The Joy of the Sale

My first archtop sale. All Mahogany Tenor Uke

Aloha and a warm “Welcome!” to any and all of the visitors to read this humble post. It has been more than a few months since the website has launched and no one has called or written yet to say they have noticed. So, like so many other avenues in life, I shall continue on at my own pace and leisure, confident that I am being true to myself in my pursuit of happiness and the perfect instrument. Writing about it is just the icing on the cake.

Today’s words will center around the many states of euphoria that come with the occasional selling of an instrument. Around here, that only happens a couple of times a year. And it is a very stressful time that can also be glorious, and should be…, the culmination of many weeks of work in the final act of delivery and the closing of the sale. Now, most sales have been of the generic variety; that is, the instruments are not custom orders. I make them in my spare time as a hobby, and offer them for sale via the Website. Often the money part is settled quickly and without incident and then the shipping closes the deal. As a courtesy, I give the clients a week or more to refuse the sale if they are not satisfied. It has been very rare, but there was a single time when the instrument was refused, because I had left a couple termite holes unfilled… I liked them! And so did the eventual owner… but most times, the sale is final and I can then breathe freely.

It is a big deal to make a sale. It is quite the “kick in the pants”, a wonderful shot of those feel great hormones go swimming through your blood and brain, lighting you up and making you smile. And it has little to do with the money. The best part is the affirmation that your art and craftsmanship is worthy. Period. So much time and effort is spent down in the shop, alone at the bench, dreaming these things up from scratch, selecting the wood combinations, then the actual parts. It has been sixteen years of acquiring knowledge, the woods, tools and techniques to make fine instruments. Out of all those internal decisions arrises the art, eventually, and it takes on a life of it’s own. Every effort is made to push it closer to perfect. My interpretation of that level of perfection continues to change with time. Great joy is to be found in that pursuit. Slow, steady joy maybe. But hugely agreeable joy all the same.

If the joy of creating a fine instrument from chunks of good wood is satisfying, then the joy of the sale is double or more. In the past I have been fortunate enough to thoroughly enjoy that moment on several occasions. When I sold through the NaPua Gallery at The Grand Wailea on Maui, a client requested meeting me although he was on his way off of the island. He was very vocal in his hearty appreciation of my efforts and even insisted that I autograph the instrument! I tried to defer, saying that I was quite unsure that a Sharpie would do okay with the lacquer finish, but he insisted, and I complied. I took his energy and flew with it… overjoyed with the back slapping. His name was Brad, and the little Concert arhtop uke was named MangoRita. You guessed it, Mango wood.

Mr A was another client that shared a positive experience on sale day that I will not soon forget, and it had two stages. The first was in my garage on a warm Maui afternoon, as I worked on a batch of four archtops several years ago. I was being quiet and careful. We had bees and we had them bad. Tens of thousands were associated with an overly large hive inside the garage walls. I heard the distinctive sound of a high horsepower car engine and looked outside to see a beautiful Corvette convertible trying to get up the driveway. It was a problem not to injure the Corvette because of the rain trough built into the roadway, and Mr. A was slow and careful, revving it up and easing it over. His wife was in the passenger seat. All I saw was gold, diamonds, and an outstanding Corvette coming slowly right up to me and stopping ten feet away. I had a quick thought. I picked up the Zebrawood Tenor that had just been sanded fine and raised it above my head and began to wave it side to side saying “Hey! Hey! We have quite the bee problem lately! If you are allergic to bees, you might want to park somewhere else!.” Well, that sure caught their eye…After a few minutes and several questions about what I was up to in the bee hive, I had a check in my hand for a down payment on not one, but two custom orders. One was to be Zebrawood, and the other… “the best you have, or can get”. Mr A was that kind of guy.

One of two very similar Zebrawood Tenor archtop ukuleles

On sale day, he invited me up to his house nearby. It was lovely and plain old huge. In a community of very nice residential houses it stood out with a triple size lot, two stories and beautiful landscaping like only living on Maui can afford. He welcomed me and we spent an hour or so getting to know each other. He had been a concert pianist prodigy as a young man but had injured his left hand in an accident, ending his dreams. Despite that fact, he had what he said was only the second Steinway top of the line Grand piano on Maui and he played it masterfully. He had also owned the first and only such piano on Maui, but had sold it when an upgrade became available. I hope never to forget the wonderful emotions his playing brought about in me, combined with the bliss I had following his delightful critiques of my works that he had just received. His daughter was to be the recipient of the Koa ukulele of the best curly Koa I have yet to make an uke with. His wife had requested the Zebra wood. The payment kept me alive during the depression of 2007-8, but the pleasure and the memories continue on long after.

