21.7.20
Hi everyone,
I just crossed a milestone. This week makes it 15 years since I opened my shop in Lismore!
Thanks to every one of you who have trusted your guitars to me. Best wishes to you all.
For 25 years before I moved here I worked out of other people's shops in Sydney - Guitar City, Guitar Factory, Guitar World. Learning, and doing the repairs for established shops like that was a serious responsibility.
When I moved to Lismore I wanted to have a repair-shop that would serve the guitar players of the north coast, and also be independent in such a way that I could have a positive relationship with the music stores of the region. I had plenty of experience with the poisonous relationship between Sydney guitar shops, even if they had no brands or stock lines in common!
This worked out well almost immediately! I continue to have great relationships with the shops in our region - Planet Music Lismore, Byron Music, Valiant Music Brunswick Heads, Russell's Music Lismore. I was also in communication with the Mullumbimby guys when the crazy covid disruption occurred. We are blessed to have great music stores in our region - I trust that you will continue to support them all.
Moving here was a leap-of-faith. I know I'm good at what I do - after 40 years I would have no excuse otherwise - but almost every single one of you, for whom I have been privileged to work for, has trusted that leap of faith.
The majority of what I do depends upon "word-of-mouth". I had a typical thing happen today. Two customers thought that they had recognized each other, but couldn't figure out from where. They back-tracked through gigs, college, school and McDonalds and it turned out that they had previously met HERE (!) at my shop.
So. My guitar-repair shop continues. Obeying government space and distance protocols, hand-cleaners at the ready.
Been a weird anniversary, but otherwise than being VERY busy, no serious change to standard AK procedures!
Keep well my crazy friends,
and play your dear guitars until they simply have to be fixed!
Andrew
