The beginnings of our new guitar section...

The painter has done almost half of the "old" part of the shop & will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00am (yep, that's right... 7:00am... in the morning... on a SUNDAY!).  I thought I was finished with these early starts actually but this week I have tradies coming in on Tuesday AND Wednesday at 7:00am so I guess there's stiull a few more to go.  Today we swapped some of our electric guitars over into the back of the old part of the shop that Justin painted on Thursday & wow... they look awesome on the "domino" black that Clare has selected for the wall & roof colour... very rock, very night-club, very cool as well... can't wait to get the new racks up & the new carpet in!

Basses to the left... basses to the right... basses EVERYWHERE!

We always knew we had a great range of bass gear but when we had to shift them all so the painters could start painting downstairs we realised just how many we had!  At the moment they're using every spare guitar stand in the shop & are stacked in every square inch of the new part of the shop while we're painting the old part... but don't worry, they'll have an awesome NEW home very soon!

The Day Wall Came Down: Part 3!

Walls, walls, walls... or more correctly... NO more walls!  The first wall to come down was the double brick wall between the new & old shops; next was the temporary wooden wall (to protect us while they removed the brick wall!) & last night, we took out the old store room wall & office... to reveal a HUGE new space... which will be our new electric guitar section!  Huge space... precede by a HUGE mess!!! But we had fun!  Sort of...

Our new Yamaha window graphics

I love photo-graphics on windows & I was keen to promote the fact that we do a lot of brass & woodwind business (even though it wasn't particularly obvious till now!).  In fact even when you came into the store before the renovations they were very well hidden!  Not any more...

Yamaha are the main brand we supply in saxes & trumpets etc & they had some awesome graphics available for us to use.  Naturally they were very happy & keen to "assist" us in announcing our new increased wind instrument emphasis by means of these very classy photo-graphics in 2 of our new windows. Nice... very nice!

Electricals & more electricals

Today our sparky Karl is back upgrading the power feed to our building (which meant we had no power for a few hours today!) and also installing the LED lights in our showcases... only 5 watts each & no heat or UV... bewdiful! The saxes & brass instruments will finally have a nice home where they'll feel loved! 

Tomorrow the painters start on the "old" part of the building & getting ready for that is proving quite a logistical challenge... (read nightmare!).  Fortunately they are being very cooperative & have agreed to help us out by doing it in 2 halves which means that we can squeeze all the stock into one side of the shop while they do the other...  half & vice versa.  Our first job was to put together another 6o guitar stands!

Our new sheet music rack...

Sometimes we feel like all this is taking forever... but something new IS happening every day so I guess we just have to be patient.  Today it was the unexpected arrival a new sheet music stand. Now we have somewhere to browse & somewhere to store our music... and not before time! Shane WILL be excited when he comes in tomorrow! The glass doors on the new wind & brass showcases in the background should be in early next week too.

The new acoustic room.... beautiful!

There is still a lovely long ottoman lounge to go in the Acoustic Room (as well as another "surprise" on one wall!) but even at this stage you can really start to "see" it now....  the guitars just look amazing on the green walls & more importantly, the sound is lovely in there - not too bright but clear & with a bit of a snap to the acoustics. The electrician also got the pendant lights in late last night so you can actually SEE the guitars in there when you try them now!  We love it!

The New counter: Part 2

Well it doesn't have the lights in or power to it yet BUT here it is.  And before you ask no, we don't know what the long curve on the side is for either... but we like it!  Very artisic & colourful & we can't wait to have the computer screens & phones all wired in so can make the switch - hopefully in the next few days. 

I told you it was going to be colourful!

Charles from ACJ Interiors was back promptly right on 9:00am as promised with another truck load of cabinetry & started to put our new counter together... & WOW, talk about bright!  It's one thing to see a small swatch on a plan & quite another to see the whole thing... very cool.  I can't wait to see it with the lights on (yes, it has lights in it as well!).  Tony looks a bit confused but makes a good supervisor!

Nice legs...

Gazza will kill me when he sees this shot (that's why I've hidden his face!).    As part of the renovations we are pushing the guitar section right to the back wall up to the old roller door in the "old" part of the shop.  In fact early on, one of the suggestions from our designer Clare was that we could even consider incorporating the roller door into the design to give the guitar section a sort of classy but industrial vibe (if there is such a thing?!) but then when we remembered just how hot the metal roller door gets in summer we knew we'd have to panel & insulate it instead... plus it will give us even MORE space to hang guitars!  Another messy job for Gazza! Cheers mate... you're a legend.

Showcases...we have showcases!

We hardly had the computers turned on this morning when up rocked a large truck full of furniture & odd shaped boards & panels which are going to be assembled on site to become our new showcases & counters. I had imagined they would just walk them out of the truck & put them into place so I was surprised to see how much assembly is done on site.  The main counter wasn't ready& goes in tomorrow but today they installed both the new brass & wind showcases as well as the cupboards & slat wall behind the where the counter will go... & we're loving the colours! The colours are not all obvious here so I'll put some more photo's on tomorrow when they're somewhat more assembled...  & have the lights in!

