So, imagine if you will, that you're sitting on the most fantastic story in the history of the company (did I mention I exaggerate a little, every now and then?), and the boss lady says you can't talk about it - to anyone, anywhere, anyhow. Now, I love a good story, and I love being the one doing the telling, but I've not managed to keep lifelong friends and a successful career by spilling the beans when I ought not to, so I know you're feeling my pain, here, right? All I can say is that Micah and I were chomping at the proverbial bit to let loose with this story ... and finally, after much begging and pleading, Kathy agreed to let us tell all (sort of) to everyone (not really, but certainly to you loyal fans). So here goes. The first chapter ...

Denise Fuson, Dawn Cloyd, Daniel Renaud, Kathy Gornik

A CS3.7 side makes its way out of the finishing booth at Gibson sporting a new heritage cherry sunburst finish.

Gary, Kathy, Henry J, Dawn and Denise at Gibson World Headquarters

It all started when Kathy (Gornik, our president) announced that she and her friend and industry associate, Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar (Henry J) had discussed the idea of doing a THIEL/Gibson special edition loudspeaker, and would we be interested in a tour of the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, TN and a meeting with Henry J himself to explore the possibilities. Being a guitar player for longer than I care to admit publicly, and a huge fan of Gibson's acoustic models, this sounded like a field trip I did not want to miss. And so plans were made.

We gathered and loaded up Dawn Cloyd's big ole diesel pickup with a couple pairs' worth of CS3.7 sides, a few snacks, and our friend Daniel, and headed south to Music City. You absolutely could not wipe the grin off my face. See? And yes I still play with dolls. Actually that's a custom doll that I made at Kathy's request for Henry J's daughter. Pinch me, somebody 'cause I must be dreamin'.

Fast forward to the next morning and we enjoyed a really cool tour of the Custom Shop and where we delivered the CS3.7 sides. "Why," you might ask, "would we deliver speaker sides to a custom guitar shop?", or better yet you may be asking, "Why doesn't this chick get to the point, already?" Patience, dear reader, patience.

The tour was amazing, and the parallels between THIEL's production and Gibson's were clear. The specialists at Gibson were there for more than a paycheck. We could feel, see, and hear the pride in the beautiful work they were doing, very much like our own production team at THIEL. This could be a match made in guitar/loudspeaker heaven. And while we were touring, those talented folks transformed our unfinished, maple veneer CS3.7 sides into this. Gorgeous, don't you think?

After leaving the Gibson Custom Shop, we were fortunate enough to spend the next hour or so with the man himself, Henry J. I felt honored to even be sitting in the same room with the man whose genius helped bring Gibson back on top after a slow and steady decline in the early 70s, much less to be on the receiving end of his insights on building relationships and thus building a brand. That hour was better than all of my (very expensive) marketing courses at my well known alma mater (which will remain nameless) combined.

And those gorgeous Gibson burst speaker sides? Well, they ended up on a pretty exciting journey themselves, but that's another chapter that I'll share when Ms. Gornik gives the okay.

So ... Stay tuned. Want to see more photos from our tour? Check
out our Facebook page.

'Til next time,

Denise "your humble raconteuse" Fuson