4.52am Issue: 002 2nd October 2016

STAND MADE
You Really Wood
I never thought I’d see a company like
Stand-Made in the UK. Not that there is a
lack of craftsmen, or an appetite for the sort
of top quality guitar stands and racks they
carve (generally) from Oak, but compared
to say the U.S of A, where these things
would no doubt sell by the shedload (do
Americans have sheds, I wonder?) and
double-up as gun racks, the market here
would seem to be limited.
All of which pondering goes to show that I
know precisely nothing, nada and zilch, as
Stand-Made have not only been producing
some truly beautiful guitar furniture since
2012, they are about to buck just about
every trend in British business, never mind
the British Music Business, and open a
shop/gallery/workshop to display their
wares.
Now ambition I admire, but lunacy is much
more fun, so I had to track down Andrew
Bennett and find out what’s going on, as it
were. And once I had, well I asked him a
few questions.
Mr Bennett, can you give us some
background information, please?
“Well, I’m a genuine “Shropshire Lad” and
I’m very fortunate to live with my family on
the edge of Much-Wenlock in the heart of
rural England. Stand-Made is a busy
collection of small wood workshops now
dedicated purely to hand making Guitar
Stands and Racks in real Oak, individually
and to order.
We established the business in 2012.”
What was the motivation behind starting
the company?
“Our main workshop was founded by my
father who began making furniture as a
master joiner/cabinet maker over 50
years ago.
As a child doing small & basic jobs at his
side, I had already begun playing and
developing my love of guitars and an
appreciation for fine woodwork. However,
it took until 2012 for me to finally pursue
the idea for Stand-Made as my father
began to “slow things down”.
My family had been asking me to tidy up
the collection of guitars strewn around
the house for a number of years so I
decided to make a Rack that would not
only store/display them safely but be a
quality piece of furniture they would
approve of! After a few friends had seen
it and local musicians had asked me to
make them a Rack, we soon built a
website and began getting enquiries &
orders from real customers. Since then
we have established quite a wide range of
Stands and Racks and gradually seen the
business grow from strength to strength
with fresh orders & enquiries now coming
in nearly every day.”