Hi Everyone,
following up on my last post - I'm so busy that in fairness to those folk who already have an instrument booked in for repair, my shop will be closed this week and next so that I can catch up.
It's this COVID thing. When it kicked off in March/April a lot of
people brought repairs in to me - a lot of them biggish jobs that the
owners had been putting off for years (such as gigging musicians finally getting
around to that refret, given that they were no longer gigging). Some folk brought in three or four guitars, saying "won't be needing these for a while".
The
government at the time was hinting at a six-month lockdown so I took on
everything I could, figuring that I'd need the work. But then they instead gave
us these semi-lockdown conditions, and indoor activities (such as
guitar-playing) have boomed. I'm getting people who haven't played in
years getting back into it, and guitars that haven't been out of the
attic for decades coming in for refurbishment. The government stimulus
money seems to be part of it - I'm sure they're paying for more than a
few Martin and Gibson restorations!
I'm always
busy, but this thing has sent it ballistic. I know a lot of folk have
been adversely affected by COVID, and it certainly makes me feel a bit
weird to be busier than ever because of it, but I've seen lots of people
re-inventing (or re-discovering) themselves because of the limitations
imposed. Lots of people getting back into playing guitar! So in some ways it's been a good thing, albeit in a strange way.
So thanks for your patience. I'll be back to "normal" in a week or two, but will still have to book most repairs in on a longer turn-around time than usual until I get back up to date.
Andrew
