Ballerina Tunes Containers, inlaid music boxes, musical jewellery packing containers, cylinder audio containers, and antique songs packing containers are fragile and stunning. As most audio box and antique collectors know, in get to protect them, occasionally maintenance and restoration is required. For this particular operate, it is significant to pick a corporation that is highly regarded and an qualified in this place. With a tiny research, these providers ordinarily can be discovered no make any difference what component of the earth you are in. One particular such corporation and qualified is Mr. Jim Weir.
Jim does all types of antique musical box repairs and restoration. His operate contains comb repairs, releading and tuning, dampering, cylinder restoring, and organ bridge function. Jim also presents all method of musical box perform on disc and cylinder songs bins.
I recently experienced the privilege of interviewing Jim about his musical box repair service and restoration organization, which, by the way, is operated out of Scotland. Let’s find far more about Jim his hopes, and get an in depth glimpse as to what it is like to function a audio box maintenance and restoration business enterprise.
Jim started off off with expressing this about himself:
“What can I convey to you about myself? Effectively, I am 56 and have been doing work on musical containers for the very best component of 30 yrs. My wife and I reside in Scotland with our two daughters one’s at school and one’s at University. Dependent on workload my spouse and the two daughters enable with pinning cylinders I guess it is a spouse and children organization really?”
1. Could you explain your on-line and offline small business functions, your expert services and/or solutions in detail?
“I have made use of the Internet to uncover workshop supplies, including the equipment I use for grinding and ending repined new music box cylinders. Other than that, my business enterprise is generally offline. Most of it comes to me from people who currently know me, even though I’ve recently started advertising in the MBSI Journal. I barely ever get and sell musical boxes I have a fantastic workshop but not a retail shop or show counter. I have checked out probable purchases for buyers, telling them what degree of maintenance function they are very likely to get into ahead of they invest in a particular musical box, and where by a buyer is searching for a specific style of box I’ve from time to time been capable to find a person, but other than that my principal business enterprise is repair get the job done, anything from full restoration to component positions, specifically comb and cylinder work. I’ve acquired a incredibly good crew of pinners (the people today who set the new pins into the cylinders for me to end) and soon after promoting in the MBSI Journal, I’m beginning to select up new particular person work from prospects in the Usa as perfectly as my regular trade perform.”
2. What built you determine to start off a enterprise specializing in antique musical box repairs and restoration? What was your inspiration or determination?
“I educated as a clock repairer. A single working day a shopper introduced in a 15.1/2″ Polyphon and asked me to `fix it’. That’s in which it started out.”
3. What have been your important troubles/obstructions over the several years? How did you get over them? “
To reverse your dilemma, I am even now attempting to determine out how to conquer them. My worst issue, or `obstacle’ if you like has been myself. Some of the work I have accomplished has been pretty intense having it on as if it had been some type of particular problem has not most likely been the wisest point to do. I am mainly self-taught, and I am not a good trainer, or a specifically excellent pupil arrive to that.”
4. What precise varieties of online or offline advertising resources are you applying correctly?
“I’m not guaranteed how effective it will be it really is early days nonetheless but I have just begun to market in the MBSI Journal. I have picked up a couple of work that way. I never advertise any where else, and I will not use any online advertising and marketing tools.”
5. Have you normally envisioned yourselves performing what you are accomplishing now? Has it constantly been a enthusiasm? What did you “want to be when you grew up?
“No I’ve not. When I was at faculty, I wanted to be a train driver. Musical box operate has turn into a passion although striving to get the best feasible sound out of a musical box is element of what drives me.”
JIm will carry on to give us an within peek of the tunes box mend and restoration planet in element 2 of this report series.
I’d like to personally thank Jim for having the time to share with us this useful data about his organization as perfectly as allowing us get a sneak peak into the globe of songs box repairs and restoration. Jim Weir can be reached at [email protected] or by telephone/fax at 01144-1575-572647.
Copyright 2006 Monique Hawkins