Steve Holub

I was clearing out my basement the other day and I came across a DVD with a clip from a TV show called ‘I Want That’, that features unique products. One of the segments featured this vinyl record frame and aired in 2014 (or so) on the DIY network. I think it was well made – definitely more professional that the video clips I’ve pieced together over the years. Here is the TV segment:

I’ve had many emails over the last few years asking when the product will be available overseas (Europe, etc) again. I’m happy to announce that you can now place orders for the vinyl record frames in Europe. However, the shipping costs leave a fair bit to be desired, because orders will be coming via airmail from Canada.

Maybe a little backstory will be helpful. In 2013, I ran a successful kickstarter campaign to fund a manufacturing run in China. I produced a bunch of units, and started fulfilling orders directly from China to Europe, Australia, and the rest of the Eurasian continent. However, even then I felt a little apprehensive about the project. It seemed odd that the shipping costs from China to Canada were cheaper than if I were shipping within my own country, and they were a fraction of the rates if I were to ship to Europe.

Those shipping prices, along with offshoring manufacturing (which had always been done in Ontario, Canada) made me reconsider this method of business. Sure, I could sell more units and supply more people with this simple little product, but it went against some of my personal principles. Specifically, the overseas shipping rates from China drastically harms domestic industry. Here’s a quick interview with an industry expert, if you’re curious.

So for these reasons, I never made a second manufacturing run in China. I’m not a big corporation with share holders to answer to. I don’t have to play the game if I fundamentally believe the rules of the game are harmful to my community.

The rates posted on the site are below what I actually pay for the airmail. People have become used to Chinese goods shipped basically for free, but those low rates are largely being covered by domestic postal services. This is wrong, and it must stop. China and international business has taken advantage of a program to help the world’s poorest countries, and used it to crush our domestic industries. I will not be complicit.

Hello music fans, just a little overdue announcement that Records On Walls are now available in some select Sunrise Record stores across Canada. Sunrise has been selling music and other accessories and gifts since 1977. When HMV went out of business last year, Sunrise stepped up and started taking over their store fronts, many of which are located in malls and plazas. It’s a great opportunity for a small product like this one to be able to have some shelf space in a nation-wide chain. You can see a list of their locations here, just be sure to call ahead to make sure they have some in stock.

The more interesting story is about how this little record frame got onto Sunrise shelves. I’ve sent out dozens of promo packages to stores all over Canada and the USA. Very rarely to they try the product out, let alone get back to me at all. I get it, they’re busy with just running their shops with major distributors, and it can be a pain to deal with a smaller manufacturer. In my case, I had a champion for my product, to whom I will always be grateful.

My product is available in a small gift shop in my city’s downtown called On The Verge. It’s a great little store with a wonderful owner who really helps her customers find personalized gifts. The store manager for the local Sunrise was in the shop and got to talking about Records On Walls. She found out that I was a small entrepreneur who was manufacturing the product locally, and was impressed with the design. She got in touch with her head office about the product, who then contacted me to give it a try. It seems like a small thing, but making that contact for a small business can be a huge opportunity. If you’re ever in the position to help a small business increase their exposure, I really recommend that you do so. It can really help. Thank you Sarah for helping my product get a lot of exposure. It really is appreciated.

All the best, Steve

Hello Internet! It’s been a while. I hope you’re doing well. I just want to write a little blog post about how much I appreciate every customer and visitor to this site. I’ve been very fortunate to have so many fans of this simple record frame. People have sent me a lot of pictures over the last couple of years which I have yet to add to the site. So here’s a little sample of some more pictures. More to come! All the best, Steve

So it’s been sometime since I’ve added a blog post about these vinyl record frames. To be honest, there isn’t too much to report, other than everything is going steady. I do want to change this in the near future and provide some new images, and posts about some of the customer stories. So there will be some new posts coming soon. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has purchased the product. It really means the world to me to have such great customers, and to bring a little joy to people’s hobby. All the best, Steve

Do you want your favorite band to sound the same on every album? I guess it depends if you’re AC/DC or not, but usually I find it more interesting when a band grows and experiments on each album. When it comes to album cover artwork, however, I think it’s incredibly powerful when a band keeps a common artistic motif across their discography. And when it comes to displaying a band’s albums using our vinyl record frames, artistic consistency can look incredible.

