T
he wind of change was once again
blowing, and the Wilburn family, every
member of which being an avid skiing
enthusiast, felt it timely to pick up roots
and relocate from the flatlands of the
Tri-Cities to the mountain snow-laden
slopes of North Idaho and chose the
idyllic town of Sandpoint to be their new
home beneath the shadow of Schweitzer
Mountain ski resort.
Their home in the Tri-Cities surprisingly
sold the very first day it went on the
market, and shortly after they had arrived
in Sandpoint, Dawn luckily secured a new
nursing career at the local hospital.
For Scott however, this move was almost
like starting over again from scratch in a
different location. Increasing competition
had been building with online guitar
companies vying for business and cutting
into Scott’s sales potential. Also Ebay
had become simpler to access and use
and began to get flooded with rival
guitar sales. So Scott drew upon his
graphic design background and began
creating original artwork on a freelance
basis for local businesses, one of which
was a music store. His guitar building
background led to supplying the store
with two of his custom guitars for them
to display — Scott was soon hired to
carry out repairs and modifications for the
store’s customers.
Eventually when the ageing owners
closed the music store, Scott began to get
inundated with musicians stopping by his
home for him to repair their instruments.
This less than ideal situation prompted
him to consider finding business premises
in town where he could establish his
repair and custom guitar facility. One day
whilst exploring Sandpoint, Dawn spotted
an empty storefront right in the center of
town and on the main street, First Avenue.
It was ideally positioned and offered a
good-sized floor area, so Scott once again
took a daring plunge and opened the
Wilburn Custom Shop - Music, Art and
More.
48 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE