I’ve got a bit of a smoother payment interface going on now! I upgraded some things, and now you may enter your credit card info directly on the website instead of going through PayPal to enter your credit card information.

So go order reeds and try it out!

Tags: Payment

Just a quick FYI - I’m taking this coming weekend away from the reed desk. From October 20 through October 23, I won’t be answering emails or phone calls during this time.

Hi all, and happy July 4th! I finally am sort of caught-up with reed orders, so I’m taking this opportunity to blog a little.

I wanted to share my experience at IDRS with you guys. I didn’t get to do much, because I had a table and felt like I should be tending to it the entire time, but I did walk around a little bit and got to meet some people that I’ve only known by email so far. It was very nice to be able to put faces to email addresses and websites!

I know everyone wants to know about the new oboes that were there, so I’ll start with that! I was under strict orders to try a Josef oboe, and I also had to see what Marigaux and Covey Oboes were up to. Read More...

Tags: IDRS

This is just a quick entry to update everyone on what I’ve been working on, in quick bullet points.

• I moved into a new apartment about a month ago. I’m now able to offer on-site lessons and reed classes, and lessons via Skype. Let me know if you’re interested in that!
• I went to IDRS and will write-up a summary of what I observed from my table in the exhibit hall. I’ll post that here and send it by newsletter, too.
• I’ve nearly switched over to all orders being subscription-only...but I’m leaving up the capability to order single reeds, because I still have some slots left to sign up.

That’s it for now - I’m tired and will be taking a day away from the reed desk tomorrow. Thanks!

Tags: IDRS, subscriptions, skype

After months of trying to decide how to manage my workload, I’ve decided that my finished oboe reeds are going to be available by subscription only, beginning in June, after the IDRS conference. I have to do something to make things a little less hectic, and so that I am not making reeds until 1am every night.

I’m accommodating 300 subscription reeds monthly. This is still a lot, so hopefully too many people won’t be left out. I will also be maintaining my wholesale accounts, so if you need a reed in an emergency I can still send you somewhere to get them.

This will not affect English horn reeds, blanks, or processed cane. And every reed I don’t make myself will still be available as usual.

If you have questions, please do let me know.

Tags: re-caning, reedmaking, subscriptions

Just as I suspected, I’ve been too busy making reeds to blog much. Which is good! I like that you guys are keeping me busy!

Read on for IDRS 2011 news, bits about Knoxville, and my new high-altitude reed. Read More...

Tags: IDRS, Knoxville, high altitude

Everyone welcome our newest team member, Hannah!

She’s going to be helping me out with cane processing initially, and will be taking on more responsibilities very soon. She’s in her final semester at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, and will graduate with her Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance.

I’ve got her full bio up on the About Us page - so feel free to go read it, or drop her a note here to say hello in the comments section...or on the Facebook page, or on the Twitter page.

Tags: People

Just a couple of quick things, as I need to get to the reed desk today before I am off to meet with my newest Colorado Reed Company team member!

I’m phasing out my 303-area code phone number. If you need to contact me by phone, please do so at 847-532-1862.

... Read More...

Tags: bassoon, high altitude

Alright, recaning is back! New price for that too. And, make sure you consider my new subscription offer - if you have been thinking about a subscription, now is the time to sign up, because I’m offering 2010 prices until January 31.

I had planned to take a day off today... Read More...

Tags: Products, General Reedmaking

I usually use Rigotti cane - it’s been the most consistently available for the past couple of years, and it’s been hard enough so that it will stay open at higher altitudes, but soft enough so that it didn’t take forever to make a reed on a piece of it.

So when I went to order some more last week, and discovered that it was out of stock from my two favorite places, I panicked a little! Read More...

Tags: cane, General Reedmaking

Moving...is a lot of tedious work. Did you guys realize this?

I think I spent about three hours at the reed desk today, total. I finished 14 reeds that I didn’t get to yesterday, and I have 17 blanks tied on to finish tomorrow.

The rest of the day, I just ran all over Knoxville doing things that took me no time... Read More...

Tags: Moving, re-caning, help

Is anyone wondering how many reeds I make in a day, and how I go about it? I knew you were.

My goal is always to make 20 reeds a day, with the intention of taking two days off each week. Sometimes this is no problem at all, but I need to stay on task all day for this to happen.

I work like it’s an assembly line. During the evening, I shape cane and tie on 20 blanks and let them dry. This takes me anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes to do. After that, if I need to, I’ll gouge cane or split & soak cane to get it ready for gouging... Read More...

Tags: General Reedmaking

So, I decided to try my hand at a blog on this site (for once). I am not sure it will stay, since I spend enough time in front of the computer with Facebook, Twitter, my accounting program, and other business-y things that keep me away from the reed desk or keep me from practicing oboe!

But I thought it might be helpful to answer questions and resolve problems here. Enjoy!

Tags: General Reedmaking