It’s finally here! It was a much bigger job than I originally expected, but I have to say, I pinch myself every day just to make sure I am actually here in my own shop. And it’s a really great shop.

Looking into The Lounge

We had a “soft opening” last week, coinciding with Third Thursday, the evening that all the artists on The Walk are open. It turned out to be a cold wet day, yet we had a good crowd and I met a lot of new people. Good food and drink always helps! Many of the other artists stopped by, along with a bunch of our friends from various parts of life. It turned out some of them knew each other from other lives as well. It’s a small world, for sure.

A Look Inside

That’s Zohar I’m talking to – the first to arrive. He happens to be taking classes at Dance Place down the street, the organization who hepled get me in here. He knows Yolanda from screen writing classes and wandered by to find me here one day. Our friend Marianne ran into old friends she hadn’t seen in years who were enjoying Third Thursday and ended up in my shop. Some friends from our DC Chamber Orchestra joined us, including Jack (clarinet), retired State Department, Cassie (violin), the Chief Panetary Protection Officer at NASA (no kidding!), and Bob (piano) our esteemed orchestral organizer.

My Bench

And on the other side…

My Tools

I still have more to do. I need to finish moving my stuff from the old shop, there are a few more tools to purchase, and some finish work to complete. I expect to be in full work mode this coming week. Nonetheless I had my first cutomer yesterday! It was Aaron Levere, principal trombone in the Baltimore Symphony, formerly of the Oregon Symphony. He’s been a customer for almost 10 years. It’s good to see him here on the East coast.

Opening!

As I open my new venture, I’d like to give a shout out to Jeff Bonk at Music Repair Works. It was a miracle that I was employed within a month of arriving in DC. I met him at Bohemian Caverns and started working with him within a couple of weeks. I thank him for that and for helping me get my foot in the door. I’m looking forward to a continuing relationship with him.