Thank you all so much for your support of my work. The end of 2024 saw record high demand for reeds, which leads me to offer some additional information and suggestions about the ordering process.
For students: Plan ahead – when you know an important competition, concert, or event is coming up, order early (at least 6 weeks ahead). Reeds naturally give out over time, so you want to try to anticipate with new reeds coming in before the old ones become unusable. You need to plan not only to receive the new reeds by the event, but ahead of time so they have time to break in.
For parents: Help keep students on a schedule with reeds – busy competition time for your child means high demand for reeds because others are ordering as well. Planning to order reeds regularly throughout the season can be a great way to be sure there are back-up reeds available when things get busy.
Because my reeds are custom made, there is a natural process with each reed. This process takes time, and when order demand is high it slows production as I work to address each order. I am usually working on a few (2-5) orders at a time, so smaller orders (2-3 reeds) can be pushed through quicker while larger orders (8-10 reeds) will take longer to complete. The busiest times are November and March, and the back-ups can push into December and April (as some of you have experienced). I try to give an estimated wait time in the notification on the website to help you plan, but even this is only an estimate and subject to change as the season unfolds.
All oboists know how tricky it is to plan for having just the right reed for an important event! It is my goal to support you in this as well as I can while also keeping to the integrity of my process.
Have a great 2025 and happy music making! Alyssa