The Rise and Fall of Luthiers Mercantile International: A Tonewood Legacy in Windsor, California
By Stephen Ondich | March 9, 2025
In the quiet town of Windsor, California, a boutique company named Luthiers Mercantile International—better known as LMI—once stood as a cornerstone of the lutherie community. For decades, LMI supplied the world’s finest tonewood to builders who milled it into guitars, mandolins, and ukuleles, among other stringed instruments. LMI’s woods resonanted from concert halls to back porches. But in 2024, after serving the guitar building industry for over 50 years, Luthiers Mercantile closed its doors, marking the end of an era for luthiers & tonewood buyers alike. This is the story of LMI’s rise, its proud brand on musical craftsmanship, and the bittersweet sunset of a business that bridged art and industry.
Full disclosure: Commercial Forest Products was an occasional wood supplier to LMII (we were one of many & certainly not a major vendor.) We milled birdseye maple & quartersawn Maple fingerboards, Spanish Cedar & Mahogany classical acoustic neck blocks, as well as Black Limba, African Mahogany, Bloodwood and Swamp Ash in 8/4 and 5/4 thicknesses.
I was first introduced to LMII President Natalie Swango through Grover Jackson in the early 2010’s. Most of my communications with LMI were with either Natalie or Denise Hurst. Both of whom were consummate professionals and a pleasure to work with. They ran a tight ship and taught us a lot about acoustic guitar tonewood grading and requirements.
We typically do not drop customer names. The only reason I’m writing this is because LMII was instrumental to many stringed instrument makers for decades and they no longer exist as an entity. Their presence in tone wood industry supply chain is missed!
Origins of LMI: A Passion for Tonewood
The roots of LMI stretch back to the late-1900’s, when the lutherie—the art of building stringed instruments—was gaining traction among hobbyists and professionals in the United States. Founded in the 1970s as Lewis Instrument Supply, the company began modestly, catering to a niche market of instrument makers seeking high-quality materials. By the 1980s, under Todd Taggart‘s leadership, it rebranded as Luthiers Mercantile International, signaling its ambition to become a global leader in tonewood sourcing & supply.
Located at 7975 Cameron Drive in Windsor, in California’s wine country, LMI found fertile ground to expand. The company’s early success hinged on its ability to procure exotic tonewoods—rosewood from India, spruce from the Alps, ebony from Gabon & Madagascar—that were prized for their acoustic properties. “We wanted to make great woods and tools accessible to everyone,” Natalie Swango, LMI’s longtime general manager, once said in an interview. This mission resonated with luthiers, from garage tinkerers to renowned artisans like Tom Ribbecke, whose guitars now grace the Smithsonian.
The Golden Age of Luthiers Mercantile
By the 1990s, LMI had cemented its reputation as the go-to supplier for tonewood and lutherie tools. Its catalogs—widely distributed in the pre-internet era—offered a treasure trove of Sitka spruce, Brazilian rosewood, and koa, alongside precision tools like Schaller machine heads and Greven pickguards. For many, flipping through an LMI catalog was akin to a rite of passage, a tangible link to the craft’s traditions.
The company’s influence extended beyond its inventory. Luthiers Mercantile played a pivotal role in elevating lutherie from a scattered hobby to a professional endeavor. Its partnerships with events like the Healdsburg Guitar Festival, held biennially until 2013, showcased the beauty of handcrafted instruments and drew luthiers from across the globe to Sonoma County. “No festival matched Healdsburg,” one attendee recalled on a guitar forum. “LMI was at the heart of it.”
At its peak, LMI boasted a staff dedicated to hand-selecting tonewood to customer specifications, navigating complex import regulations to ensure legality and sustainability. Its Windsor warehouse became a pilgrimage site for luthiers, who marveled at stacks of figured maple and bearclaw spruce. The company’s commitment to quality woods earned it a loyal following, with clients ranging from independent builders to the largest instrument manufacturers in America.
