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Hero of the American Dream
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Author:  jeffcomas [ Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Hero of the American Dream

I think it is highly likely that Emmett Chapman is now one of the currently much maligned 1% (or at least he is pretty close). I certainly do not hate him for it, on the contrary I love and admire him for it.

He has joined their ranks, in my opinion, by living the American Dream. That being that a man (short for human, so it includes women too) is free to follow his or her own path; to succeed or fail according to his or her own actions and efforts (or lack thereof).

I know that everyone likely to read this knows this already, but Mr. Chapman has succeeded by taking an idea and turning it into reality, molding his vision into a thriving business. Winning against long odds by determination, hard (and smart) work, and continuing belief in himself and his product.

So, I salute you Mr. Chapman. You are a hero of mine. I hope you enjoy your success. I am confident that you have earned it.

Cheers,

Author:  greg [ Wed Jan 11, 2012 7:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

jeffcomas wrote:
I think it is highly likely that Emmett Chapman is now one of the currently much maligned 1% (or at least he is pretty close). I certainly do not hate him for it, on the contrary I love and admire him for it.

He has joined their ranks, in my opinion, by living the American Dream. That being that a man (short for human, so it includes women too) is free to follow his or her own path; to succeed or fail according to his or her own actions and efforts (or lack thereof).

I know that everyone likely to read this knows this already, but Mr. Chapman has succeeded by taking an idea and turning it into reality, molding his vision into a thriving business. Winning against long odds by determination, hard (and smart) work, and continuing belief in himself and his product.

So, I salute you Mr. Chapman. You are a hero of mine. I hope you enjoy your success. I am confident that you have earned it.

Cheers,
Hi Jeff,

I'm not sure about (some elements of) your premise. Perhaps they wouldn't want me to say this, but Emmett and Yuta live pretty modestly, as anyone who's been to their shop can tell you, with a houseful of workers around them all day long (not exactly the lifestyle of the 1% you might think of as portrayed in the stereotype-driven media). I've never met anyone who works harder than Emmett does in my whole life. ever.

He's a craftsman, designer, engineer, artist and visionary, and his ability to bring all of these elements together has led him to make something tangible that works really well, in a virtual age dominated by profit margins and mass consumption.

Still, I agree with you about the man. As Tony put it in Dan's film, he's "created something that will outlive him". And that's very uncommon these days, I think.

He's fun to hang around with as well. Very interested in people, language, science and culture. And he seems never to put himself first. Perhaps that's the secret of his success.

Author:  Hellboy [ Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

I, being from Sweden, don´t know much about "the American dream" and I don´t know if I even would want to narrow Emmet´s achievement down to what I think the American dream is all about. I myself hope that Emmet is the hero of Emmets dream. To me that would be greater than anything else. And his dream when it comes to the Stick has entered other peoples dreams pretty much all over the world. And that is huge. I got my first Stick back in 80´s and I can´t thank Emmet and Yuta enough for their work. It has made my life richer, more interesting and more fun. And I´ve met splendid people because of the instrument. And it´s the same for other Stick players all over the planet. "The American dream"? I don´t know. I think it´s a universal thing. ;) I think it´s a very fine life achievement and it has had a bigger influence on my life than quite alot of things. I´m grateful for that.

Thanks.

//Jan

Author:  metalken [ Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

jeffcomas wrote:
I think it is highly likely that Emmett Chapman is now one of the currently much maligned 1% (or at least he is pretty close). I certainly do not hate him for it, on the contrary I love and admire him for it.

He has joined their ranks, in my opinion, by living the American Dream. That being that a man (short for human, so it includes women too) is free to follow his or her own path; to succeed or fail according to his or her own actions and efforts (or lack thereof).

I know that everyone likely to read this knows this already, but Mr. Chapman has succeeded by taking an idea and turning it into reality, molding his vision into a thriving business. Winning against long odds by determination, hard (and smart) work, and continuing belief in himself and his product.

