The Roots:

The idea for the Gig-Shell™ was conceived in London, and brought to life by way of Australia and India.

Born in a little town at the foothills of the Austrian Alps, a bloke called Wolfgang moved to London a rather long time ago. There, where his name seemed too difficult to pronounce by many, he quickly started to be called Wolfie by everyone but his mum.
And it happened that, in the pub after work, sometimes you heard drunken shouts of “WOOOLF-MEI-STER!!!”, urging him to get another round.

I guess, that’s how The Wolfmeister® started… sort of.

So… Wolfie, that’s me - the founder of The Wolfmeister®.

My obsession with guitars started in my late teens. This obsession only became worse throughout my time in London, where I’ve spent a lot of time on Denmark Street… A LOT!… I mean, think of a lot of time. Double that. Not even close!

After my move to Australia I saw the chance of changing more than just location and the intensity of my tan, and so I started working on that idea that was sitting in the back of my head…

Where the inspiration came from:

I’ve always been a pretty crap guitarist -mediocre at best - but I didn’t let that hamper my love for guitars.

What I lacked in skills in playing the guitar I made up with enthusiasm for the instrument.

My first few guitars in my teens and twenties soon became a small collection, which grew quite sizeable during my time in London.
I never favoured cheap or expensive, vintage or new.
I liked individual models that felt right for me.

However, our products are inspired by vintage instruments.
I always felt that a lot of hard cases and pretty much all gig-bags fall short in some way.

Hard cases are awkward to carry, being big and heavy. And apart from a few top end products, most of them don’t protect the instrument particularly well either.

The alternative, gig-bags, offer no to medium level protection, but where they really fall short is looks. Most of them follow a certain style and for me it just didn’t feel right to take a vintage Strat out of a black plastic bag.

So I set out to design a case for players, owners and collectors of high end, custom, boutique and vintage guitars that
- offers the best possible protection,
- is easy to carry and
- fits in style.

As mentioned above, the main inspiration came from vintage instruments, with the aim to make our Gig-Shells™ seem timeless. (See pic for the mood-board I’ve used).

Another major inspiration were the two album covers you can see here.
They’ve both been very dear to me from the day they were released. And I still love them after all these years.
I wanted to design a case that the artists would have left in the shot. A case that wouldn’t look out of place leaning against the brick wall behind the two brothers.

How we do things:

All Wolfmeister Gig-Shells™ are fully handmade in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

It took me three years to develop the Wolfmeister Gig-Shells™ - All this time with the support of our friends in Kolkata, a highly respected manufacturer of textiles and bags. Friends indeed, as we met each other through family.

Throughout this time we learned on the job together and I’m proud to say that we now have 10 people working in the Kolkata workshop, dedicated to the Wolfmeister products.

Each bag is completely handmade, made by one person and it takes about three days to complete.

The company we work with is a highly respected one, a fair and ethical employer, certified by all relevant Certifying Authorities.

They are a Carbon-Zero company, using natural fibres and most of their products are sustainable, ethical, reusable and biodegradable.

Now, I say ‘most’ as sadly we can’t lay all these claims for our products…

We do rely on using synthetic materials (plastic, rubber, foam) in the production of the shells for our protection system. And there are also chemicals involved in the production of the leather.
But we are trying hard to keep it to a necessary minimum.

Every bit of our Gig-Shells™ is made in India, from the fabrics to the metal parts. And we are very careful in choosing the suppliers we work with and are proud of the relationships we forged.

For example:
- The canvases and fabrics are natural products and eco friendly, using AZO-free dyes.
- The handloom lining we use is produced by craftsmen and -women in small villages, so job opportunities are being brought to these communities.
- The leather we use is a by-product of the food industry (which makes sourcing the right quality difficult).

We are constantly working on improving our products, making them more eco-friendly and reducing waste.
In 2019 we introduced cotton dust bags to reduce plastic in shipping and since August 2020 we offer Soft Jute - which is 100% recyclable, biodegradable and sustainable - as a choice of interior lining to replace the less eco-friendly velvet.
We can offer Soft Jute in 18 colours.