I was listening to the radio a while back and they had a scientist on to talk. She studied ants. First I was stunned that there was such a thing, second that she most likely was not the only ant researcher. She spent all her...

A bit of a tangent but it still applies. We tend to think of alternatives in aggregate. "If I didn't work this job I could start that business, go back to school and still have more free time." We take the best parts of all...

I never wanted to be a business person.  It still makes me feel awkward just to write it.  I just wanted to make things and support myself doing it.  I had attached (have attached) a lot of misconceptions about what it means...

Making stuff to make stuff. A brass fiddle edged tricone, complete with fingerboard ramp, modeled after Dan Auerbach's 1935 Dobro, that I had the privilege to possess temporarily. SWEET GOODNESS I'M PUMPED....

Me talking to Mark and Anna from Room 608 in NewYork City. In what they call a "conference room". They have 7 Emmy awards and 18 Emmy nominations between them and they are making an episode for a maker series for PBS. It will...

I use the B grade ebony that the large manufacturers don't use because it isn't jet black. I can see why. I mean, look how boring that is. Please, Guitar Builders of the World, continue using the great looking jet black...

Oooooooooo....

Trusty Mule in hand, I drove the van for the Steel Wheels solo from Virginia to Boulder, CO.  This is Jay's new Mule and it will be making it's rounds around the west for the next two weeks.  I'll be there two, I love the...

Owner/makers have a lot of different things to improve on. Problem is we sprint from seemingly necessary shiny thing to shiny thing, meanwhile digging holes that we sprint back to later to fill in. And since many of us are...

  Yes! I totally made up that phrase. Thesaurus in hand.  Aren't ALL words made up? It took forever, go easy on me. The point is this: if you're trying to solve a problem - not enough orders, not enough time, etc - there...

I read a book by Mark Divine and in it was this quote. "Burn the boat." The point was committing to do something before you knew how to do it.  Arrive on shore, and then burn the boat.  Not as a test of strength, but...

    (Above) My first set of spun tricones. Let yourself be a beginner. It's been said before. But....how?  Why don't you?  I think we skip the beginner stage because we have good taste.  We know what's awesome, what we...

Answer this question first. What do you want from work? You will get more than nothing and you can't have everything, the rest is up to you. Stay thankful. You've been given an opportunity. You are entitled to nothing....

The progression goes like this: See someone do something awesome. You like awesome and also want to do it. They've been doing it for a while.... a long while... and you have not. Emulation is a way to learn so you...

Being a maker/small business owner is one of the ultimate goat rodeos.  Making things at a high level, learning new skills, and also running business is a lot of goats to rope. Fixing problems once and for all is essential....

I was driving through middle of nowhere West Virginia last year and stopped at a gas station and they actually came out and pumped the gas.  You pull up, there they are. They pump you pay and off you go. Recently I bought a...

Gee golly brass is nice. This one is headed over the pond to James Home of Tone. ...