Wallpusher

this post will share the process developed last week to make a better method of monogramming our guitar straps with LARGER LETTERS and the subsequent jigs i made to pull it off consistently.  The guitar straps we’ve been making have the benefit of being swiftly height adjusted as we have already explained at length on our website.  The aspect of these straps that we didn’t expect to take off was personalization through monogramming.

Personally i think a strap gets unique by being encrusted with fur or tassels.  imagine a strap made of cellophane or chainmaile, or one made of bones or telephone wires.  heck just make it bright pink lizard skin and i would consider that “personalized.”

that’s me, i think being on stage is a blast, and its a combination of having something to say mixed with shear entertainment/performance.  Theatre + Honesty.   so you can imagine some of my surprise to know happy people have been when they have ordered a strap with their name on it.   or perhaps with a quote, a poem, or some numbers of significance to them.  It’s so much easier to make someone happy that way than to make some metallic fire-breathing guitar strap that is ultra-show-offy.

we started making these a year ago and they have been a nice hit at music festivals, online, and direct calls to us, but recently we got a call for LARGER LETTERS.  This  might seem like a simple request but when you are using various leather types its very hard to get reliable letter impressions without the leather rejecting and “popping the letter back out” at you.  The clients strap was black chrome-tanned leather.

here’s a for instance:   these leather tags were order a while ago and they are hand hammered with 3/16″ machinist letters.

one benefit of these small letters is that they really bite the leather well.  this is important when trying to impress letters into chrome tanned leather like the back shown above.  Chrome tanning is a different chemical process than vegetable tanning (the others shown above).  quick note: the tanning process doesn’t determine the color options so don’t think, for instance, that tan-colored leathers must be vegetable tanned.  it only refers to the process of stabilizing the leather as it is changed from an animal hide to a stable (ph neutral) clothing material.

That said i took my chances and purchased some 1/2 inch letters and decided to strike some chrome tanned leather as hard as possible in hopes that the letters would not “pop out” afterward.  Unfortunately after two guitar straps later, the leather just kept rejecting the letters after a little bit of  manipulating and rubbing.

clearly this was not going to be the level of quality i want us to maintain.

so the next option was to pick up letters that i wanted to use (aesthetically) and then find a way to make them work!

I picked up a set of  1/2″ open face letters from Tandy Leather.  I’ve tried to avoid these higher-priced commercial letters in favor of higher quality handmade stamps from a the 19th century but this letter set was both readily available and i liked this style of font for the purposes of our guitar straps.

These letters took to damp vegetable leather perfectly, but of course the chrome tan wouldn’t have it.  An alternative was to use the letters as a guide on the chrome tanned black strap leather and attempt a few coloring options:

The test was a quick mark with white paint and a quick test of gold leaf.  i chose and oil size for the gold and dutch-metal leaf for the test.  i though both of these were too high-contrast and “regretsy.”

i moved onto some basic 101 hand-tooling of the leather to see if embossing the letter or submerging the letter would make it begin to work for me:

although seeing a strong impression on vege-leather was satisfying, the tooling was bound to clash with the rest of the black guitar strap after completion.  And i was going for a straightforward monogramming section on the strap as opposed to a more showing tooled leather panel.

so i tried another option to see if it would satisfy the goal:

this one involved a quick test of hand coloring.  it is of course far more labor intensive, but the results are always more interesting.  with some careful looking might see the little errors in the hand-coloring process that make it harder to delegate; frankly it takes time and skill to produce clean repeatable results without errors.  its the type of thing that i would have to charge extra for the client that knew this was the look they were going for.  remember, my goal was to create a benchmark for lettering in style and consistency.

