Luthier Bill Gruggett started making guitars in the early 1960s, and spent some time working for Semie Moseley at Mosrite and for Hallmark before establishing his own brand in 1967. His designs included the Stradette  - inspired by thinline electric guitars and violins. The original Gruggett company folded in 1968 but Gruggett continued guitar making. At the time of his death in 2012 he was working as a builder for the modern Hallmark, who reissued his Stradette design.