San Francisco industrial designer Joe Luttwak, who is also an avid musician, wanted a portable steel-stringed instrument to take to the woods on camping trips. He recalled mountain dulcimers hea€™d seen in Appalachia years ago: Their compact shape and light weight seemed ideal for travel, but the sound was thin and plinky. How could a truly portable instrument project sonic largesse? Luttwak thought back to the Ferrari exhibition hea€™d coproduced for Tokyoa€™s Museum of Contemporary Art in 2002. Spending time at Ferraria€™s legendary Maranello factory, hea€™d been impressed by the lightness, flexibility, and strength of the sports cara€™s primary structural ingredient: carbon fiber. [via I.D.]

photos from Blackbird Guitars