and that is why i had to begin a process of jig making:

selecting jatoba for the base strikepad and a old guitar neck for the prototype jig, i planned a simple system of removable lettering guides.  see the following picture:

the purpose here is interchangeable templates that offer a rabbet (woodworking term) of different widths.  When these templates are pressed together to the base striking surface (the orange colored jatoba wood) they create slot or groove into which a piece of leather can slip underneath the upper template:

the strap section slips under this upper template and as you can see the lettering can be done in a perfectly straight line and at different locations up/down along the strap.  For instance, if i wanted the letters to be a quarter inch from the lower edge, i would replace the upper template with a 1/4″ template and so forth for text stamped at 3/8″ or 3/4″ and the like.  here’s the jig at work:

i really liked how straight the text could be and how simple it was.  traditionally the alternative was a system like that of a letter press machine.  it’s more setup intensive and more expensive to supply yourself with the many different size type stamp holders.  This option was clearly going to work.  The prototype was a success.  I began a far more thorough version of this jig and so too with more options for my upper templates; more widths and possible positions for text to be easily stamped into leather.

I drilled out the old rivet from loop hanger on the clients guitar strap:

and ran back out to the shop to begin a completed version of the jig with templates made from spanish cedar wood:

these were then hand planned for consistency and perfect flat surfaces:

the handplane of choice was the Stanley Bedrock #8 from the late 1800′s.   the bottom of the plane was flattened using a machinists trick on a granite surface plate so that it is flat within 1,000,000 of an inch!

Remember, your wood is only as flat as your plane!   if a high quality final product is the goal, than all the prior stages that build up to it must also be done with the utmost care and quality.

that said it is fitting to refer again to the Tandy Leather Co letters i bought.  The quality was average.  and in several cases (no pun intended) a needed to retool the edge of the stamps.  let me show you:

here, you can see that the letter E (as well as several other of the letters in the set) were fashioned at a consistent height from the lower edge of their surround; the character was not centered on the guiding block.  that meant that certain letters were either too high or too low along a line of text.  a bit frustrating to see on a new letter set, but with a file i was able to correct the complete set to a consistent location on their arbor.

The good news:  the strap and its letters looked great:

the words for crisp and straight and ready for finishing.

a quick peek at the finishing table:

i used a number of products to complete the look:

1) i beveled the edges

2) i burnished the edges

3) i applied neatsfoot oil to return the suppleness and flex into the leather

4) i used black dye for depth of color

5) i added acrylic for the smooth gloss of the edges and to blend any irregularities

6) i finished the strap with resolene for that luster.

the strap looks great.  all the feel that is ideal to the touch and the rivet and sewing along the added strap body give it a look that is a vast improvement from the prior monogrammed straps.  it is a real upgrade from the basic version offered before.

It’s now cleaner looking, repeatable and larger.

—matthew rogers

Thank you Tommy Ogle for the opportunity to give your strap this upgrade and to have the opportunity to perfect a little more of our methods here at Wallpusher Guitars.  I am genuinely happy to have the opportunity to offer this level of attention.  Thank you all for being a part of the Wallpusher family and the journey we are on.  We are so excited about our new ideas here.  til next time.

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this video is fender shop 1959 home movie

it appears like there is no dust collection, eye protection, and so forth.  there are people with basic talents repeating assembly-line style pieces to make a USA handmade guitar.  But they have a look and a feel that is highly sought after.  They have that “handmade” feel about them.

“handmade…”

I’ve always felt that handmade had to be made by the designer him/herself (leo fender for ex).

I’ve always thought handmade requires human hands with attention to a certain level of quality.

Although there are established definitions for handmade:

“made by hand, not by machine, esp with care or craftsmanship”

or

“made by an individual, rather than one made by mass production“

i see “handmade” in the guitars that leo fender had his workers put together in that shop in 1959.  And note they were intended for “mass production.” And besides, machines are upgraded hand tools.  Hand tools with engines.

I’m dazzled to see an old home-movie style video like this because it shows people making things.  the same sorts of things I do with guitars and wood and leather and idea.  I push and pull the materials to make something that may one day hold deep personal value for someone, and with some luck, may be the tool through which real poetry and voice is given to generations of people down the line.  And people will enable that with their hands and there brains and their talents.

This video inspires in one sense because it is people turning one material into another.  Transformation of this earth-sandbox into forms which form human civilization.

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ken parker just showed me a “gotoh stealthkey” / “gotoh stealth key” today…

the tuner was tiny and firm.  the turning tension was adjustable and the finish was smooth.