I had another highlight just recently when I delivered what I think of as my finest instrument to a client out in Phoenix Arizona, 1600 miles from my home. He had a place of honor picked out, complete with lighting. He invited a couple of friends over for the unveiling. He was so excited that it was contagious. Not being a player himself, I entertained the group with a few songs and we basked in the dry desert heat on a wonderful evening sunset soire’. The little Concert uke, Isabelle, never looked better. She is now the Queen of his castle, and holds court just inside the front door. Sharing those moments was special. Unique. Well worth the effort. I don’t remember anyone else being more enthusiastic abut owning one of my originals. He even paid the air fare. Fantastic.

An Octave mandolin known as “Benny”, originally named “the Red Rocket” for it’s Mahogany and Australian red Cedar

Earlier this year I got to sell an Octave Mandolin to a friend of mine that had been a whitewater guide like myself back in the day, twenty years ago. He now is a band leader for a unique sounding group out of Davis, Wv, population 1,000…. The Cooly Gang. He plays guitar and mandolin, and sings his share of the songs, having written quite a few. Ryan can play. Comparatively, I cannot. Okay, I dabble…. he can really play. I play rhythm, he plays lead. He gets paid to play because he can. You get it. I am in awe of those kind of pros. And as a builder, they are exactly who you hope to meet and eventually please. Ryan was stoked right off of the bat. I wanted to make an octave, he wanted to play one that felt better than the last one he tried. I got a few specs and recommendations and got to work. Soon I had the “Red Rocket” complete, but not finished with lacquer, and he stopped by. It got rave reviews. It was deep and powerful, it had warmth. I can’t repeat or remember all of the cool disjointed phrases he was mumbling excitedly. Oh, it’s got this, and that, and the neck is perfect… the tuners are the best; it is just the right size! That’s in between the awesome runs and watching his hand move up and down the frets, tickling that great beast with all his prowess. I was enthralled, eyes glassed over and rolling back in my head while he took it through an hour or so of the best emotions I have had outside of matrimony.

He wanted it! Period. Got to have it. It’s perfect and then some. Name a price, I want it. Then he went back to playing, grinning ear to ear knowing he would soon have it for his own. I found time to put some finish on it and made a date to deliver it up at the Purple Fiddle in Davis, about three hours away up state, where he and the boys had a gig. He asked me to come to the pre show sound check, so I show up with the instrument in a guitar case that is just for delivery. It has a piece of blue tape on it that says Benny ( for a guitar named Benny Bubbletto), and from that moment his new octave had a new name, Benny. A feminine Benny, he tells me… Anyway, he makes a big, big deal out of it, introduces me to the boys, pretends that I am the finest builder in North America, and pumps me up to just about bursting with it all. Then, smiling broadly, pulls Benny out of the case and proceeds to play like a demon. His cousin joins in with a guitar for counterpoint, and the boys are all smiles and good vibrations. It is great. Absolutely a singular experience. Later, on stage, he tells the crowd all about his new hand made instrument and asks me to stand so that people can come talk with me if they like… and they do. Maybe a dozen or so had some small nice thing to say. But the highlight began shortly after the intro when Ryan featured Benny for 3-4 songs to start the show, fresh out of the case, more than less brand new to him. To say that I was beaming like a proud father is an understatement.

No matter how the details occur, sale day is usually a really big day. My first sale was for $2,500 and I was blown away that the market could tolerate that kind of figure. Little did I know back then that the well known builders commanded ten times that, and had a decade long waiting list attached. Now, THAT would be a really good day! But in my mind, the truth is that I make art because it flows through me and I am compelled to do so. If I blocked the flow, it would be a grave mistake. So I open myself to the flow and go with it. It makes me happy to piddle around down in the shop, step by step working towards a goal. The occasional sale is a good shot in the arm and keeps me going. The joy of the sale is two fold… the quiet, steady joy that you get from giving your best effort consistently, and that moment when someone’s eyes light up as they say “I want it! It’s perfect…I have GOT to have it! “ From Fayetteville, WV Mahalos, Raven