[ No Comments ] Posted on 12.17.09 under History, Uncategorized
Welcome to the new Blog on Hammond Ashley Violins. Let me first introduce myself: My name is Bryce Van Parys, and I first joined Hammond Ashley Bass Violins in 1997 after graduating from Central Washington University (http://www.cwu.edu/~music) with a Bachelor’s degree in String Performance on Double bass.
My Relationship with Hammond Ashley goes back to 1991, when I visited the shop to rent my first double bass at the age of 16. At the time, Hammond was 89 years old, and still active in the workshop. His Grandson, Paul Ashley, had just joined the shop to help with the business, as Ham was feeling ready to retire at some point in the near future.
The shop was in it’s second location on the south end of Seatac Airport in Des Moines, Washington. The store and workshop were all contained in one 2000 sq foot building, as Ham was still living in the house he built across the property in 1976. It was quite a scene, as grizzled, flannel clad Luthiers went to and fro on various projects building and repairing. It was hectic, but everyone was friendly. Paul greeted us, and asked how they could help. We requested to rent a bass, and he took us to the back corner of the shop where 3 or 4 basses that were for rent or sale hung ready to play. There were a couple of dozen basses hanging from the ceiling on heavy wires, but apparently most were in for repair or set up. I rented a fully carved East German bass from the Musima workshop, which my mother later purchased for me in May of 1992. About one year later, Hammond finally retired from the workshop and passed away in his home at the ripe age of 91. The business was divided between his longtime business partner David Wilson (ca 1973) and his Grandson Paul Ashley.
While in college, I frequented the shop on weekends home. So much so that, upon graduation, Paul offered me a job in sales which I was thrilled to accept . That was a very interesting time in 1997, which I now call the “Double Bass Renaissance”. The internet was just taking off, and investors where pouring all their money into the latest .com companies and making huge amounts of cash. Many chose to invest their extra income in double basses. We made a website featuring double basses for sale (Our name at the time was Hammond Ashley Bass Violins), and we sent basses all over the country on trial and for sale. Some even went overseas to be sold. I routinely fielded emails and telephone calls from people wishing to buy or consign basses from all over the world.
The “Dot-bomb” occured in April of 2000, when the NASDAC composite index lost over 1/2 it’s value. It was then that the double bass sales got soft. It was a slow glide for the next year and a half, until Sept 11, 2001. That event really put the nail in the coffin for speculative double bass purchases. It was not long after that we changed the name to Hammond Ashley Violins, and focused much more on the local string community of students and professionals in all the violin family of instruments. Although, double bass sales still comprise a large percentage of our business.
Since we became more reliant on the local clientelle around the Puget Sound area, it was becoming increasingly clear that we would need to move closer to our sales at some point in the future. We were 20 to 25 miles distance from the average customer. Also, SEATAC airport was buiding a 3rd Runway whose aproach would be directly over the shop’s roof, and only 8 blocks north. The thought of being bombarded by low flying aircraft directly overhead prompted us to look for other real estate. We discovered that, post 09/11, most of the families were purchasing real estate on the East side in Bellevue, Issaquah, and Snoqualmie. Since there was no other sizable violin dealer on the Eastside, we began looking along the I-90 corridor. We chose Issaquah because of it’s proximity to Highway 18 and our existing southend clientelle. It is also very convenient to Bellevue, Sammamish, and points east.
Our shop, which opened in January of 2007, gave us the flexibility to design a space with ample retail space, a large workshop with room for 6 luthiers, and a recital room/private lesson area above. We are on a quiet street close to I-90 with pleanty of parking, so access is easy during all times of day. We now specialize in the professional setup and adjustment of instruments for rent or purchase, and do a lot of business in school districts as well. We also have several pickup and dropoff locations, including Dusty Strings Acoustic Music Shop in Seattle, and other locations around the State to better serve those unable to drive to our location. Rental violins can now be secured through our website and delivered to these locations.
In 2004, Paul returned to his home in San Diego and started a Hammond Ashley Violins very similar to the shop in Washington. The store fills a niche underserved in the San Diego area with a full service store, workshop, and lessons/recitals. The store has been growing steadily since it’s opening and provides a great service to the San Diego community.