Blue
Registered User
Posts: 55
(4/9/04 12:36 am)
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It's so quiet here again...but I have MORE developments!
I'm out of green jube-jubes. That's a significant development in the jube-jube department, though not if you prefer something other than green. I wish they had blue ones, like the blue fish I used to buy at the corner 'confectionary' as a kid.
Most of you know I work with motorcycles, but perhaps not really understanding what that means...hell, most of the time I don't. Most of the time I simply maintain or modify other people's stuff - not exactly a stunning, glamorous or rocket-science type job. I do however have a rocket-scientist as a customer, but that's a whole other story.
Anyway, one of the 'other' things we do is build bikes from the ground up. This is my 'art' and expression, it scratches my 'creative' itch and satisfies my need to 'make something'. I often bite off more than I can chew (mostly due to time) but we figure it out. It's not our main source of income by any stretch and unless your Orange County or one of the handful of extremely well known high-end builders, it isn't very profitable as you spend way more hours working than you get paid...which is okay because it's all about the love baby...unless you're trying to pay rent. I digress - I don't build full-time and there is a shop in town that does (though I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot for a number of reasons, but professional courtesy means I can't say that out loud).
Today I was approached by the Midway and Attractions Manager for the Calgary Stampede. They want us to build a motorcycle on the Stampede grounds during the 11 day chaos and they're willing to give us the space to do it. Now, if you've never heard of the Stampede you can be forgiven for not understanding the significance of this.
When we travelled in Spain, Germany and the UAE locals in every country were familiar with the Calgary Stampede. In just over 11 days there will be close to 1,000,000 people coming through the gates to take in the rides, the shows, the concerts, and the sites. People pay THOUSANDS of dollars to have a display for Stampede, well into the 5 figure range. And they don't get help from the Stampede board. Of the two Harley shops in town, one has not managed to get their name into the Stampede, and after 15 years of trying the other shop is allowed to donate a motorcycle for raffle each year thereby giving him exposure. Think about how significant this is - a Harley dealer GIVING a motorcycle away for 11 days of exposure on raffle tickets. This is huge.
We'll have exposure to these people for nothing. We've been asked and encouraged to showcase exactly the kind of work that drew us into the industry to a million potential clients. The effect this can have is immeasurable and may quite literally be our springboard to instant credibility, not to mention limited financial success.
Wow...I can't believe how lucky this break is. After years of being a day late and a dollar short - we're actually catching the wave before the crest instead of after.
<please note - this is not an exercise in horn-tooting in any fashion - rather it is an expression of over-whelmed excitement at my sheer good fortune with other artists>
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