I was amazed how small it was while being precision.   Apparently a lot of fine and careful building went into, and it seemed like a tuner i’d like to try in one of my guitars.

any thoughts from you?

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i got a hold of this squire recently and jumped onto it with fury.

layers of paint and gold leaf, redone neck, electronics, and a chance to try some new style tuners i really like to look of.

i ‘ve laminated suma-umma wood on the headstock and chose a solid brass bridge to anchor it down.

more picts to follow.

…i’ve chosen a set of smooth white pickups that totally complete the look of it all.

its a nice modification job that takes average and should make it great.

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today i snapped a picture of these guitar straps.  always ready in case someone drops by or a buyer wants to see a spread of colors and options.

This evening in particular I finalized a another 12 straps that are entirely custom and unique: incorporating crocodile, alligator, fur, in colors like pink, glossy black, white, grey…

anyhow, its great to see some straps that have that rocker flair.  I’ve always dug that glam rocker glitz and flash… that “show-offy” stage equipment.  I cut my long hair off years ago, but i’ve still got the bug!  Some of these straps make me really excited to get them on stage.

If anyone out there has a similar aesthetic when it comes to guitar gear, let me know if you want to customize your stuff or make something new.

We’ve been selling these straps all over the world at this point and the color spread has grown to include several shades with a great feel.  I’m still surprised how different one piece of leather can be from the next; even if they have similar texture, or similar strength, the surface touch to the hand can be slick or waxy or fuzzed or warm or squishy.   Leather is really fantastic to work with.   Getting over the raw materials cost is the only hurdle…  after that I think its all about “luxury or death.”

That reminds me, there was a story i picked up from the late Mark MacCormack (pres of IMG, and an agent for musicians and athletes international, and more) in one of his many great books.  I think it was “On Managing.”  He tells a story about a lunch with the president of Rolex; Mark’s exec asks “how’s the watch business” the answer he gets back is “I have no idea…  Rolex is in the Luxury Business.”

That little story has several significant points but I’m asking us now, is Wallpusher just another guitar company?  Is it just a guitar accessory that Margot and I am sewing each day?  Or is it the now-cottage-industry which will become an established source of fine handmade goods for musicians that want gear that fits them personally and perfectly?  I want it to be the latter.

I wished as a kid that i could buy a guitar that just fit me like it was my own skin or underwear.  I wanted to know i had something to I could use freely without fighting it.   I was looking at the local music shops because this was 1987 and pre internet.  I got so frustrated that my friends and i were merely buying what we could find that i headed off to NYC to hoof around…  and it was there that i was playing several 12k basses and said to myself, “dude you can make this shit at home…”  That what i did…  i sat on the patio with my carving tools, and wallpusher basses were born.  I think i’d still like to own one of every style of instrument, but my goal has been to make a bass that just feels uh!   (you know what i mean?…   uh!   yeah!……   that’s it!)

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this week, thanks to yet another custom order, we have a new teal leather for our guitar straps.

feels soft to the hand and very tough throughout.

this picture is of a “side”   that’s one 1/2 the cow hide.

its chrome tanned…  a chemical process that introduces properties like vivid color with increased softness.

this color and our other colors are becoming displayed currently on our ETSY shop page.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/wallpusher

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here I am with a “wake up” late night 2 am after a long day of guitar making, guitar strap shipping, working on business plan and locating guitar part suppliers.  I am at last getting up to speed on all the accounts and passwords that wallpusher has.  I am also getting up to speed on this very important blog site.  This will be my first blog posting and i’m up for any feedback that can help me write about the things that interest you.   let me know.

here’s a little credit given to the person that has been through it all , who set up this blog and who has continued to support my desire to make fine instruments that meet our playing needs…

I have to give my highest credit to my beloved Margot.  She has been a backbone to all the work I have set out to do: turning trees into musical instruments…   or rather, into poems, music, voice, or community with others.

Making guitars is a great pleasure, but making a company is a different sort of work.  And I again thank Margot Garrity for all her hard work in providing the modest trail Wallpusher has established on the internet.

