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Musical instrument repair is such a strange and wonderful industry. I get requests weekly about whether I have internships or job openings. This industry is struggling right now and while I would love to take all of the people who want to participate in this journey under my wing. I just do not have the capacity for it. I am a huge advocate for education. Pursuing this career is a lifelong dedication to education and learning. You will never know everything and you need to have the drive to continue to pack in all of that information. Why don't techs take on apprentices anymore? This is a multifaceted question with many answers depending on who you ask. For my specific situation, time is my most valuable resource. Apprentices need constant attention and help. This is a situation my business cannot currently afford. Many apprentices also would like to be paid. How do I pay someone for their time when they are slowing down my production because I am spending the time to help them. My production is already behind because I am operating a shop on a very small scale at the moment, if I stop my production to help someone learn how to become a technician then I end up with longer turn around times and frustrated customers. Turn around times are already a huge issue for our area because of the lack of technicians. So how do we fix this problem for our area? In my opinion it starts with repair schools. If you or someone you know has an interest in this field look into those repair schools (You can find a list in my FAQ section). They are a great resource and starting point for anyone looking to enter the field. Most people are only educated in their main instrument that they play. Even then, most people do not know the intricacies of their instrument aside from how it plays. Approaching a shop for a job as a technician becomes exceedingly easier if you have this school training behind you. Upon graduating from any of the various programs, you have knowledge of all the instruments, you can do basic repairs on them, you know how their mechanisms work. Your processes won't be refined and you will still have much to learn, but you become a much more valuable addition to the repair shop you want to work for. You wont require constant attention and you have a foundation that the senior technicians can work to expand upon. This is what our area needs the most. An influx of people who have a foundation that the current shops can use and expand upon. There is also a huge misconception that this is a lucrative career. Maybe some technicians end up in situations like this, but more often technicians are overworked and do alot of free work because at the end of the day we want the students to have an instrument that works the best it can, even when the budget is not there for it. I get asked, Why don't you just charge more for your services? My response is always that if I charge more, then I run the risk of making band even less affordable for families. I want every student that wants to be in band to be able to be in band. My prices are largely based on what it takes to operate the shop and what our materials cost. These costs are increasing across the board because most of our industry manufacturing is overseas. This is a career that can be fulfilling and sustainable, but I find that the most successful technicians are the ones who just love the craft. I love nothing more than coming into the shop in the morning and quietly working on an instrument, finding where things have been worn and bent and slowly piece by piece adjusting and aligning it to put it back into great shape. I would want to do this every day even if I weren't getting paid for it. They always say if you find what you love to do you won't work a day in your life. I have found that love in instrument repair. These thoughts have been at the forefront of my mind lately because the industry in Louisiana is stretched so thin right now. I see complaints and comments daily about the repair industry and how its current state is affecting the area's band programs. These are the thoughts I have this morning and I hope you all know that I am always busting my butt for you. I want nothing more than to help you all get your instruments back into your hands in a timely manner. I want the time to come and see the work your bands are doing and hear the music you are making. Big improvements, changes and growth are coming to Acadiana Instrument Repair soon, I just need everyone to hold on, be patient and be ready to continue to support us with your business when those changes come! Have a Happy Halloween!

Wow. I cannot believe it has been 5 months already since I opened my shop. It has been a wild ride. Getting to see and experience every aspect of the way my business operates has been an eye opening experience as well as a blessing. I have learned a lot and only expect to keep learning. Much of my process has just been trial and error. Sometimes failure and mistakes lead you to the best road to success. I try something and see if it works for me and try something else if it doesn’t. Some ideas never even make it into the trying phase, but they are still important ideas to have. I still have not quite decided how much of some aspects I want to take on. I think that will be largely dictated by demand. Just know that every time my customers ask for something I don’t have, I’m making a note of it. I’m constantly making notes to gauge when it may be time to take next steps. I am so fortunate to have had some amazing customers come my way. Every interaction has been fantastic. Many people probably think when they go into a business that they are just a number, but I really do remember my customers. I remember the first two or three people that walked in my door on my first day in business. I remember the half dozen people that brought me saxophone repairs over the last school break. I even remember repairs and customers from my last jobs. Sometimes I don’t always remember your name, but you can bet I remember your instrument and the job I did on it. I remember all of these things so vividly and it’s crazy to think that out of the thousands of instruments I’ve repaired over the years that each one makes an impact on me. I’m excited for some upgrades to the shop that will be coming soon. I will not mention names because I don’t know if these people want to be mentioned, but I met some amazing people and reconnected with old friends and colleagues in my industry over the past few weeks and months that have really helped me to succeed and continue to help me make my shop and my work better. I have had so much help from setting up my Point of Sale system and getting started with some outsourced repairs from other shops as well as being gifted a truckload of parts and supplies. This past weekend I met some amazing people who run a shop in a neighboring state and they helped me out with some new machinery for the shop. I am currently fixing and cleaning up the machinery to get it operating and put to use. I cannot get over the kindness and generosity that this industry has. I hope to one day provide this same help to another generation of shop owners. I’m continuing to learn and grow with my business and I look forward to working with more community members and band directors in the future. If you are already a customer of mine, Thank you so much for supporting me and giving me the chance to work with you and show you all that I have to offer. If you are not yet a customer and reading this, know that I would love nothing more than to talk with you about what I can do to help you. Let’s go make some music!

