Chg's Final Post on Corner Violin Shop...

September 15, 2006. My first day as a full time employee at A. Cavallo. When I jumped on board, we were down to 3 employees. The shop had lost its full time repair woman earlier that year and Les was still working part-time as he was finishing up his undergraduate degree. Just before we had arrived, the shop had its first real administrative employee but unfortunately we lost her as well.

I really wasn't sure what to expect when I got there. As a former violinist, I may have had some idea of what customers wanted but this was a totally different arena. I had to be on my feet and learn to be a jack-of-all-trades. Learning the lingo of the trade, answering phones, shipping and packing, repair and maintenance, databasing, and ringing up customers.

I was beginning to think that my employment would be a temporary phase like my stint as an intern on the Hill or a landscaper at Lauritzen Gardens. After a year and a half later of working there, I came away with a lot from that experience. Initially, doing all those seemingly menial gopher runs made me aware of how hard small businesses work to survive. Not only did they have to worry about their daily operations but they had to grasp abstract business concepts like selling, marketing, advertising, managing, and administrating. However, I also realized that if a small business like a violin shop was to thrive, it had to go beyond that. It had to be emboldened with a creative entrepreneurial spirit.

With a chance to experiment in a business model and goal that I believed in, I dove right in and did as much as I could. I helped establish A. Cavallo's online presence. It first started with listing a few instruments on eBay. Then learning to sell on Amazon.com. We launched a brand new database driven website and it showed real signs of promise at the end of the year. Today, we're finally starting to see more sales on our website than our Amazon platform.

It's not just in cyber-space where we have expanded but inside the shop as well. We've gone from the local shop that services and sells string instruments, to a business that has ventured into other areas like accessories and fittings imported from abroad. Who knew that the shop would be able to hold more than 5 double basses at a time or sell to more out-of-state customers? In fact, this month we've officially started up a wholesale end of the business. Alessandro Imports is the name and we hope to see you on the road.

Our staff has also experienced expansion and change. Les Korus helped us with all of our repairs and rehairs, before he left to become a full time bow maker. I wish him all the luck! You've already seen Matt Mickelson hard at work at bridge carving. Maddy Mayer has been with us on and off throughout the year but will become a full fledged workshop manger after attending classes at Oberlin. Here to replace me is, Cassie Johnson. She'll be a top notch administrator (something the shop has always needed) and will be the first one to greet you when you step into the shop. I've already mentioned the arrival of Daniel Jacobson but it looks like he won't arrive until the beginning of June. Who knows, maybe his position as an intern will be the start of a summer internship program to come?

And finally of course, there's the blog that I launched in May of 2007. It first served as a place for me to document my time at the shop, make mental notes, and write any creative ideas during the dead days of the week. I've left the task to my fellow employees. Let's hope they decided to keep it going:)

May 24, 2008. My last day as a full time employee. I'm off to Ann Arbor where I will be studying architecture and urban design.

Omaha Symphony Casual Classics Series: Patriotic Parade

The Omaha Symphony’s CASUAL CLASSICS series wraps up on Saturday, May 24h with a PATRIOTIC PARADE. The performance will feature music from some of America’s most well-known composers, including Copland, Sousa, Ellington and Bernstein. The program takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Holland Center, at 13th and Douglas Streets. Ernest Richardson conducts.

Polish Maker's Spotlight: Szlachtowski, Koscielny, & Cracovia Workshop

For a number of years, the shop had been investing its time in locating world class contemporary makers from abroad such as Italy or Germany. However, it seems like the boss recently has had an interest in the up and coming makers of Eastern Europe like Poland, Czech Republic, or Romania. If you've kept tabs on my Twitter account, you may have heard about the arrival of some new instruments. Two of these will be the topic of today's entry as I show off some nice photos of the makers, talk more about their background, and a bit of history on Polish violin making.