If anyone is still reading after a one year gap I sincerely hope that we can become better familiar with each other from here on in.

I’ll now carry the torch Margot lit for us a while back, and I hope to gain your feedback as we respond to some of the things going on in the music world, and some of the things going on here in our workshop.

Most Sincerely,    Matthew Rogers  (owner and creator of every guitar and strap here at wallpusher)

-post script:  if your comments or needs want to reach me asap, email me at INFO@WALLPUSHER.COM.

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I, ___Margot__, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I’ve learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

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Jackie: Hello and welcome.  I always admired people who could make things.  From the time I was a girl scout or went to camp, kids who had such a talent for art.  Now when I go to craft fairs and see so much handy work, from quilting to embroidery, jewelry making to woodworking.  I admire and am fascinated by what people can do, what they can create.  My guest today has a unique talent.  I bet he was one of those kids who really did well with arts and crafts projects.  He is Matthew Rogers of Gloucester.  He makes bass guitars from scratch.  Matthew, a very warm welcome to you, great to meet you.  Matthew, we’ll be talking about the creating project you go through to make your guitars.  First, let me ask you of your thought process, how did you come to this and when did you begin focusing on this art of bass guitar making?

Matthew: We are all made differently.  It wasn’t until recently that I recognized it was something I had talent for.  I have gifts in ways other people aren’t talented, just as they have gifts I don’t have.  It is natural for me to be adventurous with murals and venturing the thought to come up with ideas and invent things, imagine things and make them.  From murals, to garage, to leftovers.  Now being self-employed, you can buy your own materials and bring them to life.  Coming to know how you’re made…

Jackie:…how you’re made.  Was there a point where you made a decision to do this as a vacation and not a hobby?

Matthew: Being under the radar, it’s interesting.  Advertising, why you’re going word of mouth.  Time would come and it would bloom.  It’s been happening automatically.  Committed to making good work and doing everything you can to make instruments, the binding, painting, furniture and all the things I do for clients.  Knowing that these instruments have a synthesis.  From electrical to carving, to playing music– are the perfect length to all my talents.

Jackie: You’re a graduate of Gordon College.  Talk a little of you interests.  I know philosophy and theatre, book binding, furniture.  What are your passions?

Matthew: I think it narrows down to two.  I can list things but to live and be honest with what makes me care of love.  Those things you knew you need challenge them.  I am trying to live deliberately and seriously.  So paint one yourself….

Jackie: And you do it.

Matthew: You do it, it’s just stuff.

Jackie: I see you brought in one of your bass guitars.  That’s not just stuff; it’s a work of art.  A base guitar with the most beautiful wood.  Are there major differences between making guitars and bass guitars

Matthew: The difference is as a player, the guitar is limited by what it could do.

Jackie: Guitars or bass guitars?

Matthew: Guitars, I didn’t get my creative, artistic juices flowing.  Suddenly I was thinking:  What if we moved it around, put this over here, cut this off, shorten it a little.

Jackie: And that happened with the bass guitar.

Matthew: Oh my goodness, it got me flying, so I just started making them when I was 14 or 15.

Jackie:  Really?

Matthew: It its one of those things that gets you created.  If you change the tools, you change what you can do musically.

Jackie: Give me an example of that.

Matthew: My musical talent, whatever level it is at, there are people that area better than me of course.  We’re all different levels.  My musical talent can do what it can do.  And the instrument you buy, it can do things.  You’re limited by the tool and your talent.  Of course in a performance, excitement factors in.  But if you can alter the instrument, location of knobs and strings, it changes the dynamics of the instrument.  It changes the kind of residence.  Longer strings have different response than shorter strings.

Jackie: Those are really technical things, not just the aesthetics.

Matthew: Aesthetics matter; you want to hold it and squeeze it and enjoy doing.  It is the blend of art and utter freethinking, taken for granted.  Any store wall, you see the same instrument.  Take for granted, the Spanish guitar mixed with the Hawaiian guitar.  Recognize our assumptions, rethink those things.

