I was born in 1971 in Thessaloniki. I was lucky to have a grandmother who gave me the first acoustic guitar at the age of eight as a gift and since then I can remember myself playing music.
Later, in my teens, I played with different bands with different styles including rock, reggae, heavy metal and folk music. I worked at my father’s foundry where I worked with metal and wood making the moulds for the metal items we produced.
Reaching adulthood, I decided to leave the city life of Thessaloniki behind and make a more normal way of living in the mountains. Pursuing my dream of becoming a full time instrument maker Ι chose to settle down in the village of Megalovriso on Mt.Ossa , one of the most beautiful mountains of central Greece with a rich variety of trees in its beautiful forests. I’ve been living here with my family for the last twenty years.
I mainly choose and use wood from the forests of Mt.Ossa with the exception of specially imported wood types when needed. With the permission from the local forest authority, I cut down the trees and leave them to dry naturally.
I prefer to use the wood from Blackberry, Alder, Maple and Olive trees but above all though I love to use wood from thunder- stricken Chestnut trees.
For my idea of creating the very special brand of Batraci Guitars I engaged a group of people that are all masters in their field of handicrafts. They believed strongly in my vision and have worked hard for the realization of this unique instrument. I thank you all for your great team-work.
BATRACI TEAM
Nikos Arvanitidis
A guitar builder and a wood expert
Nikos Yiavropoulos
A guitar builder, the electronic mind
Special thanks to Haris Bakirtzidis and Dimitra Antonopoulou for their support.