OFF to the school in Balloch first thing and have a good session with some of the kids. A couple of them are really getting into the music stuff 🙂
After a quick stop at the post office to send a duplicate order back to Amazon – an airbrush…the first one was delayed then ‘lost’, a replacement sent, then the initial one arrived along with an email asking for it back! – then on to Glasgow.
I need some distilled water to for the laser…hoping a water change ion the tube might help solve the problems..then Costco. The car park is mobbed and I have to drive round for a good ten minuted to get a space. it’s not much better in the warehouse which if full of folks just dodging around…and I’m in a hurry!
I’m home in time for a late lunch then a guitar student arrives for his weekly lesson.
In the office I go through the tedious and rather laborious job of draining the laser and refilling it with new distilled water. The ensuing tests show that it’s made no difference and it’s still not working properly. FFS!
Back to the drawing board tomorrow and hopefully my supplier can help.
UP EARLY and into the shower…I have a specialist medical appointment in Killearn at 9am.
When I get there, though, they’re a bit short with me and grumble about me being late. Turns out the appointment was 8.50am. Anyway, I apologise profusely and the demeanour improves.
Back home I continue troubleshooting with the laser cutter and try all sorts of stuff. There’s no answer on the phone from the supplier so I email a bunch of images and explain the dilemma.
This still rating too take an awful loot of time and I’m nervous about getting products made for later in the month.
The final thing I think could be a problem is air bubbles in the laser tube. I take everything to bits and try and dislodge any airbubbles int eh hope ti might help.
I run out fo time though, and Dave arrives to take us to Stirling council’s ‘big conversation’ event in Balfron…
NOT long woken up and dealing with emails over a coffee in bed when the phone rings. Wood delivery guy saying he’ll be with us in five minutes!
Margaret ordered the wood the other day and was told it would be next week. I quickly get myself sorted,. moved the car and the lorry arrives. The price has gone up nearly 40% since our last order a month or so ago. The driver tells me the supplier had a fire and lost all their stock. Ooooffft.
We decide to get the wood into the woodshed before the rain gets any worse…then breakfast.
I cast some more West Highland Way Gifts’ items so I have some stock for the Christmas able sales and events in a couple of weeks’ time.
In the office the laser still isn’t playing ball. I run a load more tests and stuff to no avail. Time’s moved on and it’s after 5pm so I’ll get onto my supplier tomorrow and see if they can shed some light on the problem.
I have an online sync music seminar that kicks off at 6.30pm. It’s an interesting session then I head back to the house and cook some Asian-style salmon, green beans and soba noodles.
Then it’s back onto the Facebook event invites for the upcoming shows.
A cover version closes the week’s Wildcats’ livestream..House of the Rising Sun…
AFTER my regular Monday morning Zoom guitar student I finish off a wee online plan/strategy for y pal Kevin and fire it off. There’s a few ideas/suggestions in there that he can follow up…and if he needs to he can enlist me, or someone else, to execute.
I spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon working oil promo for the upcoming Scottish shows º– Glasgow, Edinburgh, Arrochar and Aberdeen. In that order.
At last I manage to find time to get out for a walk up the lochside, albeit in the pissing rain. It’s so wet and cold I don the Dryrobe – normally reserved for paddleboard activity. I don’t care if I look like a twat…I’m warm and dry 🙂
Next, some prep for tonight’s livestream into my Wildcats’ group on Facebook. There were os many technical and camera issues last week that I ended up using a crappy old webcam. I get everything checked and set up to try and make sure this week goers smoothly/
I have another online guitar session then it’s straight into the livestream.
After dinner I start targeting and sending Facebook event invitations to the Glasgow show. The laptop won’t let me so I resort to using my phone. Slow progress until I give in and go to bed at 1am…
WE sleep in a bit – then after breakfast I run some laser tests to check the new tube. The cutting isn’t working very well which is odd as I cleaned the mirrors and lens, checked the bed was laying flat, checked mirror alignment as well as swapping out the atet and replacing the laser tube.
Not much more I can do about it today so I finish off a custom leather AirTag holder ordered by an Etsy customer then set about breaking up some pallets that have been kicking around outside.
One of the pallets is particularly hard to break up, but after a good effort with a big chisel, hammer and punch bar I get through the lot. Then we chop it all up and chuck it in the woodshed. there’s still a pile of old decking and other crap to deal with. Not today tho’!
I need to start building some stock for a couple of Christmas events coming up soon. the laser is out of action for the time being so I concentrate on casting some jewellery and pins…and set ups. camera to start filming the production process so folks can see how I do it…and why the items ain’tcheap!
After dinner I get busy with an online and social media plan for my pal Kevin – he’s asked me for some help to promote his upcoming album.
Armistice wreath-laying at Roawrdennan – piper Willie Park and Arthur Hannan…
WE’RE late getting our shit together to get up to Rowardennan for the community trust-orgnaised wreath laying.
