How to: Maintain your Reed Supply

I think one of the most difficult things a young reed maker faces is the challenge of having to maintain their own reed supply. Over the last 10 years I've developed methods and tricks that help me to always have a steady stream of reeds, and I wanted to share them with you today.

The number one thing that I do to maintain my reed supply is to work through each step on 3 reeds every day. This means that I tie on 3 reeds every day, I do the first scrape on 3 reeds every day, and I do the second/final scrape on 3 reeds every day. I work on a total of 9 reeds daily in this assembly line fashion. Doing this allows me to have 3 reeds in the hopper for the next step; each day I'm taking the previous day's work a step further.

Students frequently want to work through all three steps on one reed and then move to the next reed and do it all again. The result of doing this is that they only have finished (or what they think of as finished) reeds in their box. This can be devastating when their teacher isn't pleased with the result and table tests all of their hard work! If they had done their reed work in stages, they would at least have 3 blanks and 3 reeds started to pick up and start over again with.

The other thing that I do that I think helps with my reed supply is to track my reeds in a reed notebook. All of my staples are numbered to help me know which reed is which. I write the date that they are tied on, with their number, the color of the thread, and the type of cane that I used. The next time I work on the reed I note what day it is, and when I finish the reed I do the same. I also can notate if I end up destroying a reed and the reason, i.e. the cane was mealy or I shredded the tip. I frequently note when I have a really good piece of cane, or if I'm using a different type of staple. I also use this system to keep track of which reeds are going to which students (so I can keep track of how old their reeds are) as well as the reeds that I sell online.

Both of these systems help me keep on top of my reed making process and ensure that I have a really steady reed supply. There isn't a magic wand that gives you perfect reeds, but hard work and consistency will help you become a solid reed maker. Of course, if it all seems like too much for you, I'd be happy to maintain your reed supply for you!

Now Offering: Reed Subscriptions

I'm excited to announce that Sarah Parker Oboe Reeds is now offering monthly Reed Subscriptions. I had been thinking about offering them for a while and when a new customer requested them, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and list them. This is a great way to take some of the worry away from your playing, because your reeds will arrive around the same time each month without you having to think about re-ordering them.

I'm offering these subscriptions for 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months; purchasing a 12 months subscription gets you free shipping, which saves you about $70.00! You can get 2 or 3 reeds each month and I'm offering them in both the student and professional reeds. The subscription and shipping are paid up front, and the reeds are shipped by the 15th of every month. Check out the new Reed Subscriptions, here.

New Business Cards

Well, Sarah Parker Oboe Reeds has been up and running on Etsy for a little over two weeks, and I have learned a ton about online marketing in that time period. On Monday, I had my first sale! A nice lady bought three reeds from me, and I've been hard at work getting them finished. I really wanted to have business cards that matched the shop, blog, and facebook themes to go out in the packaging with the reeds, so I turned again to the lovely Christin at Christin Thomas Design. I really can't recommend her enough, she's very easy to work with, talented and incredibly quick. This time I ordered her custom font logo design and her custom business card design.

That's the front of the card, and I love how simple it is. The back is really fun, and I'm very excited about it, because I'm also going to be able to use it as a magnet.

She also designed the logo in blue for me, so I can use it on white paper or on whatever I want really. I've got an idea for getting it on the reed tubes that I think will work. I'll probably do a post next week on how all the packaging works out.

If you're a professional musician, I can't stress to you enough how important it is to have professional looking business cards. You can use templates online or hire an affordable design professional like I did, but you need to have them. They don't have to be boring; we're in a creative industry and people appreciate seeing your personality come across on your business card. The other thing about business cards is to make sure you always have them with you (I'm frequently guilty of this). You never know when you're going to meet someone who could be a beneficial contact. You should have them in your instrument case, your purse or wallet, or heck, even in the diaper bag! 

New Look! and Etsy Oboe reed shop is OPEN!!!

How do you like the new look on the blog? After months of feeling like this blog and it's facebook page didn't have a very cohesive look, I decided to upgrade to a new design. I purchased a few sets of design packages from the talented Christin at Christin Thomas Design and I couldn't be happier with the results! I honestly didn't know that the design (or lack thereof) was bothering me as much as it was until I saw how good it all looks now. The main thing that inspired me to do all this was the grand opening of my etsy  oboe reed shop!

Sarah Parker Oboe Reeds

I'm so excited about taking my handmade oboe reeds to a larger audience than just the local clientele I've built up here in Wilmington. I'll be offering student reeds, professional reeds, oboe reed blanks, English horn reeds, English horn blanks and shaped cane for both instruments. You can get to the shop by visiting http://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahParkerOboeReeds, or by clicking the link at the top of the page. Thanks for stopping by!