I couldn't stop grinning last week when a customer told us they were
looking for possible local teachers after reading from Corner Violin
Shop. It feels great when people not only recognize you from cyberspace
but can also trust you enough to inquire about you in real life:)
On top of that , I got a tip from blogger Daltonsbriefs that marketing blog The Viral Garden did a nice critique on our blog. We happened to be featured in their series called the Company Blog Checkup Series.
This popular series features a company's blog and examines how
effective it is to the reader in terms of content, visual layout,
timeliness of postings, and how comments are dealt. Basically, this
blog provides some informative criticism for other small business
blogger hopefuls and of course for the featured company.
"As
a whole, the Corner Violin Shop's blog is a decent blog and probably
very similar to many small businesses that decide to start a blog
themselves. My key suggestions going forward would be to give us more
pictures/information on the writers and workers themselves, and to also
do everything possible to get the word out about the blog to existing
customers. If possible, also spend some time online on forums and
social sites contributing to the community. Doing so is a wonderful and
vital tool in promoting your blog."
Viral Garden is written by Mack Collier,
a social media consultant, whose focus is on a "community-first"
approach to marketing using social media. He has some wonderful tips
for any of you dealers or makers out there that want to get their names
out.
I've decided to take some of his advice and plan to do some work on the following:
Reintegrate staff pictures with updated bio information
3 consistent publishing dates a week: M,W,F or Tues, Thur,Sat?
"Having come back from the dead, Cremona's
instrument-makers, like many others in Italian industries, hope that an
emphasis on quality, tradition and craftsmanship will keep cheaper
foreign rivals at bay."
Here's
another great short article about the violin making business. It comes
from the print edition of the Economist but it's published online at
the Economist.com (one of my favorite magazines but out of my price
range for an annual subscription).
Their's plenty of labor in
China to churn out great makers but what's surprising is that for a
little country like Italy to have the highest concentration of makers
in the world. Alex has been telling me that while China now produces
the bulk of commercial stringed instruments, old world European
countries such as Italy have been able to compete by increasing the
quality of their instruments. It's a similar business strategy you see
with the popularity of high-end luxury goods like Gucci or Armani.
Specifically, we're talking about the region of Cremona.
This is place where greats like Stradivarius and Guarneri were located.
Despite the recent economic trends of a stronger Euro towards the US
dollar, the surplus of Italian makers has resulted in the production of
world class instruments at competitively low prices in the area.
There's not enough of a demand over there but plenty across the
Atlantic. Here in America there isn't as big a pool of world class
American makers in production, partly due to the very competitive
market of Chinese instruments, but many of their works are a bit over
priced for the market. It's one of the reasons why some of our top
Italian violins that we sell like Maurizio Tadioli or Ada Quaranta
consistently beat out the competition. Plus it also helps too when
we're located in Omaha Nebraska where the cost of living is cheap and
and there aren't as many competing violin shops like the big New York
City or Chicago
The article cites some more historical examples
as to what lead to the revival of Italian violin making. A new school
for making was opened in the late 1930s and the article cites Cremonese
maker Hildegard Dodel who credits the renewed interest in Baroque music in the 60s and 70s helped sustain the demand for violin making.
I
didn't realize Italy's violin making tradition had a significant period
of really bad years. The 19th century seems to drag in low quality. If
I were to guess why, it may have been those competitive commercially
made German instruments that were hitting the scene at the end of the
19th c. and early 20th century. Honestly, I don't know, need to
probably ask Alex some more about this.
Another interesting
thing I've found in this article is that these craftsman schools are
increasingly becoming international. A little more than a third of them
are coming from where? Developed Asian countries.
OAYO Symphony: Winter Concert Sunday, February 03, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
This
Sunday, the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra's Youth Symphony will present
its second concert of the season at the UNO Performing Arts Center.
This is the Winter Concert featuring music Sibleius' Symphony No.2 as
well as Sensemayá by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas.
I've
played Sibelius a number of years ago so it wasn't too much of a
surprise to hear the Youth Syphony play it again. However, I didn't
know anything about Revuletas so I did a quick search on him online.
Born Dec. 31, 1899 into a family of renowned artists, he would become a
violinist, conductor, and composer of classical music.
Reveultas'
music comes during a time when Mexico was experiencing major political
and creative upheaval in its society. In the first half of the 20th
century, major events such as the Mexican Revolution and Spanish Civil
War influenced a generation of of artists (painters and writers as well
as musicians) who grounded their work in social issues and in the newly
emerging Mexican nationalism (source).
What
happens when Reveultas takes these broad zeitgeists of the time and
creates music? A similar technique to what previous European composers
were doing with folk dance and ethnic music in their pieces. Igor
Stravinsky comes to mind, but in Reveultas case, his music reflects the
indigenous Mexican culture. He took elements from the mestizo culture (a mix of European and native traditions such as Mariachi bands) and the "Aztec Rennaissance" (classical evoking Pre-Columbian music).
