Today is Veterans Day, an important day to remember. The men and women in our military sacrifice more than most of us can ever imagine to protect the freedoms and liberties we so often take for granted. In that spirit, we take our name seriously and will be donating to reMind.org. This is the Bob Woodruff foundation that is doing tremendous work to help our men and women in the military who have been injured. Advances in medicine and trauma treatment have resulted in fewer deaths but far more serious injuries to the people who serve in war. Take a minute, check out the website and do what you can to help those who have selflessly done so much for you. As reMind.org says, “Take a Stand for Heroes”.
Hurricane Irene, 9/11, and Glee
It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks here. First we were hit by Hurricane Irene, then pieces of Hurricane Katia, and finally Hurricane Leo. All around us, towns and people have been devastated by flooding and damage from the storms. The Bearsville Theatre in Woodstock, NY is hosting a benefit concert on September 18th at 7pm for the victims of the storms. All proceeds go to the Family of Woodstock. If you would like more information or to donate, please visit http://www.familyofwoodstockinc.org
This past Sunday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. There is little that can be said that hasn’t already been. The sadness and depth of loss for those that lost loved ones in the attack is unfathomable to comprehend. The images, words, and music from the memorial on Sunday were heart wrenching and moving.
The hurricanes and flooding caused us to lose power for eight days. Compared to some of our neighbors in surrounding towns, we were very lucky. We are a bit behind in our production but we’re catching up. Thanks to all for your patience and understanding.
And to end on a positive and lighter note. We were asked by the set designer of the Fox TV show, Glee, to provide a guitar stand for the new season. The first episode of season 3 has one of the main characters taking a guitar off our stand and playing a song. The stand, a beautiful cherry with ebony binding WM, will stay on the set for the entire season of 18 episodes. Now you have a good reason to watch TV!
WM Guitar Stand for "Glee", Cherry with Ebony Binding
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 9/11, cherry, ebony, Glee, guitar stand, Hurricane Irene
Leave a comment
Healdsburg Guitar Festival
We just returned from a fantastic guitar show in Santa Rosa, California. Exhibiting at the Healdsburg show has been an exhilarating experience. Surrounded by some of the top luthiers in the country was truly humbling. Some of our luthier friends like Jason Kostal, Gordy Bishoff, Paul Woolson, Kathy Wingert and others were displayed outstanding examples of their work. Beginning on Friday, the attendees waited patiently for the show to open and then flooded the Hyatt. There was a constant flow of people coming to our booth and visiting the rest of the show. We met customers like John K., Tony R., and Roy Z. and made fast friends with other vendors like Gerry and Shirley Humphrey of Humphrey Amps. If you’re looking for the ultimate acoustic amp, check out www.humphreyamps.com. They sound and look stunning.
We had a great show and returned to Woodstock tired but satisfied. We would like to thank everyone who visited us at the show and had such positive comments about our work.
Today we returned to work and will be shipping out new guitar stands this week. Our music stand is coming along nicely and will be on the website in a couple of weeks. Keep checking the website for new products, woods, and announcements. Thanks again to our customers, friends, and others who took the time to talk with us in Santa Rosa.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged california, guitar stand, healdsburg, humphrey, luthier, santa rosa
Leave a comment
Parlez Vous Take a Stand?
Looking for a special way to celebrate July 4th? There is nothing better than doing so in Canada, more specifically Montreal. The Montreal Jazz Festival and the Montreal Guitar Show take place in Montreal over the July 4th weekend. This is an international guitar show with luthiers from around the world. The show is also unique in that there are acoustic and electric luthiers. Take a Stand Guitar Stands will have a booth and we are exhibiting a bunch of new stands. We will have handcrafted wood stands in sycamore, wenge, ziricote, cocobolo along with the lesser exotic (although still very nice) woods like curly cherry, curly maple, walnut, and curly walnut. There will be tons of live music so if your significant other is not so into the luthier/guitar part of the show, there will be plenty of concerts and other attractions to hold anyone’s interest. So make the trek over the border if you’re coming from the USA and come see us in Montreal. More info can be found at here. À bientôt!
More Choices, More Woods
WM Design Guitar Stand in Ziricote
Things have been busy here at Take a Stand, Inc. We’re working on lots of new orders and we continue to plan new things for the future. A new page will be added to the website showcasing one-off unique guitar stands. Although they will be limited edition pieces, they will be available for sale. We’re adding more exotic woods including ziricote, wagle (an Australian koa with nice figure), chechen rosewood, quarter sawn sycamore (beautiful figure and grain), wenge, curly cherry, curly walnut, bubinga, figured makore, and lots more.
If you’re looking for something exotic or even not so exotic and you don’t see it on the website, shoot us an email or phone call. I’m sure we can satisfy your most exotic wish! Visit http://www.takeastandinc.com for more information.
WM Guitar Stand Base in ziricote.
SM Design guitar stand in wenge with ebony binding.
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
New Shows!
Although it’s only the beginning of March, we’re starting to gear up for some exciting shows later in the year. The first one is the Montreal Guitar Show taking place July 1 through July 3. It is part of the Montreal Jazz Festival so there will be plenty of incredible music to hear. This should be a fantastic show as it showcases luthiers from around the world. Unlike the Woodstock show, Montreal has both electric and acoustic luthiers so there should be plenty of eye candy for everyone. We will be exhibiting our guitar stands in the “Suppliers” section so be sure to stop by and see us on your way to the other exhibitors.
