Toon Lauwers started as a young guitarist at the music academy in Bornem with Jurgen De Bruyn and progressed to the Kunsthumaniora in Antwerp with Robert Denies. But in 2004, guitar making took over everything, so he studied at the International Lutherie School in Antwerp with Geert Vermeiren, among others, and at the Centre for Musical Instrument Building in Puurs with Marc Peirelinck, Walter Verreydt and Dirk De Hertogh, among others. At the same CMB, Toon got the chance to participate in the Leonardo Guitar Building Project with a focus on building guitars in sustainable and non-tropical woods. This was followed by a René Lacote project in which these 19th-century guitars were measured and replicated. In parallel to the CMB path, he studied guitar and baroque guitar with Dirk De Hertogh at the Music Academy of Willebroek.  

From 2011 to 2019, Toon taught summer courses in musical instrument making at Music Mosaic's traditional folk music internship. An internship where he himself first came into contact with musical instrument making as a child with Roger Frood, Gerrit Van den Dries and Herman De Wit.

In 2012, Toon became an independent musical instrument maker with a workshop in Hingene (Bornem), specialising in historical and classical guitar making. This allowed him to work with Jurgen De Bruyn (Zefiro Torna), Floris De Ruycker (Ratas del Viejo Mundo), Aram Van Ballaert, Dirk De Hertogh, Ieva Baltmiškyte, Philippe Malfeyt, Björn Schmelzer (Graindelavoix), Maarten Vandenbemden, Museum Vleeshuis, Colin H. Van Eeckhout (Amenra) and many others.   

Through the Passing on Craftsmanship grant, Toon was able to participate in the 'Hakkebord Construction Project' (2019 -2021) and started a similar project in 2024, Rietpraat - documenting and replicating Baroque musette reeds.   

Since 2020, Toon combines his workshop with teaching musical instrument making at KASK & Conservatorium and at the Centre for Musical Instrument Making in Puurs.