Hello! It is that time of year again. Everyone is looking for school band rentals. This is a video I put together to outline the rental program I am offering here at Acadiana Instrument Repair. You can always reach out if you have any additional questions and stop by if you need more help! Thank You

It has taken me a few days to have a free minute to write something about the opening, but here we are. Saturday morning I woke up a bundle of nerves because it was a big day. The opening of the business I have been working on tirelessly for the past few months. I looked at my husband, Adam, and said "What if nobody shows up?" He said "You aren't a restaurant or bakery, you are offering a service. You don't have consumables or anything so if nobody shows up that's OK. I was just thinking yes, but I am so ready to get back to work and help people. So we arrived at the shop, Adam got to work repairing the air compressor because of course a couple days before the capacitor had blown on it. I continued to get things ready. Finally it was here, 10:00 AM rolled around and we were officially open. A half hour or so went by and we were just organizing some parts waiting. All of a sudden three people walked in and I immediately lit up. The first people who walked in my door were a complete surprise. My high school band director, Brenda Castillo, and her niece Danielle and nephew Dane came walking in. I had not seen them in a long time and they made the drive all the way from New Orleans for another event and decided to stop by and visit me while they were in town. It was a great surprise and we had lots of time to catch up. After an hour or so, Steve and Cheryl Marchand walked in. They drove in all the way from the Baton Rouge area to see the shop, say hi and wish me luck. I appreciate all of the well wishes and support I have gotten from all of the people I have met along my repair journey. Once everyone left, in walked my first repair customer. I was so happy, but also hyper focused on learning my check in system and making sure I was remembering all of the steps. An hour or so later another repair walked in. I just cannot express how happy I am and that I am so lucky to have the opportunity to run my own repair shop. I look forward to the future customers I get to work with and hope that I can make a positive impact on the Acadiana area music scene. My worries were washed away with all of the support I received and the opening went well. Keep the support coming and let me share my talents and work with more people! I really love what I do and I hope that my customers can see that reflected in my work and the experience that they have with me. Thank you! Also enjoy this picture from Saturday!

I have been working round the clock to get everything ready to go for opening. The biggest hurdle we face at the moment is waiting on internet service and payment terminals to come in. That should all be done hopefully by the end of next week so we can officially get started! I am very excited to bring my business to the Acadiana area and to work with all of the musicians here. Can't wait to see everyone soon!

I had hoped to have some exciting news to share last night, but we were delayed again. Trying not to get discouraged because things happen. I know many of you have been contacting me about when and where and I wish I could give you more information right now. I am ready to get back to work! I have to keep chugging along and doing all of the boring paperwork so that I can be in the best position to serve you when all the pieces fall into place. I hope you all will continue to be patient with me while all of my tools and supply orders come in and as I am getting the shop organized. I appreciate every single one of you and all of the people who have spent so much of their time helping me to get to where I am now. Truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your past and continuing support of my work. I decided to go ahead and launch the website as I had planned to do and start to share my company with the community. So while you wait for me to get operational please go ahead and share the website, Facebook page, Instagram page and like them, follow them get excited because I am so excited to share with you what I am building! If you have been following my personal pages for awhile you know that I love to share information and pictures of the things I am working on. These kinds of posts will now move to my business pages and accounts so make sure you follow those for that content in the future! I hope to have some great and exciting news for you very soon! Thank You!