Rafael Carrabba Violins opened in 1985 on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. Carrabba, whose parents were musicians, had his first apprenticeship at age 12 when he worked at David Saunders' violin shop in Seattle, learning enough by age 13 to make himself a violin. Over the next 20 years, he continued to work with master violin makers in Chicago, Philadelphia, and London, learning to identify, repair, and restore violins, violas, and cellos. In 1985, Carrabba returned to his hometown of Seattle and bought David Saunders' Queen Anne shop. As of 2024, Rafael Carrabba Violins continues to restore and sell violins, violas, and cellos, including instruments from previous centuries as well as those by contemporary makers.

This image shows Rafael Carrabba with several instruments in his shop. The photo was taken for an article published when the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers was in Seattle for its first annual meeting in 1997. Seattle was chosen because the Pacific Northwest had become a center for the making of violins, violas, cellos and bows.

Caption information source: "Meeting the maker - today's string instruments show their masters' touch," by R.M. Campbell, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 12, 1997, page B1.
Caption information source: Rafael Carrabba Violins website at https://carrabbaviolins.com/
Caption information source: "Fit as a Fiddle" by Eric Scigliano, Seattle Met, March 18, 2010. Retrieved at https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2010/03/rafael-carrabba-violins-0410