Tonewood Troubles: The 2011 Federal Raid
LMI’s ascent was not without turbulence. In August 2011, the company found itself ensnared in a federal investigation that shook the lutherie world. U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents raided a Nashville warehouse, seizing $200,000 worth of Indian rosewood and ebony fingerboards. The operation, tied to the Lacey Act—a U.S. law prohibiting trade in illegally sourced wildlife, including timber—cast a shadow over LMI’s operations, unfairly, according to many familiar with the case.
The raid stemmed from a paperwork error by an import broker, who misclassified a shipment as veneer rather than fingerboards. Though the Indian government affirmed the wood’s legality, federal authorities held firm, leaving LMI in limbo. “They don’t want to give me answers,” Swango told *The Press Democrat* at the time. “They think I’m a criminal.” The incident exposed the fragility of the tonewood supply chain, where even minor missteps could trigger major consequences.
For Sonoma County’s luthiers, the raid was a wake-up call. “It’s a scary time,” said Stuart Day, a Healdsburg craftsman. “You don’t know what the rules are.” While LMI emerged with its reputation intact—bolstered by its rigorous chain-of-custody documentation—the episode underscored the challenges of sourcing exotic tonewood in an era of tightening environmental regulations.
Several years after the Nashville incident, I attended a NAMM panel discussion held by US Fish & Wildlife, specifically addressing CITES wood compliance. What I witnessed was a standing room only crowd of instrument manufactures, desperate for clarity on CITES compliance.
The rules were broad, ambitious, unclear and often in conflict with other rules. Enforcement was inconsistent even within the US, even moreso from country to country. In addition, there was the constant looming threat of dire consquences for violations, regardless of intent.
In short, builders wanted to comply. Regulators sent as official representatives of the US Fish & Game were often unable to answer basic questions. deferring to other officials, not present. It was Kafka-esque panic / chaos, from what I remember.
A Changing Landscape
As the 21st century progressed, Luthiers Mercantile adapted to a shifting industry. The rise of online platforms and competitors like Stewart-MacDonald (StewMac) intensified pressure on LMI’s market share. Yet the company remained a beacon for those who valued its personalized service and vast tonewood selection. Its website, lmii.com, became a digital hub, offering everything from pressure-dyed veneers to instructional videos, while its newsletter raffled $100 gift certificates to subscribers.
Behind the scenes, however, the business faced mounting challenges. The cost of importing tonewood soared as global demand clashed with conservation efforts. LMI’s owners, nearing retirement age, began exploring succession options. “We looked at every possibility,” a company statement later revealed, “but decided to sail off into the sunset.”
The End of an Era: LMI’s Closure in 2024
In August 2023, LMI announced it would close permanently, a decision finalized in 2024. The news rippled through the lutherie community, sparking an outpouring of nostalgia on forums like the Acoustic Guitar Forum and Ukulele Underground. “End of an era,” one user wrote. “I still have my first LMI catalog from the ’80s.”
The closure was pragmatic yet poignant. With its owners retiring and no buyer stepping forward, Luthiers Mercantile opted to liquidate its inventory—koa, spruce, ebony, and more—at steep discounts. “Expect amazing deals,” the company teased, sparking a frenzy among luthiers eager to snag a piece of history. By late 2024, the Windsor warehouse stood empty, its legacy handed off to StewMac, which pledged to carry forward many of LMI’s offerings.
“It’s been an honor to assist with the creation of thousands of fine instruments,” LMI’s farewell message read. For the luthiers who relied on its tonewood, the closure felt personal. “They were just down the road,” a Windsor resident posted online. “A gem that will be sorely missed.”
LMI’s Legacy tonewoods
The story of Luthiers Mercantile International resonates as a testament to craftsmanship and community. From its humble beginnings to its role as a tonewood titan, LMI shaped the sound of countless instruments, its wood now singing in hands worldwide. Though its doors are shut, its influence endures in the guitars it helped birth and the luthiers it inspired.
Builders searching for “LMI,” or “Luthiers Mercantile,” will no longer find the iconic site. However, the name evokes a golden age of lutherie—a time when a small company in Windsor, California, supplied superior exotic woods to builders world-wide. It’s a reminder of how deeply LMI’s legacy is etched into the craft’s history.