand, by himself, and all of his guitars are just off the hook.”

Patty Hillacre said, “It’s a bit of a side line. He builds for friends and family.” Paul built a guitar for his uncle, incorporating the Royal Canadian Navy symbol in the guitar.

Paul also had a two-part article published in Canadian Woodworking and Home Improvement magazine, entitled “Build an Electric Guitar - Without the Fancy Tools”.

“At the time he didn’t have access to customized tools, so he wrote the article to be able to build the guitar without having to invest a lot of money. It was a project a dad and child could do together,” Patty said. “The editor thought it was something his readers would be interested in and it’s been their second highest viewed article.”

Now you’ll find Paul Hillacre painting guitars at his day job, and weekends and evenings he will build his own “Hillacre” guitars for friends and family. “It’s labour intensive for sure,” Patty said. But it appears to be a labour of love for Paul Hillacre, who is busy doing what he loves to do.

Photos:

11-year-old Paul presents his artistic work to Ron Lamont as a thank you for his presentation to the Grade 5 class.

Paul holding one of the guitars he built.

Paul custom built this guitar for his uncle who was in the navy for 30 years. The Royal Canadian Navy symbol in the neck, is carved out of mother of pearl.