Craft Around the Country

At a Kentucky Luthiery, Craft and Recovery Go Hand in Hand

In an area of Appalachia deeply affected by drug addiction, Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company’s employment program provides community and skills to people in recovery.

By Robert Alan Grand
June 5, 2026

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Photo courtesy of Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company

A pair of flat-top mandolins from Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company's Honeybee series.

Luthier Anthony Parsons is often the last person to touch a mandolin or guitar before it leaves Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company’s shop in Hindman, Kentucky. He began working at Troublesome Creek nearly five years ago, handcrafting guitar necks from sustainably sourced wood; now, he takes care of the final setup—adding finishing touches, stringing the instruments, and playing them a little to ensure they sound up to snuff.

In addition to being a rewarding career, instrument building “has been a big part of my recovery, too,” Parsons says. He first came to Troublesome Creek just a couple of months sober at his mom’s encouragement, to find a unique way to get help. “I didn’t really have much woodworking experience—basically none—but this was exactly where I needed to be.”

At the heart of Troublesome Creek’s nonprofit operations is its Culture of Recovery program, developed in partnership with Hickory Hill Recovery Center and the Knott County Drug Court to help individuals battling addiction forge a new path—by incorporating skill-building craft classes into their treatment.

Photo courtesy of Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company

Luthier Anthony Parsons with a guitar from Troublesome Creek's Southern Bell line.

The endeavor hopes to address the disproportionate ramifications of substance abuse—including the ongoing opioid epidemic—in rural Appalachia and to mitigate recidivism in the region.

Today, 80 percent of the staff, including many senior team members, are in recovery, fostering a deep camaraderie that extends beyond work. “I always have somebody I can talk to if something’s going on… it’s a real loving community,” says Parsons. “Unfortunately, relapse is part of any recovery program, but we’ve been really successful here. I’ve seen it change a lot of lives in a lot of different ways.”

Master luthier Doug Naselroad, who’s been building instruments since “the Beatles were still together,” is the main force behind the operation, training people in recovery or from the local labor pool through his Appalachian School of Luthiery, paving the way for them to create world-class instruments at his shop.

At Troublesome Creek, Naselroad says, “we’re trying to do economic development, cultural tourism, occupational rehabilitation therapy, and workforce development—and, on top of that, we’re building some really cool guitars, mandolins, and dulcimers.”

Photo courtesy of Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company

Workers at the Troublesome Creek factory in Hindman, Kentucky.

Robert Alan Grand is a writer and photographer based in Asheville, North Carolina. He received the 2025 Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant to cover contemporary art in southern and central Appalachia.

Learn more about Troublesome Creek online.

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This article was made possible with support from the Windgate Foundation.

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