Michigan Made: Zimnicki Guitars in Allen Park
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - When it comes to the mitten, most people know of the state's rich heritage in music but may be surprised to learn that music in Michigan, in particular, brings in over $1 billion a year to the state's economy, that's according to the Anderson economic group.
In Allen Park, one man's small business is contributing to that number and making music to our ears from chunks of wood.
"It happened a long time ago; wanted a guitar and couldn't afford to buy one. So I made it," said Gary Zimnicki, owner of Zimnicki Guitars. "The internet didn't even exist. A friend had a book that had a really brief explanation at the back end of how to build a guitar was like four pages. So yeah, it wasn't much to go by. But, you know, it took me like a year to do the first one. And then after that, a friend saw it and said, Oh, could you build me one? And it was 10 times better than the first one. I didn't want to part with it. But then somebody saw that said, Could you build me one. And very slowly, it turned from a just a curious thing to be doing into a hobby, and eventually into a money-making hobby and, and gradually became a like a full time job."
Zimnicki spends a lot of time in his workshop.
"It is absolutely a passion," said Zimnicki. "It's always on my mind, even when I'm not out here. I really love what I do. And it's really I don't; it doesn't feel like work when I'm out here most days. Except when things go wrong."
This doesn't happen often, as Gary has handcrafted around 450 instruments.
"I like the craft of it just, you know, the challenge of making clean joints and making pieces bought up against each other perfectly without any gaps and that kind of thing," said Zimnicki.
Zimnicki enjoys creating a custom sound that he says people can't find in big box stores.
"If you buy an internet guitar, they're not set up, right, they're hard to play," said Zimnicki. "They don't sound good. And the difficulty playing it, especially, I think, turns people off. And so they'll, you know, play a few chords, and then they put it down and never pick it up again because it's just, it's too much work. Whereas if they have something that was handmade and set up properly, it just plays so much easier."
Zimnicki also discussed how supporting small businesses is crucial.
"Small businesses are the backbone of the country these days," said Zimnicki. "I mean, we pay more in taxes than Ford Motor Company, probably, well, maybe not them. But you know what I mean? Yeah, so I just think it's very important to support small businesses, especially when they can provide something that a large retailer can't."
