5th July 2010

I hope that you are enjoying the fine weather that we have had lately. This is traditionally the quieter time in the piano business as minds turn to the great outdoors. We have kept up an encouraging level of sales throughout spring and into summer and are incredibly busy with behind the scenes developing the business which is very exciting!
 
Since opening the new showroom back in September we have been busier than we could ever have imagined. Our business has naturally progressed with the appointment as a Bluthner Piano centre and supplier of Grotrian Steinweg. As I write we have a model 6 Bluthner Grand piano in stock and models C & D uprights. We also have a Grotrian Steinweg Cabinet Grand and Friedrich studio, Carat and Cristal uprights. All of these top end, high quality pianos are beautiful instruments with character of their own and a joy to play and have in stock. We also have the entire range of Kawai uprights, some duplicates with the choice of different finishes, and two Kawai grands. Schreiner & Sohne are on order with a grand due with us soon, the uprights will flood in ready for the busy season at the end of the summer.
 
As the business has grown it has become clear where our market is; predominantly the mid-high end range of pianos. We have invested heavily in stock to offer a superb selection of pianos from £2000 to £50,000. We are now investing in re-branding the business to reflect the quality of pianos that we offer. All marketing material has been redesigned and a new web site will be launched by the end of the summer. We have some fantastic designers from Greenhouse Graphics running these projects and are incredibly excited by the results so far. All stationery is being redesigned in line with changes with the aim of being ready to present ourselves in the best possible way from September onwards.
 
There has been a great deal of added interest from other music professionals since becoming a Bluthner Piano Centre. We always welcome any pianists to try these fantastic pianos alongside the Grotrians. Later in the year we are running a training day for piano tuners/technicians. If you are a tuner and reading this and would like an invite send me an email! This is something that we will hope to offer a few times a year and I am delighted to be able to do so. The first training day will be on grand piano set up and regulation and Kawai's top UK technician, Michio, is sharing his considerable knowledge and experience with us. Michio is UK based and on hand to help with all technical matters related to Kawai pianos, a great example of Kawai's commitment to supporting their dealer network!
 
Another great development is that another local tuner, Richard Collins, has started to do some tuning work for us. Richard works to a very high standard, he is Bluthner trained so a great asset to the business. As the business grows and the showroom demands more of my time it is invaluable to have the help of Vicky and Richard to keep up with the piano tuning round.
 
So, during this quieter time there is much to be done and much to look forward to! Look out for the new web site, I'd be delighted to hear any comments once it is up and running. Please come and see us, the more people that visit and like what we do the more people will visit in the future!
 
We continue to operate by informal appointment which works really well for both customers and us.
 
Enjoy the summer!

Best Wishes

Ben