Colin Irving started his string instrument making apprentship in 1966, with Arnold Dolmetsch early string musical instrument makers in Haslemere, Surrey. As a child he was taught to play the violin, and spent his spare time making wooden models of sailing ships and aeroplanes. He finished a five year apprenticeship in engineering and in 1965 he was presented with a prize by Sir James Pitman for Best apprentice of the year. His prize he chose was a book called   "The Violin Makers of the Guarneri Family"

At the age of twenty he became a draftsman at British Hovercraft.

His great love for designing, creating and his passion for music and craft came together, when in 1966 he took a violin he had made to Arnold Dolmetch.  They offered him a job making early string instruments, viols, lutes, viola de gambas. He met many young makers from the Mittenwald violin making school and they shared their knowledge of violin making with him, within a short time  he became head of his workshop.  His love for the sound of a violin led him in his spare time to make a violin.  Irving sold his first violin to a great violinist the late Jean Bourgeois.  Jean Bourgeois invited Irving and his wife to hear the violin being played, in a concert held in a church in a village in Surrey. Jean and the late Jack Rothstein played the Bach concerto for two violins.

  After four years in Haslemere,  Irving went to London to learn restoration work with the master restorer Gil Soloman. In six months Irving  started his own workshop in Midhurst, Sussex.  In 1973 Ross Pople played his Irving cello in a concert with Harold Lester piano in the Purcell Room. A few years later  Irving moved to Guildford, Surrey.  Guilford was a short journey from the London Orchestras.

 There he met many famous musicians, Lord Yehudi Menuhin kindly invited Irving to meet him and his orchestra. This led to two Irving instruments in his orchestra the head cellist and soloist Ross Pople and John Gray double bass player, played on Irving instruments

.Vernon Handley conductor of the Guildford philharmonic, kindly introuduced Irving to his orchestra. The late Sir Harry Blech was one of the first to purchased a Irving violin. Peter Thomas leader of the B.S.O. played on an Irving violin, Paul Samuels soloist violin plays an Irving violin.

Rapheal Wallfisch played on an Irving cello.

Elizabeth Wallfisch plays on a Irving violin.

The London based Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov owns an Irving cello.

Matthew Barley soloist cellist known for BBC 2  progamme Classical Star owed an Irving cello.

BBC welsh Orchestra principal cellist John Stentor owned an Irving cello.

Irving's instruments belong to many well known players and many have won competions on Irving instruments including BBC young musician of the Year Natalie Clien 1994.

Playing on an Irving viola  the young Rachel Bolt won the Theodor Humbolt Prize.

 Raphael Wallfisch won  the Cassado Cello competition in Florence 1977 playing on an Irving cello.

 In 1981 at the last night of the Proms, Ross Pople played the Elgar cello solo on Irvings cello. To day another generation of young tallented players have Irving instruments. Touring with Elton John is Stjepan Hauser a great cellist who is playing on an Irving cello in many of his videos on youtube.

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