Sensemayá
is a great example of Reveultas' music. The piece was adapted from Afro
Cuban poet Poet Nicolás Guilln of the same title. However, the
orchestral work was subtitled “Song to kill a snake”. I've previewed
some clips on various parts of the web and can say that the title
certainly matches the theme. No happy huntings here but imageries of a
primordial anxiety to slay the slithering nemesis of the jungle. If you
think you may have heard his piece before, you're probably right. The
piece was used in Director Robert Rodriguez's film Sin City.
A
chance to invest after the holiday sales. Les just received a fine tool
box kit from his family as Christmas present. His bench space had to be
rearranged a bit but he some how managed. Now, he can be even more
efficient with his work bench space! I've nicknamed it his new toy box.
[Rummaging the Tool Box]
Yesterday, our bow display case finally arrived. I may have mentioned in a previous post
that violin shops have a tough time keeping track of bows, let alone
where to keep them for quick display and storage. We came up with some
various ideas like installing a peg display rack on the wall or buying
a table. Unfortunately, we don't have a whole lot of useful walls with
drywall left, since much of the wall space is either concrete or glass.
Getting a new table was a problem as well besides the cost of furniture
but the floor space it took away from our nice open shop look. We've
been getting by this storage and display problem by shuffling the
display trays from one table to another chair. They've migrated from
the back room to the front on many occasions.
[Fresh Smelling Stained Cabinet]
The
solution? Commission a custom made display cabinet with drawers for
bows! Alex asked Fremont, Nebraska based cabinet maker Art Sorenson to
help us out. He's been very helpful in the past with other display
solutions such as the violin racks and cello racks.
[ Unwrapping ]
We
unwrapped our freshly stained cabinet and quickly loaded each drawer
our display trays. The display cabinet is a compact stacking system
with easy access to bows that takes up very little of our precious
floor space. The table top has a small area but can still function as a
standalone table to stack bow trays on top.
[Load them up!]
Thank
you for a wonderful job Sorensons! If any of you readers are interested
in his works, give us a call. We can get you in touch with him.
Holland Performing Arts Center Conductor Steven Reinecke Friday, January 25, 2008, 8 p.m. Saturday, January 26, 2008, 8 p.m. Sunday, January 27, 2008, 2 p.m.
"Symphony
Pops Goes Vegas. The glitz and glamor of Las Vegas comes to Omaha as
the Omaha Symphony and an amazing cast of singers and dancers,
including Broadway star Joe Cassidy, pay tribute to the Rat Pack,
Elvis, Wayne Newton, Liberace, and others. Take a spin on the musical
roulette wheel and enjoy favorite hits including: Big Spender, Luck Be A Lady, I Go To Rio, Beyond The Sea, New York New York, My Way, and of course Viva Las Vegas.
The setting for the evening will make you feel like you've been
transported straight to the Vegas Strip of the past. With Glamorous
showgirls, the flashiness of Liberace, the swanky retro feel of the Rat
Pack, and a tribute to the king himself, Elvis. And remember, what
happens at the concert, stays at the concert."
I thought that it might be good idea to give you readers an update on shop life after our brief hiatus from holidays.
Ladies, our Bow Maker, Lester,
is officially off the dating market. On New Year's Eve, he married his
long time girlfriend Sarah Weeder. Our boss Alex played at the ceremony
and I got a few snapshots of bride and groom. Afterwards, a big wedding
reception took place where the Korus and Weeder clan all came together.
Actually, it seemed like the whole town of Lindsay, Nebraska (their
home town) were bussed in for the occasion. Mr. and Mrs. Korus,
congratulations and I wish them all the best!
As Les, left the
next day for his honeymoon in Cancun, we manned the shop in
anticipation of the local New Year customers. Our business isn't
typical of most retail stores where gift receipt returners are bound to
come the day after X-mas. Instead, people tend to through our doors
between New Years Day and the first week of school.
Why this is
the case? I can only speculate and conjecture. I have noticed that when
it comes to buying a musical instrument, people don't necessarily buy
because of the holiday occasion. Although I have heard of Alex handling
sales in the past where the last minute Christmas shopping husband
comes rushing into buy a cello for his wife:) The sale we see are not
the x-mas eve shop-n-stop violin at the local Wallmart.
These seemed to be more planned purchases. Often times, customers tell
us that after their first week back from from lessons their private
instructor or strings teacher recommended them to go up a size in the
instrument. College musicians returning for home the holidays, will
sometimes drop by to trade-in and upgrade. The serious transaction can
be daunting to the customer and they usually don't have the time to
deal with it during the busy holiday rush. That's why we tend to see a
lot more people coming through the doors after Christmas when they have
more time and are comfortable enough to talk with us
I've also
been hearing a lot in the news and other music retailers that 2007 was
bad year because of the rising gas prices and leveling of the housing
market leading to less pocket money to spend. Some how though, the
business here has been able to make ends meet and scrap by. A year ago,
our online string instrument accessories on Amazon were insignificant.