Jackie: So you do things that would make a difference in the sound.  Handmade versus factory-made guitars, what is the most glaring difference; aesthetics and structurally?

Matthew: One of the most humorous distinctions knowing it was made or made just for you.  The size of your hand, length of your arm, type of music you play.  Those are fine tuning things you can’t get on the shelf.  When you take how you play and you’re raw and honest of what to say.  Custom is the area where you say what if and play higher stuff.

Length of neck affects the sound and width of fingers that spread.  I like playing a faster, more melodic.  I would prefer a shorter neck, narrower spaces so fingers can move faster.  I make 30” necks, it’s a scale length, makes for faster playing for me, makes the instrument explode.  If other people like a different length, that is what brings them out.

Jackie: Do you model your guitars after any factory made instrument?  Can you translate any particular aspect of guitars into your own process?

Matthew: I think we all learn to play instruments on instruments.  When we have existing conditions of these instruments, they’re there for very good reason; it has to be able to sit on your lap, be able to be close to you body.

Jackie: So you don’t change things just for the sake of doing things?

Matthew: There are reasons these things exist.  So I found as I was letting myself go.  You find people that are already doing that.   It comes out of a fresh part of you.  You have to except and enjoy it.  There are ideas I have for instruments that I need patens for.  I ran into a technical wall, needing those ideas to be protected.  I know some other companies are trying to develop the same idea.

Jackie: You do need to paten them.

Matthew: That’s a very different process from just making things and selling them.  You can have them stolen or copied.

Jackie: That’s the reality of art.  It’s not probably your favorite part.

Matthew: It’s enjoyable but it takes a lot of time.  Bought brand new building, empty space built all second floor, molding, to make an environment that is gorgeous.  I make all my own tools.

Jackie: You make own tools!!

Matthew: You start over, start fresh, make what want to use.

Jackie: Do you buy anything?

Matthew: I buy materials.

Jackie: What about wood for guitars?

Matthew: It can come from other people’s scrap lumber yards, trees taken down.  It’s just wood.  It’s just metal.  It takes longer to make some parts machines do well.  You don’t need to make some parts, the electrical magnetic pick up.  You can buy fine pickups.

Jackie: We’re talking about the fabrication of bass guitars.  Matthew, can you take us through the basic steps to begin and finish one of your base guitars, just so we get a sense of sequence of what you do?

Matthew: Think of what the instruments capable of or what it could be capable of.  Something you’d like to play, then think of an instrument that could pull it off.  Design work on paper, location of items.

Jackie: So before you pick up materials at all you have that all in your head and on paper.

Matthew: Then you begin with the aesthetics, the beauty of the wood, and the shape of the instrument, carved she’ll pattern in the top horn.   Website is Wallpusher.com

Jackie: So people can see the shape and wood.  They’re just beautiful.

Matthew: You start with aesthetics and blend those two.  You’re limited by shape of guitar, thickness of wood.  Fit into dimensions, the physical limitations inside this piece of wood.  Can you carve it? Fit into space you have?  Sometimes you have to rethink some things.  Everything is done by hand, unless I can avoid it.  Large machines good for getting work swiftly done.

Jackie: How do you get the wood?  Many different shades, meshed perfectly together?

Matthew: When lay out wood, find something beautiful.

Jackie: Then start with hardware

Matthew: We glue it together, have rough shape.  Rest if shaping it by hand, treat like carving work of art.

Jackie: What can’t you do by hand?

Matthew: Things like ban saw, cuts straight down like laser cutting down very versatile; cuts curves, if not; use hand saw.  Larger saws still achieve work, but saw is time saver.

Jackie: Talking about time, what is the time frame for making a guitar?

Matthew: I can make them very quickly, in 1 week; give self month or more depending on parameters.   Fun and simple process for me to carve, easy like breathing.  Difficult in cerebral process where really trying to invent new things and answer questions.  That can take a lot longer.  That can take years to explore an idea.  In terms of actually fabricating a piece, you’re only limited by time.

Jackie: Do you work by yourself?

Matthew: No, I delight in community.  Trying to hire people is difficult.  People have woodworking experience but not in etching, metal, lapidary

Jackie: Have facilities to do anything?