Jan Szlachtowski was Born in 1951 in Nowry Targ, Poland. In 1970 he finished school in violin making in Zakopane where he worked under one of the old Polish Masters Jozef Bartoszek. From 1987 to 1988, he worked at W.H. Lee firm in Chicago. In 1988 he returned home to his birth city where he opened up shop and can still be found working today. His main area of work is cello which have established quite a reputation amongst dealers in the U.S.



The workshop of Master Jarek Koscielny in Czetochowa, the town of the famous Black Madonna which is frequently visited by Catholic tourists and pilgrimages. His violins are made in the Stradivari and Guarneri patterns with an antiqued varnish look.



The Cracovia Workshop was established about 6 years ago in Southern Poland. Polish Master Ryszard Florek runs the shop with 4 assistants in the town of Bielsko-Biala. All the instruments are "aged", antiqued, and treated in spirit varnish.


As you can see, some of the best contemporary makers are coming from Eastern Europe. You may think that violin making in these countries are a relatively new cultural phenomenon but not so! According to an article in the the Warsaw Voice, a majority of the Polish violin makers are members of the-oldest, after Italy's, organization of violin makers in Europe. The Association of Polish Artists Violin Makers (ZPAL) is reported to have 113 members and is celebrating its 54th anniversary this May.

In fact, Poland has had a richer history of violin making that dates as far back as the 16th century. The first great makers of that era, Marcin Groblicz I (1530-1609) and Baltazar Dankwart (mid-16th century - 1622), started two dynasties of outstanding violin makers which lasted until the 18th century. Some scholars even believe that the prototype of the violin originated in Poland. Relics such as a primitive fiddle from the 11th century, a five-string instrument from the 12th century and a six-string instrument in 15th-century serve as some of the strongest evidences for their case. A collection of these instruments can be found at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Poznań.

Many of today's Polish makers go through secondary school whose curricula include the art of violin making. There are currently two in the Poland that offer such programs: High School of Fine Arts in Zakopane and High School of Music in Poznań. These schools' graduates have an opportunity to continue their studies at the Violin Making Department of Poznań's Music Academy. This means that Poland is the only country in the world where violin makers can receive a university-level education.

After years of training and apprenticeships, many of them have established their workshop in the mountainous region of Poland. Due to the low cost of labor in Eastern Europe, a favorable currency exchange rate for the US Dollar, and a tradition of highly trained makers, these instruments can be compared with others that are worth two or more times their market price.

One hectic day at the shop...

Wednesday is supposed to be our slow day but as Alex would put it, "We've been cooking with grease!" The last few days have been surprisingly busy as we've seen an uptick in the local foot traffic. I jokingly told Matt that we needed to log in all of his catch phrases he uses around the shop. Just to list a few, Alex often answers the phone with default lines such as, "Oh my gosh, I have been so busy that I haven't had time to come up for air, what's up?." Or another one of my favorite ;) is, "How you doin', we've been goin' like non-stop, a million miles an hour."

The morning shipments arrived with a quite a few packages than the usual load of bow rehairs. Yes, it's here, our shipment of parts from India. I can't imagine that Matt was too excited to see this job again. It was one of the first tasks we had him do when he first started to work here a month or two ago. Luckily, Maddy officially came to work full time today and will definitely help him sort all those parts.



More practice at the computer desk for Cassie. Processing the paperwork of the daily Amazon and website orders were her first task before she moved onto listing eBay descriptions. This is Cassie's official first week but she's adapted to the shop very well. For every little gopher task we've asked her to do, she's completed it quickly and replied with a new catch phrase that's been added to the shop vocabulary, "I win." Every little task was a game so I jokingly said, okay, you'll win a prize next time you've finished this or that. Her first prize was a Nilla Waffer ("borrowed" from Maddy). Her second prize was a can of V8 Splash I found somewhere in the back of the office.



As I was about to guide her with PayPal payments, the door chime rang. For the next few hours, I would her send her out to assist Alex in any sales or visits. Meanwhile, Maddy's mom and grandparents came to visit. I wish I had the card reader for my camera because I have a good shot of Maddy showing off an electric violin to her grandfather.