Things are exacerbated by the thick layer of ice on the car windscreen and then lack of parking. We get there just wont ’em to grab some pix – but despite making it for 10.57am we miss Arthur’s speech and the actual wreath laying…Arthur jumped the gun a bit and kicked things of three or four minutes early! Ah well…
We chat with folks for a while then back home and finish breakfast.
Margaret’s off to Doune to m make Christmas cake with Catriona… I’ve too much to do here to go too.
I edit some more video for the promo/ads for the upcoming. shows then set up Facebook and Instagram video ads for the Edinburgh and Aberdeen shows…I got the Arrochar and Glasgow ones done yesterday.
In the office I cut some test pieces on the laser to test the new tube then Margaret gets back and we wander down too pal Liz’s for dinner….
I replace the laser tube in may Flux machine…not a job for the faint-hearted!
THERE’S a custom leather air tag holder to be made up. I’m planning on switching the laser tube in the Flux machine later so I get the leather cut now…just in case everything goes south later.
Next job is to get a couple of social media ads running for the upcoming shows. I don’t have much cash to spend, so I throw a small daily budget (for just the next four days top see how they perform) at video ads for the Arrochar and Glasgow shows.
Although I’d made square and vertical video promos for both shows, I’d forgotten some of the ad placements use widescreen video. More editing!
Hopefully I’ll have time over the weekend not do similar for the Edinburgh and Aberdeen shows.
The vinyl orders that ave come in over night include a fairly local destination. I’ve missed to day’s last post (midday) so decide to give the bike some fresh air and cycle up the lochs die to deliver in person 🙂 The others will have to wait until tomorrow’s pickup.
Some more work in the studio then I hit the office and start the rather scary procedure of replacing the laser tube in the laser cutter. I also do some general maintenance like cleaning mirrors and lenses. Hopefully we’ll be back to full power on the machine now.
By the time I’ve finished Betty’s arrive and Margaret’s got dinner underway….
Great lunch in memory of our pal Rab Noakes – Joh. Cavanagh, Jill Jackson, Fraser Speirs, Kevin McDermott, Duncan McCrone and yours truly
A BUSY day today. Off to Balloch early for a session with some kids at the school…then a quick stop at the post office to drop off a load of Kickstarter rewards.
Next stop, Costco, then on to the Chinatown restaurant to meet a bunch of pals to celebrate our mutual friend – the late great Rab Noakes. This was one of his favourite lunchtime spots and some – or all – of us often met up there. It’s almost a year to the since we lost Rab.
It’s great to see everyone and reminisce as well as catch up on everyone’s goings-on.
Back home I have a guitar student coming then it’s straight into an online meeting with Help Musicians’…
SOME more online orders and some Kickstarter ‘stragglers’ to be packed up, postage applied and labelled.
The Royal Mail website still isn’t allowing me to book collections, so looks like I’m gonna be taking a huge bag of stuff to the post office tomorrow (Thursday)!
A courier drops off the new laser tube. As well as replacing the tube there’s a fair bit of other maintenance required, including replacing the camera cable – which is quite a complex job.
Not gonna have time to get that done today as there’s a load of promo still to be done on the upcoming shows…and promo videos in vertical and square formats for each show to be edited up for online ads.
I get the smoker fired up for a bacon-wrapped pork loin and hope it’s ready for a not too late dinner.
In between times I manage to identify the remaining Kickstarter backers that haven’t responded to the ‘surveys’ or requesting mailing details. Hoping to get the whole thing put to bed by the end of the week!
There’s a fair bit of comms stuff needing done for the local community trust…I get that done, some planning for the next couple days…then bed.
THE final batch of Kickstarter reward packages with the red vinyl need to be packed up and postage applied/labels printed. There’s still one or two folks who haven’t responded to the Kickstarter ‘survey’ emailed out to get mailing info but at least that’s it largely done now.
Have a guitar session with one of my in-person students mid-morning then get back to the studio.
The tube in the laser machine I use as part of my merch production seems to be dying, albeit slowly. It’s had a good innings – often folks only get a year out a tube and I’ve manage three, so I can’t really complain. I call my supplier and order a replacement.
Between that and the postage for the Kickstarter rewards the credit card takes a big hit. I know I had the postage cash for the Kickstarter rewards, but it’s long gone on other bills that came in between the campaign ending and the vinyl being delivered. Such is life.
The summer wetsuit needs cleaned and hung to dry before being put away for the winter…it’s been sitting waiting to be done for. day or two. I get it out the way.
I spend a good few hours on PR/media promo for the Scottish shows later in the month and use the forthcoming. single release (Younger Days – Friday!) and new vinyl as news hooks.
Before I know it’s time to go to the local village hall AGM. It trundles on ’til nearly 10pm then home for dinner and a little more work before bed.
