So this week I got to see two of my favourite bands, first Stray From The Path in Birmingham at XOYO and then the following night Creeper at Nottingham’s Rock City. Now let me tell you, I’ve been going to gigs for 20 years and my knees are starting to show that it's been that long. That being said there were two of the best shows I’ve been to this year (I’ve been lucky enough to go to a lot). Both bands mean a lot to me especially Creeper as it’s a band that I and my better half have a very tight bond over. It’s the band we listened to day in day out while we were renovating our first home together and it's tied to so many amazing memories.
Along with the above, it was also a special week as while going to see Stray From The Path with my significant other and our usual gig third wheel (Her sister Emma…love you really) I got to take my cousin Gary to his first ‘proper’ show. While he’s seen my band and other small local gigs he finally came to a real show and we had a great time and it meant a bunch that I got to be there for it!
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That being said, tonight I get to go and see a band that I’ve never seen before but have been listening to since I was 12 (I’m 33 now). Tonight, I get to see Green Day which feels unreal. They felt like a band that I probably wasn’t going to get to see or would maybe see at a festival which is never quite the same. Alas, out of my three gigs this week I get to see Green Day in the smallest venue of the week with 1499 other people and it feels unreal.
In the Workshop!
Right down to business, this week I’ve been getting back up to speed with new stock and we’re barrelling down on some cool new/exciting stuff. On the docket at the minute we have a nice little stack of thinner boards as I’ve been getting a lot of requests for more ‘day-to-day’ boards that people can have in either smaller kitchens or that can live in a cupboard until they need it! So those are coming along nicely which is always good!
| I’m also working on some new end grain boards that always come up beautiful after some oil along with some new mixed orientation patterns using the end grain designs mixed in with some long grain stripes similar to the day-to-day boards that I think are a really cool and unique combo and I’m really excited to see how they come up! |  |
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More coasters, candle holders and hopefully a clock or two will join me at the upcoming Christmas events! Reminder I’m at the RS Components Christmas craft fair so if you work there come and say hi, that’s December 5th and then I have the Corby Town Council Christmas Fair at James Ashworth Square in the town centre on December 8th!
Also added is the HoneyBee Wishes Christmas Fair at the Best Western in Corby, that’s November 19th so that’s coming up real soon! Hopefully, I’ll see lots of you there!!!
Story Time
Okay, so I said I wouldn’t do story time this week but I’ll do a short one just to get things going!
Last we left off Carl & I had come up with a name for the company, a logo for the company and had had a few weeks to celebrate...not sure I included that part but it's true.
Following that we spent around 6 months meticulously planning exactly how we wanted to launch the company, what drums we wanted to launch with and more importantly when! This was kind of handed to us on a plate in that we’d been approached by some industry friends that they were in fact starting a new, independent drum show in Manchester and would love for us to join them. That was that, a goal, a deadline, a reason to push.
We got our heads down, invested in a whole heap of stock and started building. When I look back on those early drums, I’m full of mixed emotions, those drums are what started our business but going on to do some really cool and innovative stuff they feel very basic. But that was our whole ethos, doing basic really fu*king well and having the door wide open to new/bonkers ideas.
I think that treated us well over the years and it meant that we COULD build some really clean ‘basic’ drums but also made some stuff that I know certain people really hated because it was too ‘out there’ in whatever way it was that rubbed them up the wrong way. 
As always I’m so grateful for everyone that was around me/us at the time, everyone that helped to create the buzz and get people talking about this pokey little new company that meant the world to us and we had such a great launch at that show.
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That was the beginning, there was lots to follow but we’d made it and not only had we made it to the show with drums we were SO proud of but the response from people was just the absolute best payoff. The hangover from that weekend less so…but great times nonetheless.
Thank you guys as always for reading, I still feel like I’m just talking to a brick wall with a lot of this but if nothing else my self-fulfilling nostalgia trip is worth it regardless!
1 comment
Creeper!! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