Matthew: Why don’t you look for retirees?  Skills not commonplace.  That’s what I would love to hire.

Jackie: Materials you use…woods generally use.  Reason prefer one to another, or matter of taste?

Matthew: Denser woods reflect sound differently.  Reasons why newer spruce is inferior to older denser, higher grain.  Hard to get stuff.  Instrument makers look for wood

Jackie: Do you use same wood for body and neck of instrument?

Matthew: Debate over neck should be solid.  When a string is played, is vibration, movement of air, electrical current down the wire, pushes another magnet, pushes air, ear pick up, ea r is another speaker.

Do you want body to vibrate? Hollow is hard to vibrate.  Solid absorbs some.  Different vibrations.

Jackie: These are kinds of questions you ask to get preferences.

Matthew: Total virginity to type of sound coming out.

Jackie: How does size affect guitar?  What’s normal?

Matthew: Bass guitars have 12 strings, concept that has audible range from low to high. Reason for stopping arms length; is it audible useful notes (play but no hear, only feel).  Decimal can make house vibrate, but don’t hear sound.

Jackie: Can go to extremes.

Matthew: Yes, still want to hear.

Jackie: Who do you most admire?

Matthew: I love music, things that make jump, has exuberance for life, first to run and climb.  Can criticize music all want but for me, best to be allowed to be me, things that potentially only I can do.

Jackie: How relate?

Matthew: Can see his influences immediately, for him, music was fresh, rhythmic, punchy, and very creative.  Whole experience is what can do with item.

Jackie: You are talented guy.  Terrific to hear of specialized field.  Must feel incredibly good when completed instrument.

Matthew: When I finish something, I can get on to next thing, move on, and let myself sleep.

In fine arts, when make something, can edit self to death.  My job is to make something and let others tell what means.

Jackie: …and judge.

(Transcribed by Chrissy Bongiorni)

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What more could celebrate our country’s independence than music?  The fourth of July in Boston proves to a day jammed packed with music.  Located on the Esplanade, the day begins at 9am with Oval opening.  At 12:00, Boston plays recorded music.  4:30 begins recorded music in Cambridge.  As the evening settles in, WBZ News Radio starts at 7:00 pm.  The music returning, the Boston Pops spectacular broadcast begins at 8:00.  This includes the Boston Pops Concert at 8:30, having originated in 1973.  At 9:30 pm, the 1812 Overture is played.  This night of celebration ends with the fireworks show, beginning at 10:30.  The featured performers of this event still are yet to be announced.

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Need a personalized father’s day gift? We’ll get it to you with “dad” or initials- STAT.

Choose color: red, yellow, black (or COW!)

Choose message: Dad, i love you, initials, whatever

Get Free Shipping until June 20!!

Sounds like a great deal for Dads and everyone.

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What is the best gift idea for dad? Something he’ll use, love, and that will make him feel great?

Surprise your dad, husband, grandpa, or dad-friend with a gift that will make them smile, then laugh, then drop their jaw. BEST gift for dads- leather, made for the guitar, black. What could be better?

Here’s our top 5 best ideas for dad all handmade from recycled leather:

(find these or order them custom on etsy!)

1.Wallpusher handmade Guitar straps

2. Wallpusher handmade leather belts

3. Wallpusher camera straps

4. Wallpusher wrist cuffs

5. Wallpusher Guitars (of course!)

These are gifts which your dad will love. These gifts will make him light up, and make him feel like a million bucks.

We’d be happy to include FREE gift wrap and a personalized note for Fathers’ day. Make him feel special!

Wallpusher adjustable straps have been designed to solve a single problem inherent in every other strap they’ve used: the ability to vary the height of the instrument up AND down during a musical performance.

Product Features

* Our guitar straps offer easy one-handed adjustments in seconds!
* 2″-wide guitar strap
* Classic look comes in black, red, yellow, and green to suit your personal style.
* Provides a comfortable fit while you’re playing guitar
* Color: Black
* FREE Shipping

Sometimes a certain section demands more technical work and we would like the instrument to be higher on the body while other times we like the instruments to rest lower and more relaxed. The guitar straps Wallpusher has designed function QUICKLY and EASILY to allow a player to raise or lower the instrument almost instantaneously.