What kind of colour is "Chartreuse" anyway?!

When the designer Clare suggested we paint the side of the building "chartreuse" I cautiously agreed... mainly because her recommendations up too that point in time had been impeccable so the trust level was high... but to be honest, it was also because, before she then pulled out a swatch to show me, I had no bloody idea what colour chartreuse was & I didn't want to appear too ignorant! 

Yes, as you can see it is Sunday & so I am painting... again. (And yes, in response to somebody who asked,  yes, I AM really doing a lot of the painting myself!).  You can see what colours I used today on my hands! I joked to my father last weekend that "you can the pick the amateur around here... the one the paint all over his hands!"  The Grey is from the finishing coat on the front, back & side walls; the Yellow... is actually "Chartreuse" (see above: & I can't believe you didn't know that already!) & the Green (the slightly overripe avocado green you may recall I have dubbed it!) is from painting some of the guitar hangers in the acoustic room.  Next?  An Illy coffee at Cafe Cafe in Subi... but then I'm afraid I've some old branches off an almond tree to cut up & some lawn to dig up at home!

An interesting start to the day. Here comes "The Force"!

Having been at the shop since 7:00am this morning dismantling some more shelving, I didn't mind being interrupted by one of the boys just after 9am saying "there's a guy here wants to sell a saxophone..." .  It was a Yamaha YTS-62 Professional Model Tenor sax in excellent condition & as a Licensed 2nd Hand Dealer (as you have to be to buy or trade-in 2nd hand musical instruments) I was definitely interested... you just don't get many good 2nd hand saxes, especially Professional models. But something didn't feel right...

The guy selling it needed "cash" (or a cash cheque... which we just don't do) & said the sax "used to belong to my Dad... who passed away recently..." & that it was left to him in his Will... but he didn't seem to know anything about where his Dad had played or who with... which I thought was strange.  My suspicion sufficiently aroused I checked futher & he said it was "about 6 years old..."  but I had noticed that it had the latest Yamaha G1 neck on it as well as a new model of case... both of which have only available in the past 2 or 3 years. It was only then I remembered that only last week I had been asked to order the exact same model sax for a customer of RAC... things were adding up... that was just too big a coincidence.  I went to my office & called the RAC to check if they had a serial number of the stolen instrument & bingo... it WAS the same sax!  Next?  A quick call to the Wembley Police Station & then go back & try & keep our friend relaxed talking (not so easy!) & the next thing you know we have a whole TV Crew here from the popular TV show "The Force" & the police set about doing what they do best with all cameras blazing!  After an interview & taking some footage & they left with our "apparently" dodgy saxophone seller bundled into the back of their paddy wagon.  Oh well... excitement over it's back to reality - I'd better finish off dismantling those shelves I guess!  I'll let you know if it makes to air!

"Sign, sign... everywhere a sign!"

Pssst... as Don from Mosquito Graphic Design did such an awesome job with the signage on our new VW Caddy Maxi,  I also asked him to come up with some ideas for the roof signage for the shop... & he picked up on a sentiment expressed by a customer who said "Wow... this is gunna be musical heaven!"  Now that we own the whole corner of Cambridge & Harborne Streets we can say whatever we want... & that's what he went for on the Harborne Street side of the shop:  "This way to musical heaven!"  We liked it as we felt it was in keeping with our goal to be the BEST music shop in Perth... rather than the biggest. Thanks for the idea Don!

Ready for some nice guitars...

We have decided to use StringSwing Guitar Hangers in the new acoustic room.  At $29.95 they are quite a bit more expensive then the other brands we sell but there 3 specific benefits... they are long enough so the backs of the guitars do not touch the wall; they use a lovely soft brown rubber that does not react with nitro cellulose lacquer that is used on some of our top end guitars; and also look really nice! Here they are all ready to accept our most beautiful Maton, Martin & Guild acoustics... now we just have to wait for the electrician to come back so we see them as well!

Skirting boards... & MORE painting!

The upside of the funky boards in our acoustic room is that they look & sound great... but the downside is that you have to cut them about 1cm short of the walls (to allow for expansion & contraction) so now we have to put skirting boards all around to finish it off & cover the gap... so Shane stayed back last night to help me give them the first coat before we put them on the wall... I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not but it's worth a try! @nd coat will go after they're in... I hope!

The new office furniture...

Well, as of next week (or as soon as the telephone lines have been reconnected actually) I will have a new office... & having been convinced by my staff & book-keeper that I couldn't re-use my centuries old boring "brown" table & old ex Government grey office desk that I got 2nd hand 15 years ago (true?!) the time has come for some new furniture... & I gotta say it feels pretty good sitting in a new office with fresh paint & cool colours... I think I'm going to like it!

Getting there...

Well it's hardly actually finished yet but we CAN see the light at the end of the tunnel!  Today we moved all the keyboards "upstairs" so, at last, we now have an actual Keyboard section... no crawling under amplifiuers & PA systems & guitars to get to thme anymore!  Yee har!  Heaven!  And I still have to install the wall hangers for the guitars but we have also put some of the guitars up the in new acoutsic area... right next to the power board... with all the wires haning out of the wall waiting for the elctrician to come back (?!).

