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A6 Weekend of March 7-8, 2020 S P E C I A L TheDallesChronicle.com S E C T I O N in the company of excellence Outlook Lending a helping hand Rossco Wright Luthier donates skills to fledgling Ukulele business Jim Drake For The Dalles Chronicle help streamline the process of making ukuleles here in The Dalles, so he offered to help. Now, slowly but surely, Wright’s behind-the-scenes work for the Ho’okipa brand is starting to get noticed. One of the first things Rossco Wright noticed “We just took a few of our instruments to a about The Dalles was the music store. Jake Shimabukuro show in Portland. He’s one When he and his wife, Ati, were in the process of of the most famous ukulele players in the world. deciding where to find a community for the next He met with us backstage and spent 40 minutes stage of their lives, it was the little brick and mortar comparing our instruments to his. All I can say is operation that was a key factor in deciding where to he said some nice things about it,” Wright said. relocate. But more importantly, he knew he could Now, Wright’s contributions to the shop lend a hand to its owners, who were starting to create tools, woodworking jigs, machinery, shop their own brand of handmade musical instruments. layout—even custom designed wood joining “The music store is a community gathering processes—are becoming a standard operating place, almost like a coffee house, it’s a procedure of sorts for the Ho’okipa brand. place to share, a place to learn, and a place “We’re not using any computer-controlled to pursue an art form,” Wright said. machinery here, every piece is very carefully Wright discovered The Dalles’ Gorge Community crafted. Each thickness, each wood grain Music in 2017, and was immediately drawn to the Hawaiian-style ukuleles being built in the back shop. is carefully selected. You can say each one is crafted with love,” Wright said. Branded under the name of Ho’okipa Ukuleles, Some woodworking processes need more the instruments feature authentic Hawaiian than two hands, like the custom sanding work tonewoods, and the designs stem from the music needed to join the ukulele neck to the body. Now, store owners’ personal experience of the Hawaiian a special custom clamp assists with the job. lifestyle. The brand name means “Hospitality.” “I’ve been doing this kind of work since I was Wright knew that his decades of experience as an 19 years old, and I’m going to help by putting instrument builder and repair technician could in the operations I know will contribute to the efficiency of making these things,” Wright said. Even with the efficiencies of a small woodshop, Wright admits that making a few ukuleles by hand may seem like a drop in the bucket when compared to the big-box music store retailers, the endless stream of merchandising middlemen, foreign markets, and the internet. How can operations like this survive? “The city of The Dalles is really unique in allowing these kinds of operations on the main street. A big box retailer can’t really focus on detail and quality like we can. This is an operation where I can help make something in the back of the store, and the owners can sell it in the front of the store. Of course, a consumer can choose between plastic and real wood, but I know how to introduce quality into these instruments, and I know how they’ll sound, and that can help the music store owners focus on the marketing of their products. When the store does well, we’ll all eventually do well,” Wright said. Besides his efforts in the shop, Wright participated in a marketing video Gorge Community Music made which was used for promotion during the recent Small Business Revolution contest, a national promotion Serving Wasco County for over 68 years B U I L D I N G R E L AT I O N S H I P S F R O M U N D E R G R O U N D U P Joann, Diane, Vivianna, Chris, Emily, Summer; not pictured, Susan Where Others Have Branches,We Have Roots 3600 Crates Way, Ste. 100 The Dalles, OR 97058 P (541) 506-4000 F (541) 506-4001 OR C C B #1015 73 • WA L ic . #C R E S T C C 066OK 212 E. 4th St. The Dalles | 541-296-2495 | www.wascotitle.com crestlineconstruction.com Ve hicl e ca re don e righ t a t m odera t e pric es . NW LLC Automotive & Automotive & Diesel Services MOBILE TOLL FREE (541) 980-0518 (877) 743-6997 Honoring veterans, senior citizens, and service personnel with added discounts. L to R: Tyler Luna, Steve Kelsey, Jon Jr. Keyser, Jason Smith, Holly Keyser, Jon Keyser 720 East 2nd Street, The Dalles | 541-296-3876 2937 East 2nd Street . The Dalles across from Big Jim’s . 541-980-0518 Mo (5