* Organic Leather
* Perfect tool for solo gigs and all musicians
* Made in MA, USA
* Wipe with damp cloth
* Item Weight: 1.5 pounds

This guitar strap is so simple, so basic – yet so perfect. The price is perfect too. This guitar strap is like no other in that it is adjustable and can be altered during play. Musicians everywhere love the ability to effortlessly adjust the guitar or bass higher to solo and then drop down easily on stage. Light, beautiful, easy to clean, easy to store, not big and bulky.
Sometime you just have to get back to the basics. Sometimes, it’s the simplest design that works the best. Sometimes, all those fancy, additional features offered are just not worth it.

Each strap comes with a tag stating the number in the series, date of creation, and my signature. As always, being a handmade strap each one is unique, and the color and cut may vary slightly.

Please visit www.wallpusher.com for more views.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, dreams, designs, shipping concerns,
or comments of any kind, always feel free to email us
info [!at] wallpusher.com and we’ll do anything we can to help.

*** Everything found in this shop is handmade by Wallpusher from our original copyrighted patterns. Please do not attempt to copy them or ask anyone else to do it for you. ***

*These straps are not intended for re-sale.*

Thank you for shopping handmade!

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Yes,  it’s that time again, everybody’s graduating!! One of our interns just graduated from High School, we are so proud of his work at Wallpusher, and excited for his future.
What do you do after high school? If making things is in your blood, art school might be the place to hone those skills on your way to making a career in the many fields. As guitar makers, we give internships to highschool and college students in the local schools to give back to the community, and help students get concrete experience in fields that they may become leaders in one day. As artists and creative people, we are so excited about all the options available to students in our area. Who knows what the future creative professionals will come up with, when their starting point is as wonderful as it is! We have interns interested in continuing their careers as sculptors, guitar makers, leather workers, furniture makers, and even as professionals in Pixar and animation!

Local Art Colleges abound for people with interest in the creative field. The study of art is a growing focus for many students.  These students interested in art have a collage of different schools to choose from in the Massachusetts area.  Montserrat College of Art, in Beverly MA, was in fact started by a group of artists in the Boston area in the 1960’s.  Montserrat College offers an extensive curriculum, collaboration with other artists and a community of artists all developing their talents.

MassArt is located in the heart of Boston, founded in 1873.  This school offers one undergraduate degree and three graduate degrees.  Mass Art holds the mission of providing experience with the community, creating a diverse perspective on art, establishing value for this artistic work and the incorporation of art with the economy.

The SMFA, in Boston, provides a wide range of education in art.  Founded in 1876, education here includes the study of ceramics, drawing, film/animation, glass, metals, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, sound, image of art and video.

Gordon, founded in 1889, is located in Wenham, MA.  Artists here can develop their skill in design, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and art education.  Gordon’s art major is focused on traditional artistic skills.  This college proves to be well-known among other Christian art colleges.  The education in art is forever endless.

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Guitar Hot Spots

How better to celebrate summer than by musical events.  The Boston area is the host of several musical events.  The Paradise Lounge is a small spot in Boston, originating in 1977.  At 967 Commonwealth Ave, this Lounge is often a concert spot for visiting bands.

Scullers Jazz Club is a music hot spot, originating in 1989.  Being the host to many famous artists, such as Harry Conick J; this club has become a landmark of Boston.

In Foxboro, Showcase Live features many artists, including hip hop, country, jazz, rock and R+B.  It also provides delicious meals.

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Keep up with the latest guitar news on playing, vintage collecting, and innovative new guitars like Wallpusher. The art of guitars today is “tuned” to several publications. Here are the best places to go for info. Acoustic Guitar is a magazine

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  Image by Getty Images via @daylife

founded in 1990.  Consisting of magazines, e-newsletters, digital services and books, it made the leap to an online companion in 1995 (acousticguitar.com).  This site hosts sheet music, song transcripts, reviews and interviews. Guitar World (guitarworld.com) is a magazine located in New York, NY; offering tuning advice and products.  This magazine prints articles on artists/guitarists, rock albums and videos; also blogging on different brands.

