Born in Magdeburg (Germany) in 1966, she completed her apprenticeship and fellowships in Markneukirchen, Berlin and Soest. From 1995, she studied violin making at the violin makers Eckart Richter and Reinhard Bönsch. She gained further international experience in the workshops of Willem Bouman in The Hague (NL) and Archmacher Thomas M. Gerbeth in Vienna. In 1999, she successfully passed the master craftsman’s examination in front of the Chamber of Crafts of Chemnitz and has been working independently since 1999 in a joint workshop with Claudia Rook. In addition to the new construction of violins, violins and violoncellos, Kerstin Hoffmann’s work focuses on modern and baroque design.