As for me, I managed to sell a violin! It's can be fun when I get interact with customers first since Alex is usually the go-to-guy. He was a bit tied up today, trying to take care of two cello customers. Cassie was still in training so there wasn't a whole lot she could to help but to assist in the sale.

Last week for Chris Gerdes. A. Cavallo down a man. Substitution summer intern Daniel Jacobson, next week. A. Cavallo back soon to be back at full strength.

Shot of the Day: Hanging Despiau Tree Bridges

My NikonD70 camera finally came back from the shop. The camera had this problem of interlacing the previous images that were taken and as a result the files were either unreadable or corrupt. The repairman had to replace this small little electronic component inside which did some damage to my bank account but I can swallow it with a dose of reality. Afterall, it's a highly specialized form of skilled labor, something which I clearly started to understand after seeing our guys at A. Cavallo do work on the benches. It just like any old rehair or new bridge that needs to be carved. The real cost isn't the material, it's the labor.

So what I've been doing for the past few days is trying to wrap up my last week here with my newly repaired camera. You know, some memorable photos along the way. I took some shots of Matt working at the bench. Then some other featured objects in the shop that customers might spot or find interesting. A good one I took has been the string of hanging bridges. Alex leaves them out to hand so they'll dry out.

Eventually, I'll do a more formal shoot of our new employees. Maddy is officially working today and so is Cassie. Look forward for to a future posting about them with full introductions.

Violin Swindler Article Update & A Book Deal?

This is a bit of an update from a previous entry on violin dealer con-artist Joseph Tang. Remember him? The San Francisco Chronicle's piece followed up on the story with Tang pleading guilty to all original federal indictment charges. He pleaded guilty last week to mail and wire fraud, after scamming 10 people out of about $400,000 in connection with the sale and consignment of string instruments from April 2002 to December 2006.

A plea deal was reached where prosecutors have agreed not to file additional charges arising from their investigation. Tang may face up to 20 years in prison for each count, but prosecutors have agreed to ask for no more than 33 months if Tang has no prior criminal record. As a Canadian citizen, Mr. Tang is also facing the possibility of deportation.

[ Violins acquired by Bob Ng from Joseph Hokai Tang]

Aside from the hard facts, the article fleshes out the story with remarks and anecdotes by a peripheral of characters such as local amateur cellist-collector San Friscan Bob Ng, prominent musicians, Jason Price of Tarisio, and a court case involving dealers suing the other for loss.

One thing that really caught my attention though was Mr. Tang was quoted as saying:

"All I need to say is I've been approached for a book deal. ... It'll be about the whole violin business"

This was said right after he declined to comment and left the courtroom pleading guilty. After all he's done, I couldn't believe he had the gull to say that. In a small world of classical music where relationships close and are built upon mutual trust, you would think that he would try to hold onto some dignity with apologies or reconciliations. Instead, he turns himself into a self-promotional advert. I can imagine the title to his new book "Confessions of a Violin Thief."

Maybe Mr. Tang should have read up on another author that this article looked into; Berkley Attorney and violin-maker Carla Shapreau. I'm going to take a look into a book that she's co-authored called "Violin Fraud: Deception, Forgery, Theft, and Lawsuits in England and America."

Omaha Symphony Pops: A Tribute to John Williams

Omaha Symphony Pops: Tribute to John Williams
Friday, May 16, 2008, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 17, 2008, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 18, 2008, 2:00 p.m.
Kiewit Concert Hall
Holland Performing Arts Center

The Omaha Symphony’s Pops series concludes with A TRIBUTE TO JOHN WILLIAMS this Friday through Sunday at the Holland Performing Arts Center. One of the most popular and successful modern American composers, Williams has composed the music for nearly 80 films, including Star Wars, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone, Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler's List. You can join Maestro Wilkins & the orchestra as they pay tribute to this five-time Academy Award and 17-time GRAMMY® Award winner.

