Arista's Overhauls and Ovetures

Overhaul (Noun) – The act of repairing an engine, machine, etc. so that every part works as it should.

Overture ( Noun) – A piece of music that is an introduction to a longer piece.

Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Although I don’t intend on singing my way through my overhauls (I’ll save everyone’s ears from that), it does fit perfectly. In a sense, these processes are the lead up to a bigger story for the new life of each item that I work on. Now, please note that I will not be “repurposing” items as they will continue to have the same use as they did previously. I never really did find that I had the creativity to repurpose items.

I am a lover of anything old, vintage, and completely unique. I also love quality. It killed me to listen to my friend’s school planning to just throw away some beautiful, old instruments. Some instruments would sell the items but if they were told to just toss them, I would often offer to buy them.

My Overhauls

My first restoration was an old, 1970s Bundy Alto Clarinet that a school was throwing away. I hated the idea of the school tossing this thing which still obviously had a lot of life left in it. I lovingly restored it and gave it to my younger sister who is a private music instructor for Christmas. She absolutely loved it. There was a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing that it played perfectly. Picture to come.

My second was a Conn 6D French Horn which I lovingly restored for my best friend’s son. I had never done a full overhaul before but it came out better than I imagined and my friend’s son treasures it. It’s not 100% done as I need to relacquer it but he needed it for the school year. He says that it plays better than his old one which was a rented horn from another company.

I love reliving that feeling and I want to continue having that satisfaction. I do plan on posting at least every Tuesday and Thursday to post progress and the process on each of my projects. Each process will be different according to the needs of the project. If it’s possible, I will post what I will be using in my restoration process, linking it to where you can find it. I also am not above putting in a good roast on how bad something looks.

My Projects

As my husband and I bought a beautiful 1830s stone house and are no longer renting, we want to create a space which reflects us. I have no place to do any of my work or practice but I have a small nook in the master bedroom which is the perfect side for a desk, a chair, and filing cabinet. I figured that this would be a fun area for me to make over until I could find a new place to work.

Right now, this area is used to house my instruments and other random clutter. I’d like to change that into a functional place for me to work and practice my French Horn. I believe that this would be a great place to breathe new life into things.

I plan to breathe new life into the following and more:
-1951 Conn 6D
-an old, discarded filing cabinet
-a desk
-a Yamaha YAS-21 Alto Saxophone
-a French Horn case

About Me, Arista

For a little background, I am a mother of two beautiful girls aged 10 & 4, two nutty dogs, and a sweet little black cat. Of course, I cannot forget to mention that I am also married to the world’s calmest and most understanding husband who puts up with my hobbies and plans.

I am not a “girly girl” who likes pastels and light colors. I’m a woman who enjoys bold, bright colors and am always looking for things that will pique my taste. Sadly, I rarely find those things. I enjoy unique pieces, particularly when they’re older and are being discarded.

I am a French Horn player in a local symphony orchestra (for those that are interested, I play on a King Eroica). I can also play other instruments and I also repair band instruments.

Other hobbies that I have also include things such as comic book collecting, sewing, and crafting. I plan to put up a few of the crafts that I create here as well.

So welcome to my little corner of the internet and I hope you enjoy following my journeys from start to finish as I work on each project! Let me know if there is anything that you want me to tackle on my overhauling journey. I am always up for a good challenge!