How We Work
Mya-Moe Ukuleles is just three of us: Gordon & Char Mayer and Aaron Keim. Every instrument is built by us, and we don't outsource any part of the ukulele. Every instrument is hand-built, and hand-voiced.
In the Shop
Whether it is our entry-level Tradition model, or our Natural Wonders Series, we put the exact same amount of effort into the playability and acoustics of the instrument.
We work differently than most every other builder. Rather than build in batches, we build each instrument individually. This process allows us to focus on one instrument at a time, and we can much more closely monitor our building process and make changes where necessary.
We are able to do this because we have enough space to setup each work station permanently. So, we have dedicated space for every operation such as side bending, dovetail routing, binding, finish and final setup.
Our building process is very well defined. We have divided up the instrument construction into 14 major steps, and we know how long each of these steps takes to accomplish. As a result, we can be very accurate when providing customers with projected start and string dates.
When you place on order with us and put down your deposit, you are getting a guaranteed start slot in our build schedule. At that time, we'll also give you an estimated completion date.
We actually start work on your instrument about two months before your "official" start date. We rough out the neck, and prepare the fretboard. So, at that time we'll send you an email asking you for a final confirmation of your configuration. We also load your detailed build steps into UkeTracker so that you can track its progress.
Your official start date is the day that we bend the sides for your ukulele. Once we start your instrument, it gets worked on every day that we're in the shop.
You'll see a new picture on ShopTracker every day we work on your instrument, and if you follow us on Twitter (we're @MyaMoeUkuleles), you'll see a couple of tweets with your instrument.
Here's a video shop tour we put together:
And, you can always see what we're up to in the shop by going to ShopTracker.
Technology
In addition to building the ukuleles ourselves, we also do all our own website development and don't outsource any parts of the business.
We run the business on an iMac. Our website is developed in Dreamweaver with FireWorks as our image processing software.
Our database is the heart of the business engine. We use FileMaker Pro. Every instrument is entered into the database, along with every possible detail. So, when you order an instrument from us, we create a new record in the database and put in all the relevant information such as bindings, finish, strings and pickup. We also note any special instructions that you've given us.
After you've finalized the configuration, we send an email that is generated from our database. We ask you to confirm the exact configuration. We resend that information for a final confirmation the week before we start your instrument.
We use our iPhones to photograph instruments when they're in the shop, and those pictures are automatically uploaded directly to our website which dynamically updates ShopTracker and UkeTracker.
We photograph every completed instrument and import the pictures into iPhoto.
Through the use of this technology, we strive to develop every instrument on time and to the exact specifications that are provided.