Making Guitars in Strange Times
First off, I hope you’re all staying safe and well.
We’re still here building guitars, feeling very privileged to be doing what we love (all totally separate from one another and following the guidelines, mind). The main focus has of course been the health and livelihood of my team members and making any adjustments needed, and I think we’re just about settling into some kind of ‘new normal’.
I am all about positive thinking, and at a time like this it becomes more important than ever. But this kind of situation does first need to be acknowledged for what it is. It is without doubt a very difficult time and, as well as the personal and social challenges facing everyone, it is very tough for this industry specifically. Not just instrument makers, but the artists and music stores and everyone else whose livelihood is related to music.
Having acknowledged that, it’s best to try and take as much inspiration as possible from the reactions we’re seeing elsewhere: finding ways to be creative, to be adaptive and to help one another out.
A lot of musicians have already jumped into this mindset, offering lessons and creating amazing livestreams and home concerts. Tuition sites have been giving away courses and many companies have made creative software free or heavily discounted. Some of us are simply flexing our creativity and getting to projects and goals that we never got around to before.
Not all of us have an equivalent way to adapt – that’s a harsh reality of the current situation that we can’t forget. There are other ways to be active though, at least as guitar makers. Like anyone who’s been in business for 25 years, I’ve seen some rough times. While those were definitely very different situations to right now, they showed me that a tough period is the time to take a look at what I’m doing and see what needs to be improved.
Are we doing the best we can for musicians and customers? We are very proud of our instruments, but are we doing the best job possible to show them to the community and let people experience their value? Am I doing what I should be doing every single day? Is there anything in our setup that needs to be improved for the team? Asking the sorts of questions that we should all be asking ourselves but aren’t – or at least not regularly enough.
We get caught up in the workshop and we don’t make enough time. And right now, it can be tempting just to bury our heads in something, whether work or otherwise. I think we can all relate to this kind of procrastination, whatever our line of work. But something about the starkness of this sort of situation – and perhaps, yes, the extra time at home – makes these wider perspectives come a little more easily. There’s inspiration from people and communities all over the world to re-evaluate at every level, from the personal up. If we have the chance, doing so might help us be better when we’ve got through this together.
But in all of that, we’re trying to focus on the things most important to us: helping one another out, playing music, getting creative and whatever else.
For us, of course, that includes making guitars. The first non-prototype Piet models are now out in the world – a very proud moment for us. We’ve also had some particularly beautiful exotic wood tops and backs going out lately, and it’s been fantastic to see those come to life in the finishing booth. As always, we have some exciting plans for what’s next and what new ground we can explore, and we look forward to sharing these things with you soon.
Until then, stay safe, stay in touch, stay at home and play guitar!
– Nik
