The new Blackstar amps have arrived too...
Charvel guitars have arrived!
A huge "week that was"... & another ahead!
Welcome Graffiti Man!
Phew! After the first I wondered what on earth Shane was up to do when he walked in this morning shaking the hell out of a spray can?! Actually, while it was very busy before & after the Grand Final, predictably it was pretty quiet during the actual game so the boys indulged in some artistic "Time Out!" That's Pete getting rather forcefully "changed" by Simon & Shane... but seriously guys, his cardigan wasn't THAT naff was it?!
Yep, Graham really is a "Hands on" kinda guy!
Today we started painting the"new bit" of the shop... & I can't wait to see the finished product! Putting the first coat on in the acoustic room was awesome! The painter called it Putrid Green but we'd rather think of it as "slightly over-ripe Avocado"! So, day One of painting finished: the ceilings are done, Anke put the first coat on the walls in the acoustic room & office, we prep coated all the doors & frames. It brings a whole new meaning to the term "Long Weekend" I tell you! Ugh... I wonder who won the Grand Final?!
No, I don't know where to put them either Charles!!!
Pretending to help...
Lucky we ordered the BIG bin!
What? No Gaffa?!
When my sparky mate Karl from Crtichell Electrical came in last week to check things out, I said to him "it's a shame they didn't put power points in the middle of the floor when they built this place so we don't have to run extension cables to the keyboards & amps". "No problem!" says Karl ... & he whipped this you beaut channel cutting thingy with twin blades & ripped into the floor before stopping & saying "you ARE getting new carpet aren't you?!" & I said "Well if we wern't before we certainaly are now!"
Ya gotta love power tools... maybe not quite as exciting as new guitar gear but geez it's gotta run a close 2nd!
How many boxes?!
Accepting bulk deliveries of stock has been increasingly difficult & inconvenient the past few years as we don't have a loading bay (though it is also very exciting... to see "what's in the boxes?!") however that is something else that will change when the new store is finished & that we can't wait for but in the meantime, with walls being removed & temporary racks tacked up all over the place, it is even more challenging. So when a truck pulled up out the front yesterday & announced he had "68 cartons for you!" we all freaked! It turns out it was an error & we were sent 33 guitars instead of 3 by one of our suppliers (you can't beat good old human error in data entry!) but that still meant we had to find room for 35 more guitars we did order PLUS find somehwere to put the extra 33 while waiting for another truck to come & pick them up again! Hmm... "over there boys... just stack 'em along the wall!"
A good days work...
You can do it!!!
To make room for the wall to come out we had to take all the strings off the wall behind the counter. So WHY, says Graham, would you want to take all the strings off the board first when you can just lift the whole slat panel?! Easy eh? Well... that was the idea anyway! And it sort of worked!!
Hmm.... very colourful!
We said we wanted to make sure whatever we did, we didn't want it to be too "posh" or fancy but that we wanted to keep the vibe of the having things as relaxed & friendly as possible. Naturally, we also said we wanted to spread things out properly so you can see & try everything without pushing past boxes of stock & deliveries... so in the new "new" shop, we will even have a delivery bay! Excellent! Clare had some awesome suggestions in regards to colours. Very retro. Very friendly. Very... well... Concept!
"It's a nasty business!"
We can do it! (I hope)
The day the Wall came down!
Our new Van!
Concept has recently taken delivery a new van.... a VW Caddy Maxi. It has already been invaluable for delivering things like large electric pianos & cartons of guitars but it also been perfect timing for the reno's & it is getting a real workout ! Last week our signwriter picked it up & brought it back all done up with our "Little Man" on the side! Very cool! We like!!
Just to prove girls can do anything boys can do!
It was all hands on deck after work last Saturday to take all the acoustic guitars off the wall so that we can remove the wall between the 2 shops on Monday... & I am NOT looking forward to that bit! Here is Anke showing her mechanical expertise on the drill!
Acoustic Room...
Josh is in today putting on the doors for the acoustic room. Just wait till you see what we have in mind for the finished room... you'll be blown away!
A new acoustic room at last!
Since moving to Wembley in 2001 I have missed having an special acoustic room SO much! And when we got the the interior designers in talk about "what do you want?" that was my first priority... a new acoustic room!! Here's Gazza getting started on it... I can't wait!
Where to start?!
In the end, to expediate things, we agreed to agree to take over the old Hearth House premises in the condition they left but boy... what a mess! The ceiling was full of large holes where they had installed flues for all the demonstratiuon fireplaces & the carpets will definitely have to be replaced... oh well.
Let the Ronovations Begin!
Well, after moving to Cambridge Street in Wembley 8 years ago, we could not have anticpated how welcome & popular the move would be! With the parking issue in West Perth finally resolved business took off... & here we are 8 years later with the shop so crammed full of gear you can hardly move!
Solution? Well, the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) too care of that! The shop next door to us that soild fireplaces & airconditioning decided to pull up stumps & voila, floor space to burn!
You can follow what we're doing here.
Solution? Well, the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) too care of that! The shop next door to us that soild fireplaces & airconditioning decided to pull up stumps & voila, floor space to burn!
You can follow what we're doing here.
Welcome to the Concept Music Blog
Concept Music is a quality & service oriented music store located at 244-246 Cambridge Street, Wembley... right on the corner of Cambridge & Harborne Streets in Wembley. Concept Music was opened in July 1980 by owner/operator Graham Hoskins who was actually a professional trombone player way back in the 70's when he opened the store (then located in Murray Street, West Perth) but his passion is more acoustic guitar & didgeridoo these days.
Initially opening with a slight orchestral bias, Concept Music has evolved into a specialist store selling most major brands of electric, acoustic & bass guitars as well brass & woodwind which was Graham's original background. Concept also services the local music community with an excellent range pf keyboards, drums & percussion & a basic range of sheet music.
Personal service & professional advice on quality products at the most competetive possible price is the Concept focus... and the daily challenge Graham gives his team of staff is to make Concept Music "more than just a music shop... more like a place musicians come to for advice" & to "never try & sell a customer something they don't want or need! "
Initially opening with a slight orchestral bias, Concept Music has evolved into a specialist store selling most major brands of electric, acoustic & bass guitars as well brass & woodwind which was Graham's original background. Concept also services the local music community with an excellent range pf keyboards, drums & percussion & a basic range of sheet music.
Personal service & professional advice on quality products at the most competetive possible price is the Concept focus... and the daily challenge Graham gives his team of staff is to make Concept Music "more than just a music shop... more like a place musicians come to for advice" & to "never try & sell a customer something they don't want or need! "