This December, it wasn't uncommon to process 20 orders or more a day.
My biggest project though is to really make our new A. Cavallo Violins, LLC
website comprehensive and consistent in their item list. Quick stocking
stuffer sales offers a small holiday side income, but has also
generated inquiries about our instruments. At the end of the day, every
retailer has their main bread and butter product and instruments are
what keeps us going.
While Alex continues to take take of
business, I have taken a step back to catch a breather. My graduate
school applications were finally submitted on January and that's huge
relief. Yes, it's true readers, I'm afraid I won't be able to blog any
longer about shop life here in the distant future. I'll find out the
admissions results in March or Spring.
Finally, we potentially have some new staff members on the horizon. Our friend Maddy Mayer
has been training for repairs since last fall will join the team when
she graduates in May. She was great help in our never ending annual
inventory count. Currently, Josh Krohn, violinist of the blue grass band South Paw, is coming by on a weekly basis to help us out. We'd love to see him be a part of the team as well.
Thomas Wilkins, conductor Emmanuelle Boisvert, violin Robert DeMaine, cello Kirill Gerstein, piano
@ the Holland Performing Arts Friday, January 18, 2008 at 8:00 PM Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 8:00 PM
This Masterworks Series
features three soloists, each a virtuoso in his or her own right,
joining forces for Beethoven’s triple concerto. Gerstein returns to
Omaha joined by Boisvert, the first woman to be appointed concertmaster
of a major orchestra in the United States, and cellist DeMaine, praised
by The New York Times as “an artist who makes one hang on every note.”
The concert program tonight also features Johannes Brahms' Academic Festival Overture and his Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98.
I've decided to start up another category for future
blog entries. It will be simply be titled "weird instruments". Any
string instruments that defy the classical patterns and construction
will be included. Take for example this entry title "PVC Pipe Cello".
A while back, there was YouTube video challenge asking users to create
a unique home made instrument and post videos of their creation online.
I was hesitant at first to give the challenge some coverage on the blog
since this is supposed to be documenting our daily life in the shop,
but I thought it couldn't hurt to shed light on some amateur makers.
The
maker of this electric cello spent under $100 and about 40 hours to
make this instrument for a class project. Materials: PVC pipes, tuning
knobs from a guitar, a bike pedal, and used cello strings. With no
musical background at all, demonstrates how to play: bow across the
strings in an upright position, pluck the upright like a guitar, or you
can wrap the instrument around one arm and play it like a violin. Well,
he's managed a traditional "upright" cello into a waist wrapping
instrument.
Mad About Strads: Fiddling the Stradivarius Market
At
our business, we tend to specialize in fine new instruments and
represent some of the contemporary world class makers but nothing like
the old world great makers. I thought it might be interesting for some
of you readers out there to see what life is like for the high end
violin businesses. Good article that shows this is online over at Spiegel International
"The
cult surrounding the 300-year-old violins has sent prices through the
roof, making the Italian masterpieces a coveted investment worth
millions. Only a handful of dealers control the market—and they're
willing to pull any number of strings to maximize profits."
It's an interesting look into the world surrounding the major personas of Strad violin dealers. Dietmar Machold, 58, is the owner and President of Machold Rare Violins.
He's had a long family history of violin dealing and a great deal of
knowledge about the business. The article also takes a look at some of
the other major violin dealers such as Bein & Fushi in Chicago and Beare's
in London. I found the description of Mr. Fushi wearing a suit and red
cowboy boots with the initials of Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù and his
own to be funny.
If you've manged to finish that 4-page article,
you'll find that even at the high end level the business can sure be
"byzantine-like".
[scanned holiday greeting card cover from JonPaul Bows , i kid you not]
I still don't get this cover. It's sooo
random. The frog's kind of chilling out in the cup of eggnog, maybe
because of its proof level, and an oh so subtle Jon Paul violin bow's end is in the mix with some lovely hollies. Maybe I drink from that froggy cup, I'll start to understand. Wait a minute...violin frog, xmas themes, real live frog...nah, I still don't get it;)
The card reads:
I'm no prince, but I am a heck of a kisser.
Christmas is coming and Froggy's getting fat Hey, who you calling fat?
Dude, check out my new iPad. Ribit
Horseflies roasting on an open fire...
Horny toads duet better.
Thank you and hoppy New Year.
Sigh...Musicians
are known to have corny jokes and real bad puns. This is a case of
really bad "humor" mixed with hackneyed holiday phrases. But it's all
the more worth blogging about, right?
) 
On top of that , I got a tip from blogger Daltonsbriefs that marketing blog The Viral Garden did a nice critique on our blog. We happened to be featured in their series called the Company Blog Checkup Series.
This popular series features a company's blog and examines how
effective it is to the reader in terms of content, visual layout,
timeliness of postings, and how comments are dealt. Basically, this
blog provides some informative criticism for other small business
blogger hopefuls and of course for the featured company.
