Our Story
We founded Tree for the Taking with two guiding principles in mind:
Creating beautiful, American-made electric guitars that are affordable for actual musicians.
Turning an invasive, otherwise unusable tree into an amazing and sustainable instrument.
Co-founders Sam Aronson and Alden Kennedy taking first prize at the 2022 Heller School for Social Policy and Management Startup Challenge.
Co-founders Sam Aronson, Alden Kennedy and teammate Gess Kelly taking first prize at the 2023 Sparktank pitch Competition, held at Brandeis University.
Founded by the only two guitarists in the 2021 Social Impact MBA Cohort, Tree for the Taking was an inevitable venture. Between the two co-founders are two decades of guitar playing experience, with Aronson being a fourth-generation guitarist.
We are two entrepreneurs on a mission to expand accessibility to the electric guitar, while simultaneously moving materials sourcing away from its extractive, colonialist roots and towards sustainability. Instruments are tools of art creation, and their origins and materials should engender a clean moral slate for the artist.
As of the first quarter of 2024, we’re prototyping a new original guitar design, named Sprig. From the ground up, this will be the most innovative and sustainable instrument that we can muster. The first Sprig, thanks to a chiming and recyclable aluminum top and an audiophile-influenced design, is the best sounding guitar Sam has ever played (besides the 1888 Antonio de Torres at R.E. Bruné’s shop). And it only weighs 6lbs 13oz!
Because everyone loves them, we still make picks in limited quantities as we double down on building the perfect guitar, so keep an eye out for inventory as it is made available.
We plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign at the beginning of 2025 to produce an initial batch of your new friend Sprig, and are planning to bring them to NAMM.
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