For twenty-seven years Hampshire Piano had its home in the village of Florence, within the city of Northampton , MA.  In that time, we had three shops, each along the banks of the same Mill River. That all changed when we got a letter from the landlord.  Click here to read their sweet little note.  Needless to say, this caused no little disturbance to our practice, and it was only through sheer providence that we found suitable space here in Holyoke, MA.  Today I regret not moving here ten years ago.  We have 14 foot ceilings and 10 foot windows.  The light is incredible, and we have an ideal workspace.  We are happy to have found a home in Holyoke.

        Hampshire Piano is a small company.  We are just Richard Blais and myself, Craig Hair.  We have no employees or apprentices. so all work done in our shop is done by either Richard or me.  We are not piano tuners; we spend every day in the shop doing repairs, rather than one or two days a week.  and this has been the case since 1979.  

        Richard Blais, born in 1953, was first exposed to piano technology in 1975 while doing damaged finish repair for the local dealers.  He gained those skills through an apprenticeship to a grumpy impatient old finish tech here in Holyoke during his teens.  while on these service calls, the customer would invariably ask him to tend to some mechanical problem in the piano.  With no other option,the dealer would ask him to investigate and see if he could remedy the problem.  Being of a mechanical mind, he was able to fix most problems on the spot.  This of course led to more and more work and a personal fascination with the instrument.  Finally in 1979, with a co-worker(since departed) he opened Hampshire Piano, which has been in continuous operation to this day.

        Craig Hair, born in 1963, had too few encounters with pianos in his early life to develop an appreciation. for them beyond a proper amazement at their special complexity.  His first real contact with pianos came when he took a job at a silver plating operation, which just happened to be upstairs from Hampshire Piano.  A piano taken apart proved more alluring than the assembled item ever hinted at.  When the plating shop closed, he accepted an opportunity to try his hand at piano restoration.  The personal feeling of accomplishment upon completing  that first piano was eclipsed by the sense of participation when, after delivery, the customer's child comes in and, after considerable parental prodding,  commenced to play classical pieces which Craig at the time did not know.  The child was talented and delighted, thankful to be able to practice at home.  Craig was genuinely gratified and started another piano the next day.  That was in 1987. 

        As a piano shop we have tried to do something different.  Rather than see great old pianos as commodities to be exploited, we have tried to treat them as cultural treasures to be preserved.  To this end we have worked to develop techniques to re-use and thus preserve original components that would be thrown away in any other shop.  The sound board is the heart of the piano's tone, and the board from an old piano is the best soundboard wood available.  It is a lot of work, but a board recrowned and remounted is at its peak of performance.  The action is the players connection to the music.  The original action was designed for use in that particular piano.  Replacement parts are not exact, and are made from less select wood.  A better, more reliable action can be had through the restoration of the original

        For more on these subjects please see our page on conservatorial restoration.