Vanessa-Mae has inspired possibly thousands of people to play the violin because of her ability to make the violin relevant, hip, and fun to play. However, buying a violin can be a somewhat daunting experience with many pitfalls. To that end, I wrote an article about it. In a nutshell, I've bought 2 violins from a very reputable violin shop located in Florida here in the U.S. However, they ship worldwide!
So yes, I'm plugging them here on the forum. Please note: I don't make a single penny from advertising this shop. This is purely done because how I feel about the quality of the instruments they sell and the service they give. The owner does something I've never seen anyone else does. If you buy a violin from him, he will record himself playing your instrument prior to being shipped. He will even play a few different instruments if you're seriously interested in purchasing one (or two!). Here are the 2 videos of him playing the violins I bought:
youtu.be/24YywrMk2mw
youtu.be/IKMXlDMrdgE
I'm certain no finer instruments can be bought for the price anywhere else. If you do, let me know!
P.S. I play on the Holstein Plowden now (The Ming Jiang Zhu was traded in; he has an awesome deal on trading up instruments bought from his shop)