On behalf of the Pit Bull Guitars team, wishing all our friends here a very Happy Christmas/Festivus for Rest of Us...
I really enjoy our annual PBG meet ups, and we had our 2016 get-together last Saturday, where I showed everyone how crap I am with a Webber. There is still, one week later, a horrifically burnt pizza sitting on the roof of my house, a la Breaking Bad. Turns out you can't cook a pizza in a Webber (at least not in direct heat mode)... who'd have thunk it?
Anyhoo, as is the custom, we took a photo.
In the photo, left to right, we have Miss Fe, Brendan, Dingobass, myself, Gavin, and Phil. Betsy, the foster dog I can't seem to get rid of, is front and centre and Lucinda, our official Pit Bull Guitars mascot, is watching over us all from the land of 1000 tennis balls.
Thank you to all the team pictured (and absent)… you guys (and gal) are fricken awesome and have helped make something very special. Extra special thanks to Phil, who has been a fantastic business partner, right from the start, and a true friend in times of great need. Also, Brendan, who produces our slick Wiring Diagrams and has just taken on the mammoth monthly task of arranging the judging of our GOTM Competition... thanks BP!
We were also blessed by some special guests:
Wokka. Our resident GAStronomist. Always there to meet and greet every new Forum member, handy tips at the ready, always going above and beyond... plus he throws a wicked seafood and pizza party. You're a legend Wokka, thanks for being an integral part of the PBG family.
BassGuy. You are da bomb El... and our first Endorser! Thanks for making our products sound so amazing.
Special thanks to Josh, Gavin's young lad, who came along to take the photos.
Missing from the catch up (and photo, in Nick’s case), due to distance or availability, are the following:
Nickosaurus. Our Social Media guru. Nick has taken us from a few thousand Facebook Likes to 17k in no time at all. He's also growing our new Instagram audience for Build Your Own Guitar... and doing much better than I am with the Pit Bull Guitars Instagram account. Thanks Nick, lovin' your work.
Daz (Darren). Our IT Guru. Daz is the reason we are the leading DIY Guitar Kit company worldwide (according to Google). Those who have been here a while will remember the dark days where our site kept crashing, a lot, it was very slow and we had a pretty ordinary Forum platform. Daz fixed all of these issues and we saw our visits, sales and Forum participation grow exponentially. You're a legend Daz, can’t thank you enough!
Shane. Our new Bookkeeper. With our rapid growth came the burden of doing the extra book work, which was starting to get out of control. We found Shane locally and he has linked our ANZ and PayPal accounts to our WooCommerce store and it all feeds into Xero (accounting software) automatically. Needless to say this was a huge relief for me, and now I can just sit back and wait for his monthly report. Can't thank you enough Shane.
Mark. Our official Photographer. Remember my terrible blue background kit photos? Washed out with way too much light, badly composed, poorly edited? Now, I’m confident to say, we have the best Kit photos of any guitar kit company and we are starting to see our competitors copy our style. It’s very handy having a Brother who is an award winning photographer. Thanks Mark.
I get a lot of unsolicited emails from people, all over the world, who all say how blown away they are with this Community. There is no doubt that the welcoming, friendly vibe and helpfulness of the regulars here is what sets PBG apart from the competition. So, well done every one of you who make this such an amazing place to visit and hang out.
It’s always risky singling people out, but there were a couple of regulars who went the extra mile this year and we wanted to acknowledge their efforts.
WeirdBits, we acknowledge your extraordinary efforts in helping out with wiring solutions. You’ve solved numerous wiring dilemmas and averted many build tragedies. Thanks so much for your help this year.
A special mention to a newbie, but already an integral part of this Community, Simon Barden. Simon helped me out with a Father and Son build in the UK that had gone bad… mainly due to a poor neck setup. Simon agreed to receive the kit from the customer and fix it… which he did and refused any offers of remuneration from me. Thanks for finding us Simon, and thanks for being such a top bloke.
There are so many others. Please know that your selfless efforts to help people new to this hobby are recognised and greatly appreciated.
I hope each and every one of you on this Forum has a fantastic festive season and gets the opportunity to spend some quality time with loved ones; family and/or friends, and also get some time in your man/woman cave to work on your builds.
I also acknowledge that this time of year can be very challenging for those of us without family or friends; through loss, distance or other factors. To those people, I remind you that Pit Bull Guitars, including this Forum, does not close over Christmas.
So please, if the need arises over the next few weeks, reach out to this Community; as a whole, or an individual member you have connected with, instead of withdrawing and reflecting on what you are missing.
We are, and have always been, much more than a business; we are a Community of guitar builders and, hopefully, friends. When all is said and done, we are all here for each other.
Best wishes and love to you all.
Adam, Phil, Dingobass, Miss Fe, Brendan, Gavin and Nickosaurus (the Pit Bull Guitars Team)
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