Wonders never cease: After 18 years at Shar Music and 14 years as a “spectator” on the internet, I have been asked to write a regular blog! Moreover, a 20-something in our marketing department, Charlie Dwyer, asked me to do it. (Imagine that! My 24 year old son or 21 year old daughter wouldn’t dream of asking me to do such a cool thing). Now, I’ve rarely been at a loss for words, but I must say that I’m stymied. Maybe I’m just too close to see the forest for the trees. I’ve never been a blogger, and my online social networking “skills” are laughable. But I do follow enough bloggers regularly to know that a blog often takes on a life of its own, heavily influenced by the people who read it as well as the events of the day. I like that, and I guess that’s where I’ll start.
You need to get to know me a bit, so let’s get to some factoids . . .
My life at Shar
· I’ve been at Shar since 1991 and have held a number of posts.
· Over the years my responsibilities have included the call center (we used to call it the “order department”), customer service, retail showroom, inventory and warehouse, products, purchasing and our violin shops.
· My primary focus today centers on products, purchasing and merchandising. It’s a challenging job that has not gotten easier over the years, as the company has grown and the world has gotten flatter. This work has taken me to many far-away places over the years.
· I attend many trade shows to seek out new products and get a feel for the market. I also attend educational conferences to find out what teachers and players are up to.
My life before Shar
· I started playing the violin in school at age nine.
· Despite an odd rumor heard at Shar, I do not have a doctorate in music (clearly, they haven’t heard me play). My education is in political science and business. But they still let me work here.
· I quit playing the violin for 10 years, then seriously missed it (an early mid-life crisis) and got back to it with a vengeance. My private teacher, Jim Waring, has been my mentor and inspiration with the violin.
· I was a free lance violinist for a number of years, and a regular member of several orchestras and ensembles.
· I was a banker for a while.
· I owned a gourmet food and wine store for several years . . . and was thankful to be able to make a living during this time – by playing the violin!
My current interests
· Playing the violin. I still play enough to be dangerous, mainly classical, but am branching out into jazz and other genres. This is not easy . . . I recommend it to everyone!
· The convergence of different styles, such as classical and “alternative”. These two worlds have much to learn from each other. (BTW, does everyone hate the word “alternative” as much as I do? How about “inclusive styles”? )
· The “music community”, bonded together by a common language far superior to words. And the web has played a profound role in bringing this community even closer.
· Social entrepreneurs – those people who make a difference in the lives of others. There are many such social entrepreneurs in music.
· Politics. Ooops, maybe that’s a different blog.
· Innovation – how it’s encouraged, how it develops and how it benefits everyone.
· International relations: Our connections with each other. From my travels I honestly think that we are more similar than different. And we can do better together than we can separately.
· Music dragged me back to what is important to me and has been a siren song to me ever since. I want others to discover this.
What I will try to do
· Contribute posts regularly.
· Start with some product postings – my primary area of expertise at Shar.
· Report back on any interesting news from educational conferences and trade shows.
· Be mindful of what visitors to the blog want to read about.
· Share as many interesting things with you as possible as openly as possible.
· Be personal, not corporate.
· Expect your occasional criticism (gulp!) to keep me focused.
· Use what I learn from you to make our products and services better, then report back to you.
By the way, my last name is pronounced “jus KHE vich”. It sounds sort of like “just cabbage”.