The second show of the year is the 2011 Healdsburg Guitar Festival which is held August 12, 13, and 14 in… no not Healdsburg but Santa Rosa, California. This promises to be a great show as well with lots of California luthiers and others. As with the Montreal show, we will be exhibiting in the “Suppliers”. We will post more details as they become available but don’t miss either of these exciting shows.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged guitar stands, guitars, Healdsburg guitar festival, luthiers, Montreal Guitar Show
Leave a comment
Shipping Your New Guitar Stand
Most people probably don’t realize the work involved in shipping out a finished guitar stand or guitar wall hanger. Without careful packing and shipping, all the work and time that went into the stand can be wasted.
When production is completed, each stand and wall hanger is inspected for finish and fit. The metal pieces are checked to make sure they are snug and that the dimensions are proper for the guitar the customer specified. We confirm that the leather is wrapped well around the rubber and there are no imperfections.
After passing the inspection, the guitar stand is separated into its two components and placed into custom made cloth drawstring bags. Sized for each piece, the bags protect the stand in shipping and provide a convenient storage or gift bag for the customer. The wall hanger comes in it’s own custom bag as well as mounting hardware.
Since the guitar stand is essentially assembled when shipped, the shipping carton is rather large to accommodate the piece. We use a 45″x18″x6″ carton which is actually the same size that is used for shipping guitars! The stand is wrapped in corrugated cardboard and packed with bubble wrap and other cushioning material to protect it in transit.
It’s a lengthy process to pack a new guitar stand or wall hanger. We’ve considered packing it with the top metal pieces disassembled. This would save some shipping costs but would require a small amount of assembly with a screwdriver when unpacked. We would love to hear from you as to whether this would be acceptable. Any other comments or suggestions are always welcome as well. We look forward to hearing from you so that we can make the best product possible. Thanks!
Thanks to All
Wow, what a year it’s been. After an incredibly busy holiday season, we’re finally able to take a breath and begin planning for the new year.
First, we have a lot of people to thank, many of whom are customers. We’ve gained tremendous insight into design changes and new products from customers like Chris in NYC, David in Long Island, and Bob in Pennsylvania. We’ve learned some things about shipping large packages domestically and internationally from Jan in Canada, Michelle in Australia, and Mike in Virginia. We really appreciate the Tweets from Billie Perry about the stands for her husband, Joe and her son. Big thanks go out to Baker from the Woodstock Luthier Invitational, Cindi from Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and Anne from Guitar Aficionado Magazine. And lastly, we’ve made some great friendships with luthiers like Jason Kostal, Grant and Cory Batson, and George Giannaris. The positive encouragement from all has been invaluable.
We have big plans over the next few months. Since we were so unexpectedly busy these past two months or so, we’ve had to put some of this on the back burner. Check back often to see what we’re doing.
Lastly, we’re taking a long planned break over the next two weeks. We will return January 26 and will not have phone or email access until then. Orders will be filled and messages/calls will be promptly returned when we get back. Thanks for your patience.
Again, thanks to everyone for a tremendous year and we’re looking forward to doing great things in 2011.
Guitar Aficionado Gift Guide
Take a Stand guitar stands are featured in the new issue of Guitar Aficionado magazine. A WM stand in curly maple with walnut binding is on page 29 as part of the holiday gift guide. Guitar Aficionado is a gorgeous magazine so be sure to check it out. Keith Urban is on the cover and there is lots of other cool stuff like Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, Jimmie Vaughan, and Gruhn Guitars in this issue. Don’t miss it!
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Gruhn, guitar, Guitar Aficionado, Jimmie Vaughan, Keith Urban, Rolling Stones, Take a Stand Guitar Stand
Leave a comment
After the Show
We had a terrific weekend at the Woodstock Invitational Luthier Show two weeks ago. Our booth was very busy and we met tons of great people, both fellow exhibitors and attendees. The weather cooperated with warm temperatures for the end of October and there were great music performances all weekend long. Some of it is on YouTube so check it out. If you missed it, be sure to mark your calendars for next years show as it’s sure to be even bigger and better.
Grant Batson, Cory Batson, and George Giannaris of Batson Guitars stayed with us for the weekend. We had lots of great food and wine courtesy of George and played lots of great Batson guitars all weekend. Our friend, Huel Wheeler joined in the festivities leading our late night jams.
Now that the fun is over, we’re back in the shop catching up on orders. Check out http://www.takeastandinc.com for our new guitar wall hanger. It’s pretty unique in that there are no exposed fasteners and it’s the first product that is part of a future system of guitar stands and hangers. We’ve also prototyped a new stand that should be ready for primetime in another week or so.
We’ve also lowered the prices on our SM Design Guitar Stand due to some design changes that have made it better and less costly to produce. On our Links page, we’ve added some of our friends from the Woodstock show so be sure to check that out as well.
Thanks again to everyone who came by the show and a special thanks to Baker Rorick for making it happen. Be sure to visit www.takeastandinc.com for all the new stuff.