Official Luthiers Forum!

I just wanted to share with everyone an anecdote about recent events. Last Thanksgiving I showed my guitars (six of them, one unfinished - not even fretted) at a local annual art show. The typical vendors were all in attendance. Photographers, oil painters, knitting, wood turning, stained glass, hand made soap etc....I have been attending art shows for years with my Chinese brush painting and have come to hate the grind of trying to sell paintings and such. The feel of the show was much different showing guitars. Everyone thinks guitars are cool and while OLF members may not remember it all the time, for most people the idea of actually MAKING a guitar is mind blowing. My space was packed with people and it was a blast. I could not speak to everyone because I simply did not have time. Gibson has a factory here in town and several of the people from there saw my work and we talked a lot. It was nice that they were all so nice to me and impressed with my work. While I enjoyed myself a lot I was not surprised that I did not sell anything. Even at my cheap prices guitars are spendy for that sort of show. When this sort of art show is over it can be a bit of a downer when nothing sells. I did have some interest however and overall I felt good about it.

This two day event is starting to be very interesting for future work. Hideki Yamaya is a classical guitarist from Portland and he gave a concert here in Bozeman this weekend. Hideki plays lute and vihuela as well as guitars and is very interested in period instruments and their history. There was a lady that saw my work at this show who I did not even talk to because I was so busy. Somehow she knows Hideki and called me last week to see if they along with some other folks could see my shop and have a tour. I said of course and frantically worked to get my latest build playable over the weekend so these unknown people would have something to play. Tonight I had six people in the shop and I gave them a pretty deep overview of the construction process and my thoughts about it. They were here about two hours. It was a blast and I feel fortunate that Hideki Played my latest (still a little rough around the edges) and loved it. He raved about it. He is very interested in a Torres reproduction.Two of the attendees were ladies and rather petite. I showed them my plantilla of the little 604 scale I am working on for my daughter and they also became very excited.

Of course the future is not set and who knows what will happen but I know that this evening would never have occurred if I had not attended that regular art show with my guitars. My point is that if you are just starting out and have some builds under your belt and want to get the word out, regular art shows and those types of events might be more helpful than you would think. I believe in my work and I am passionate about building. Your customers and potential customers will feel you if you believe it like I do.

Anyway thanks for reading this ramble. It is really just food for thought and I had to tell somebody that a real guitarist played my latest and it sounded GREAT!

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Cool man ! I am glad to hear you are having fun with it ! makes it all worthwhile ! jody

That's really cool. I'd probably panic if 6 people wanted to see my shop.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for sharing your experience. We have an annual art show here in the summer. And it had never occurred to me (until now) to show my wares there. I think that is a great idea and a chance to become known.

Thanks again,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Really good to hear that, what a blast!
My wife exibits patchwork at local craft fairs and I have been asked to display there - may just do that if I can get some built that are not spoken for.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I agree. There are many local art shows that are perfect venues to show you're work. As a wood artist , I made the show circuit for many years and got my business off the ground that way. Even smaller inexpensive shows are valuable. All it takes is one person to make your day. The smaller shows are reasonably priced too.
I'm judging a woodcarving show in March and plan to set up for the first time a Luthier table with my 3 completed guitars and a few decorative carved necks and other individual instrument decorative carved items.
I'd veer towards indoor events if possible for a guitar display....although most art venues in the spring and summer are outside. Outdoor displaying is full of excitement and the unexpected.
Beware....The outdoor venues can be a bit dicey weather wise and a portable 10X10 enclosed side tent with ample corner weights is a MUST. I've seen sudden wind and rain storms create complete disasters for artists and have seen thousands of dollars worth of artwork destroyed. Screw and tie everything down.

Kent

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Wood Creations by Kent A. Bailey
EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

That is a great idea... I bet allowing folks to play them at the art show there would make you the hit of the show.

I bring mine in to work on Fridays, and get all sorts of comments... As you mentioned.. Most folks are totally unaware that a person can hand build a Guitar in their house!

What really surprises me personally.... Most Guitarists have never even seen a true "Hand made Guitar" much less owned one... and it is truly a shame... that their "Yardstick of Perfection" is a $300.00 Ibanez!

Thanks

John

Thanks for sharing Stephen.

We really don't discuss the business of selling our guitars very much here on the forum and I think I understand why that is... But it's important and I for one would like to see more of the good ideas like yours Stephen in how to exploit non-traditional venues that could lead to contacts or direct sales.

Most of all I got a kick out of you indicated how much fun it was for you to participate. This makes me excited about my own venues that I plan on participating with in the future.

Great post Stephen!

Stephen:

Thanks for sharing. I do a lot of craft-type work, and have gone to many craft shows. I would not have thought of showing guitars in such a venue. Great idea.

It is true that you never know what impact a viewer may have of your wares. I've had numerous recent incidents where I had just shown pics of my first guitar that resulted in some very interesting contacts. I would be elated if even just one came to fruition.

It's nice to see some thinking outside the box when it comes to advertising/showing.

Great idea Stephen!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I forgot to write about playing. Yes, I let people play the guitars and yes I would play them myself when things got slow. I am no concert player and was pretty nervous playing with all the folks around. It was not long until I realized that nobody was really listening anyway. It was like background music. After that I loosened up a bit and had fun playing. At the end of the show the other vendors actually thanked me for playing and bringing some life to our corner of the art show. Another observation is while many people play the guitar (using this show as a statistical sample) few play it well. I was actually more accomplished than anyone who played my guitars and sometimes I would have to take over for the player so they could actually hear what the guitar sounded like instead of buzzing from poor technique. Even if you know just one or two songs being able to play them pretty well goes a long way toward selling the product. I know about six classical songs without TAB so I played them a lot and when I got bored with them I would revert back to the "garage delta blues jam" then take a break. I never had time to get through the whole set so I managed not to drive my fellow artists crazy.

This art show really was the best time I have had in that environment. Try it. It does help to be a bit extroverted but like I said if you believe in what you do people can feel it and they will respond to you. You don't have to be great or perfect, just real. I also noted that no one has any idea that there are braces and such inside a guitar. Having a braced top available to examine and telling your feelings about what you are after with brace shaping and sound shaping captivates people. They all think it is cool and they all want to be educated. I surprised myself at how much I can elaborate on the building process and the ideas I have developed with my own study and of course with the input of all the members here. I learn something here every day and that is a fact.

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

I went to an art show in Bayfield Wisconsin last July. There was all sorts of art from wood carving, paintings, furniture, crarfts, pottery, you name it. No guitars, but there was a harpist selling CD's. My wife wants me to build her a harp now...I'm up for it. But what a great way to meet people and possibly sell a couple guitars. Start a following locally.

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Jason Moe
LaCrosse WI 54601

We have a local open mic where people come to read poetry and essays, show off their paintings, and sing/play. I thought that might be a neat venue, maybe use up one of my turns showing off my work, then the rest of them playing it! I should get this one done in time for the next on in February, will let y'all know how it goes!

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

I displayed a couple of my guitars at a local art show last year as well. The show was the usual type of painting on canvas, silk etc, and mine were the only things made of wood. Same experience as you, in that it was so unusual for people to think that people actually make instruments, and they don't just miraculously appear on music store shelves. The people running the art show made a point of asking me to please attend next year and that they received so many positive comments.

You will find that your work is exposed to an entirely different crowd, and this can't hurt in getting your name out.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
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Cairns, Australia