LOVE that new carpet smell!

It's been on my calendar for literally months...  the day has finally arrived! NEW CARPET!  The new carpet is going in the top section today & we're really happy with the colour. It looks awesome! Now we just have to work out where to put all the stock while they re-carpet the "old" part of the shop!  Plus I guess it means we're going to have to get a new vacuum cleaner now (not to mention a cleaner) as well!

Smoked Cedar Formica Floor

Like a lot of these jobs that you do yourself, by the time we finished laying the new Formica floor for our new acoustic room I was just starting to get the hang of it.  So next time it should be easy right?  (Did I say NEXT time?!!  With apologies to Eliza Doolittle: "not bloody likely!").  When I told some customers I was putting in "grey floorboards" you could tell by the look on their faces they thought it was an "interesting" (read: strange!) choice... but when you see it down & finished... it really is lovely & the wood on the guitars look great against it.  Next?  Get some nice guitars up on those walls! 

Lights... we have lights... well nearly!

To be more accurate: we have light fittings, we have lighing tracks... we just don't have power!  On the one hand there seems to be loads happening every day but on the other hand there are things not finished that were meant to be done a week ago... like the lighting as you can see form the mass of wires hanging out of the wall!  Hmm... looks like our "Guitarbecue Sausage Sizzle Grand Opening" might have to wait for a bit longer than I thought!

The Acoustic Room is coming together... & sounding great!

After picking up the Formica floorboards on Monday I was keen to get them in before the weekend as the carpet goes in "upstairs" next Monday so, quickly accepting the offer of a friend & customer Shaun to help, Anke & I stayed back last night & got stuck in... & we ALMOST got it done but gave up around 11pm & rewarded ourselves with some Indian Takeaway & few light beers leaving the last metre for the morning.  The Laying instruction were a bit ambiguous but we eventually worked out the system to get them down.  The finished effect is really beautiful & VERY "live" which is just what I wanted for the acoutsic guitars. Shaun stopped to give our poor knees a break to test it out... nice. Very nice!

Action stations...

With no Tradies on Monday or Tuesday the shop felt almost normal (?!) but Wednesday it was action stations again... Karl came to finish the lights & Gazza came in early to finish off the plastering around the stairway & half wall... messy & dusty... so if you want to buy something CHEAP & don't mind a bit of dust - NOW is the time!  Feel free to come in & check it out.

The new floor will in by end of the week.

Orginally the designer had selected a funky carpet for the new acoustic room but I was keen to have something with a bit of natural reverb & "snap" to it so we had a rethink & eventually chose this formica board instead.  It's a gorgeous smoked cedar finish & it came in today from the Eastern States so our new VW Caddy was put to good use to pick it up. Hopefully I will get it laid tomorrow... & I will be able to use my new Makita sliding mitre saw for the first time!  Yee har!  Feel free to come in & watch the progress.

Stairway to Heaven?!

Steps... we have steps!  As I said before, there is a difference of about 450mm in the floor level between the old & new sections of the store so we had to have steps put in today so you can get up to the acousic section.  Not much else today though I'm afraid... the electrician didn't turn up, the plasterer didn't turn up... oh well, at least all the guys did so "count your blessings" eh?! And there's always tomorrow...

The day the Wall came down ~ Part 2.!

Now you can get a glimpse of how it's going to look when it's all finished! In a word: big & open (Yes, I know... that's 2 words... I lied). Today I removed the temporary wall between the 2 shops...  messy work I can tell you.   his week: the "chippie" will be in to put in the steps between the 2 floors (yes, I did say steps... as you tell from the slope of the carpark, the floor in the "new" part is about 450mm higher than the existing shop so there will be 3 steps to get up to into the new side. And standing there today, it is going to be quite a groovy looking down into the existing shop when you walk down!).  Also, hopefully, the plasterer (who was meant to be here this morning at 6:30am?!) will be in to finish all the flushing on the dividing walls, the lighting will go in, some more painting (ugh) & we'll be putting floorboards in the acoustic room... can't wait for that!

Look who's back!!!!

Welcome back Rob!!  And wow, how fast did that 3 months go?!  Rob offically "Left the Building" 3 months after Gradutaing from Uni with his Accounting Degree & then taking off to Croatia for a well earned chill (though from he tells us, it was the hottest summer they've had in years!).  Fortunately for us he was happy to come back & keep working at least on Saturday's... and who knows, maybe we can even convince him to do a few extra days during the week. :-)  Drop in & say hi this Saturday!

OK guys... now you're just being silly!

Give a boy a spray can.....

I wonder if the Yamaha Rep has been in today?!

I'm not 100% sure but I reckon we might have just a visit from a Yamaha Rep what do you think?!  True, Matty from Yamaha was in today help with out with the our new TV's & audio install & he just couldn't resist sneaking back to "tag" our temporary wall!   Hmm... it looks just little bit like you've done that before Mat?!  But seriously... thanks for your help Mat... & Yamaha!