So, I salute you Mr. Chapman. You are a hero of mine. I hope you enjoy your success. I am confident that you have earned it.

Cheers,


This just seems like kind of a "Don't hate the 1%" type post?

I agree that Mr Chapman is totally worthy of respect, but I think it'd be for his contributions to music, musical instruments and the legacy he created with the Stick -- not how much money he makes.

Most tapping instruments available today are directly influenced in some way by his design. In spite of that, he's not rested on his laurels. He continues to invent and innovate his creation. That's way more important than weather he's clearing a yearly income of 350,000$+ or not.

Author:  Hellboy [ Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

Oh.... I didn´t even get the 1 % thing. :oops: I thought it meant that 1 % of all americans are happy with what they work with or something....... :D

Not that it would matter abit but I´m rather certain that one doesn´t earn alot doing what they do over at SE compared to most other companies. There must be a great deal more man hours behind a more or less hand made instrument like the Stick than compared to a Fender or a Gibson electric bass or guitar. I´m just surprised that a Stick doesn´t cost more money.

I don´t like money talk. I´m just grateful that I get the chance to play this fantastic instrument. That´s all I have to say. And one more thing. Emmet, Yuta and the rest of the folks at SE rocks. :)

//J

Author:  BSharp [ Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

Thanks to Jeff and all of you here for your collective appraisal of Yuta's and my life's work. And it's true that after some 35 years, we're still not "resting on our laurels", but are hustling on a daily basis, late hours and weekends too, sometimes with a real urgency to survive against obstacles and to make it all work - any and all things (serving coffee too).

And thanks Greg, for minimizing the monetary part. That's not our reward. It's more about how the instrument and its playing method change peoples lives and help make their music grow. We hear it all the time. This is an exceptional life for Yuta and I, and that's the reward.

We have seven full time employees so we have to meet payroll every other week. We also have many subcontractors, suppliers, a patent agent and a trademark lawyer. R&D is also expensive and must be carefully coordinated. Getting rich has never been the objective, and would indeed just be another chore - how to manage ones wealth in an era of funny money.

With gratitude, Emmett (and Yuta who looked this over).

Author:  K Rex [ Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

Quote:
Getting rich has never been the objective, and would indeed just be another chore - how to manage ones wealth in an era of funny money.


Indeed, well said. Props, well-wishes, and many thanks for your contributions.

Kev

Author:  K Rex [ Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

And thanks also to Yuta, who has never once seemed like she wanted to get me off the phone. Cool people.

k

Author:  v015eyjd [ Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

For what it's worth, when I read this:

jeffcomas wrote:
He has joined their ranks, in my opinion, by living the American Dream. That being that a man (short for human, so it includes women too) is free to follow his or her own path; to succeed or fail according to his or her own actions and efforts (or lack thereof).

I took it to mean exactly what Greg mentioned. That is, Jeff wasn't talking 1% in the monetary sense, but instead in the entrepreneurial sense.

I've had only limited dealings with SE over the years but it has always been very clear to me that the most important thing to them was producing a fantastic product that they are deeply passionate about and making their customer's feel happy and well served. I have zero complaints and only praise.

Jim

Author:  Per Boysen [ Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hero of the American Dream

Well, at first I was a bit puzzled by Jeff's post because to me "the 1 %" means "the bad guys" as in those who are known as enemies to the "occupy-everything movement". At the same time I am not at all measuring visionary art and product design according the same economics and power structure based views that are rolled out in media as the "ninety nine vs one" story.

Anyway, I love the Stick. Its two handed multitasking playing technique has brought new dimensions into my music and some exciting synapse wiring to my brain that is already starting to spill over into other areas. A new duo album with Turkish composer Erdem Helvaıoğu focuses on just my Stick and his (Togaman) Guitarviol while I'm about to acquire an electric fretless harp guitar for future projects (designed and manufactured by Tim Donahue). Nothing of this would have happened if I had not bought a Stick two years ago :-)

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