Finger Style Guitar (fingerstyleguitar.com) covers all styles and music types of guitars.  Located out of Bedminster, NJ; this magazine is in fact connected with Facebook and Twitter.  While covering all musical genres, Finger Style Guitar features a style of playing that consists of plucking strings with fingers. Vintage Guitar Magazine (vguitar.com) has been published monthly since 1986.  It consists of information/history on instruments, entertainment, interviews and famous players.  Connecting with maintenance, it contains descriptive articles on instruments, gear, music and artists.

TC Guitar Magazine (tcguitar.com) connects musicians to types of playing, tuning, accessories and tips to left handed players.  This publication gives links to buying guitars and guitar lessons. Canadian Musician (canadianmusician.com) has covered Canadian artists, technique, gear and new releases/products since 1979. This publication covers guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, brass woodwinds; also featuring vocal, song writing, recording, artists, blog and schedule of events.

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Check out the gorgeous items that all made it to Etsy finds today, along with Wallpusher’s own quality strap!

Wallpusher is featured today in Etsy Finds!

We are so excited to be featured on the Etsy blog, it is such a fantastic community of people, and we love seeing what they all have to offer. We are honored to be chosen as one of the quality items in the “Leather and Lace” category,  we love both media, and are always striving to create a quality product!!

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Wallpusher is now on etsy! Find out about all the ways your can save the planet, buy reused, handmade, support your community and connect to other creatives like yourself! Wallpusher is dedicated to reusing materials and creating quality handmade solutions! Have you heard of Etsy? It’s a site dedicated to creative handmade goods of all kinds.

Wallpusher has recently opened a shop on etsy that features our handmade guitars and guitar accessories.

Since opening our shop, we’ve been stunned by all the great messages, “hearts” and treasury listings from fellow members.

This month Etsy is making some important changes that will streamline the site.

We’re so impressed by all the different ways that Etsy is keeping sellers, shoppers, and all people who make or love handmade things connected! There are great tools such as the “voter” where you can vote for the best gift for mom, accessories for prom, and more. Anyone can make a treasury, which is a collection of items within a theme that you like, forums, and much more! We’re enjoying our etsy adventure, These are just some of the great instruments and accessories we’ve listed, click on the pictures to look at

the listings, and of course we’d love it if you could give us a heart!

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Look for our guitar straps in a recent treasury on Etsy called “Lovely Leather.” What’s a treasury? It’s a “treasure trove”

of items that shoppers on Etsy have thought are worth sharing and putting in categories!

The writer of this treasury was focusing on the wonderful world of leather, and all its uses, and itcluded our straps!!

So whether you’re shopping for Mom, mother’s day, a birthday, an upcoming gig, or you just need something that will make your life easier, check out our straps!

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Finding your style is crucial to becoming a musician. Every musician sends a message visually which can complement on accentuate the message your music sends to your fans. From grunge to metal to disco glam to hip hop, style has been a crucial factor for every musician that has made it. Your your guitar strap, style of dress, your guitar, everything on stage sends a message. Some parts of your style are functional too, your guitar may produce exactly that sound that you’re looking for, but not look the way you want it to. Wallpusher guitar straps look great, and work great too- so you don’t have to choose style or function, they have both. Now you can use the adjustable guitar strap to raise and lower the guitar effortlessly, to change heights while playing or soloing. Wallpusher Guitar Straps are a great price, find them at Etsy.

AND since today IS EARTH DAY celebrate the planet with great goods made of recycled wood–

Wallpusher guitars are made ofwood that would have been thrown into a landfill. Every guitar is hand made with pieces that were salvaged from churches, schools, homes, storms, and more. It’s always great to know that the instument that you express yourself on stage with is not only great style, and sound, but also a great message of saving the planet and an example of making beautiful things with already existing materials.
Yeay for earth day!

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