I have to thank Erik from Diest, Belgium for inspiring this blog post. Erik was one of our Kickstarter backers, so I want to thank him for that, and for also posting this great picture of his vinyl record display on Instagram, featuring The Smiths.

Look at how great those albums fit together in a display. Beautiful. To be honest, I am not too familiar with the Smiths discography, so I was immediately impressed with their artistic vision. It makes me want to go and listen to the entire Smiths catalogue, to try and understand how these stylized photos of models tie into their sound and creative direction. Very powerful, in my opinion.

I also want to highlight a few other bands that have this thematic album cover artwork thing happening. The first that comes to mind is one of my favorite bands of all time, Young Widows. They are a heavy and introspective band, and I think the album covers really emphasize the album’s theme and mood effectively. If you like your music loud, I highly recommend giving them a listen.

Hi, my name is Cameron and I’ve been working with Steve here at Records On Walls for the last few months. Steve brought me in to help get the international operations up and running. We’ve had a heck of a time getting everything running smoothly, but it’s been great hearing people around the world talking about our frames.

It’s also great seeing the pictures people send us of their awesome displays. I’ve updated our image gallery to include a bunch of them; there are some seriously impressive setups out there. We’re already getting some pictures from our international customers like Nick from New Zealand and his wall of Foo Fighters, thanks Nick!

I also have to thank Ian for sending us a picture of his incredible basement hangout!

If you’ve got a record display that you’re proud of, please send some pics to recordsonwalls@gmail.com or share them on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks,
Cameron (and Steve!)

There have been several updates in RoW land, and I want to share them with you. First, I hope that all the past customers are enjoying their Records On Walls vinyl record displays. And if you’re new to the site / product, thanks for stopping by. I launched a Kickstarter campaign for the vinyl record frame that successfully met it’s target in December of last year. The goal of the campaign was to make some tool revisions and to expand the product availability internationally. So far, my orginal tool has been modified and will be starting production in the next week. And internationally, I’m just finalizing some agreements and should have some more news soon. All exciting stuff!

To get to the title of this post, I love the vinyl record bargain bin. It’s probably the reason this product exists. My record collection started with hand me downs, but after I was hooked, I started heading to the vinyl record shops and thrift stores. I think I’m different from most collectors, because when I shop for vinyl, I am not usually looking for anything in particular, or even familiar. I want to discover music, in a semi-blind fashion. I look at the art, take a peek at the back to see if I recognize the label, producer, musician, or whatever, and then look at the price tag to see if it’s worth the gamble. Because that’s what the bargain bin really is, a gamble. Very rarely will you find a Pink Floyd record that somebody mistakenly put there. It’s all about the random, largely forgotten, albums that nobody wants. And for me, it’s golden.

There is little I like more in life than to bring home a bag of records that I purchased for the album art, and to spend the afternoon on an adventure of discovery. It’s like getting on a bus not knowing the destination. It’s true that maybe only one in five records will ever get a second spin, but when you find that forgotten album that hits the mark for you personally, there are very few musical experience out there like it. You have found something great that was almost lost in the sea of music and the sands of time.

Unfortunately, quality bargain bins are harder to find these days, and the ticket to ride is getting higher and higher. But I had a great experience at one of my favourite record stores, Rotate This in Toronto, a couple of weeks ago. They have a bin with new (and unwanted) vinyl records for as low as $2 each. Awesome! Why wouldn’t you spend a few bucks to get on that magic bus. So I thought I’d share a song from a record I just recently found, by a long forgotten band, the Mirrors. I hope you enjoy, and please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. Thanks again, Steve