Happy Birthday Corner Violin Shop! You're 1 Year Old and Counting

It all started with my first entry on May 15, 2007. It's now been a little under two years since I've started working here and I've certainly learned a lot.

With a few weeks left at the shop and as I get ready to head off to architecture school, what does the future of the blog hold? Hopefully more bloggers to add! While I haven't discussed the details with Alex, I might be hired to write some entries about string trends on the net or business. For now, the immediate goal is to get our new employees to blog a bit about their daily shop (good luck if I'll ever get Matt or Maddy to blog on their own).

You've already met Matt and Maddy, informally from previous entries, but with the expansion of the business we've recruited Cassy johnsonas my new replacement. Like Maddy, Cassy is a graduating viola performance major from Hastings College but she also brings to the table a background in business administration (something this shop has desperately needed). Joining us for a short time this summer is intern Daniel Jacobsen. He has background in music as well (piano and violin) and is a communications major at Gustavus Adolphus College. Two fresh perspectives on what goes on here on a daily basis.

I'll need to get them setup with another blogger and twitter account. Still haven't quite decided how to transfer the current account (Corner Violin Shop) onto a new administrative account for either of the two new bloggers. I've looked for advice from other bloggers and they all seem to think WordPress might be a platform. Probably need to talk to our Argentinian friend Nestor.

Honda's Humanoid Robot ASIMO Conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

By now, you guys are already familiar with robots playing violins or trumpets so it should come as no surprise when they've stepped up to the podium.

Leonard Slatkin, director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, stepped aside on Tuesday night for a special guest conductor. Standing at 4-foot-3 and weighing 119 pounds, Honda's Humanoid robot Asimo made his conducting debut with the piece. Asimo conducted the Orchestra to"The Impossible Dream" of Broadway fame Man of La Mancha.

ASIMO, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, is a robot designed and built by Honda. The company filmed Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) education director Charles Burke conducting the piece and programmed Asimo to copy his movements.

I found it interesting how faultless ASIMO was in his conducting yet players were taken aback from his metronomic style. A trumpeter described how difficult was to play on cue with the lack of eyes on ASIMO. Conductor Slatkin even remarked how improvisation was the one thing that this robot lacked in its conducting style. Essentially, the robot was a very complex and expensive windup toy that could conduct the same piece over and over without error. It has yet to acquire the kind of independent thought and expression that makes humans so unique in its body language or facial expressions.

The Art & History of Violin Cases

In the wild west world of eBay, you meet some interesting bidders with all sorts of knowledge. One person we've met so far is collector Glen P. Wood. Now here at the shop, we do a fair share of appraisals on all string things related but Dr. Wood seems to have carved himself as an expert on the art of violin cases. With all those expensive advancements in case technology, who knew that such old world works of protection could be valued as works of art?

I googled the topic at hand and found a lively string of discussions on Maestronet's message board. The latest discussion focused on topics such as the Dr. Wood's book, how to repair old cases, and tracking down auctions such as the 12 Apostles cases.

Dr. Wood recently emailed us the announcement of his new book "The Art & History of Violin Cases". It's a 8.5" x 11" softcover book with 116 pages and 32 full color plate images. The book is divided into sections covering European Case making:(Italy, England, France, Germany, New World) and Modern case making.

"As the cost of collecting violins soars beyond the reach of many, antique violin cases has is becoming the new, hot collectable. To many, the notion of an old violin case is a battered, black coffin case of the type turned out in the millions by factories in France and Germany.

In my new book 'The Art & History of Violin Cases' I illustrate how wonderful and interesting these cases can be. Years of research in museums and private collections have yielded a treasure trove of inspirational examples which provide guidance to the collector."

-Dr. Glenn P. Wood

Now, I'm not in a scholarly position to do book reviews but do check it out and give some feedback. The informal reviews over at Maestronet seem to be fairly positive. Who knows? Maybe this could become the equivalent of a Henley's Guide. I'd also love to see if Dr. Wood could do another history book on other string instrument cases.