Teaching expert restoration techniques with a particular focus on retouching and texture

I have been teaching general restoration and retouching of instruments since 2012. I really enjoy meeting other restorers, beginners and professionals alike and like exchanging ideas and sharing my knowledge with them.

It all started with me teaching general restoration work in a workshop in Cologne for a week and has led to me giving regular Retouching Courses at Fertans in France twice a year for the French Violinmaking Association Aladfi.

The restoration course in Oberlin, Ohio, in June 2016 and 2018, was another great teaching experience for me, organised by the Violin Society of America.

I was one of the tutors at the Restoration Course at West Dean in the UK in April 2015 and 2017.

In March 2018, I taught retouching at the Tottori Violin Making School in Misasa, Japan and in November of the same year I lectured at the Violinmaking School in Poznan, Poland.

“We’ve had Iris Carr as a guest instructor at Oberlin Restoration twice, and we look forward to having her back again. Iris is a rare combination of exceptional restorer and exceptional teacher. Our participants have benefited from her years of experience and her very straightforward approach to the restoration process. In our present time of fewer and fewer training shops, Iris’ teaching ability is a much-needed commodity.” Jerry Lynn, Co-Admin VSA Oberlin Violin Restoration Workshop.

For more information about the courses at Fertans or Oberlin please have a look at the Aladfi website: www.aladfi.com or the VSA website: www.vsaweb.org