Guitar building as a hobby?

So I've been told on more than one occasion that it is cool that I can make money doing a hobby. Definition - Hob-by (noun) - an activity regularly done in one's leisure time for pleasure. Why do people see what I do as a hobby and not a job? My best guess is because I work from home. I have a good sized shop where I'm able to house all my tools, build guitars from scratch, restore guitars and do simple set ups on them. I have also been to a trade school where I studied luthiery under a professional luthier who has been in the business for many years. I don't have a store in town because then I would need to sell other manufacturers' instruments to keep the doors open, making it not as easy to build my own.  

I also don't build from a kit or assemble parts-casters, not that there is anything wrong with that. But I think there is a point at which you become a guitar assembler, not a guitar builder. To me, that is a big difference between a hobbyist and a career as a professional luthier.

What's going on in the shop? Well, I have 2 custom guitars built (click on the pictures below to see the one made from Black Heart Sassafras) and several Sleeper Conversions ready to go out the door. You are welcome to stop by and play them if you like. If you ever wondered how they are built, come by and I'll show you around and answer any questions you have.

We are coming into fall weather now so the air is going to dry out. Bring your guitar by to get a set up so I can make adjustments and I will oil the fingerboard and bridge to help keep them from drying out. Also I'm now using Stringjoy stings. They sound great and feel amazing, and they are made in the USA. You get a new set of these babies with any set up.