spotlight on...

one of the great advantages of small business.... there is a lot less in the way of bureaucracy. decisions are made quickly and all of the people directly involved in the implementation of goals... are in the room when those decisions are made. nowhere is this made more evident than in the R&D department... which really isn't a department at all... but one man. Jason does all of his design work himself. spending hours programming code for the VMC... milling... building fixture plates and jigs. because the design and production are both done by him... it is much less costly and time consuming to make changes... and innovate. but i will be honest... where as jason get's excited about implications of his designs on the sound of the instrument... my favorite part of this is the aesthetic miracles that are performed on a regular basis. i would really like to do my best... to remember to feature some of the more beautiful designs i see coming out of the shop. jason admires the work of louis comfort tiffany... and i know, because he's told me more than several times... that if he could, he would design a trumpet that is completely organic in shape, feel and sound. he would love to create an instrument that really is more of an extension of the player... a horn that you could barely tell you were holding... so that instrument and musician become one... producing the truest of music. and of course... it would look beautiful too.
so, here for your viewing pleasure are some of my personal favorites... 

I also really love the way the bright acrylic inlays look... especially against silver and gold... people rarely order them. We sell a lot more paua shell or agate... but there's something so striking about the colors in the acrylic... they kinda look like candy

there's also something really beautiful about the designs that go into all of our horns. i frequently glance over jason's shoulder and exclaim! can i photograph that... he usually just laughs and says... sure