Earlier this year, Mid Oregon Credit Union Commercial Services provided Preston Thompson Guitars of Sisters with financing to help them expand their business. We appreciated Preston Thompson and his team coming to us, especially in light of our new Sisters branch opening later this year.
Preston Thompson, Master Guitar Luthier
Thompson, who has built guitars since the 1970’s, is a “master guitar luthier”, and has worked with some of the greats in his field. From pktguitars.com:
“Discovered by bluegrass virtuosos Charles Sawtelle and Peter Rowan in the 1980s, Preston has built a reputation for handmade, original vintage guitars. He got his start building guitars under Charles Fox at the School of the Guitar Research & Design Center in Vermont, the first school for guitar makers in North America.
“During the 1970s, he honed his guitar-making skills at the legendary Randy Wood’s Old Time Pickin’ Parlor, the center of Nashville’s bluegrass music jam scene. In the 1980s, Preston’s custom acoustic guitars attracted the attention of the top flatpicking and fingerstyle guitarists in the world.” Read more about Preston Thompson…
How Mid Oregon Helped PK Guitars
Recently we caught up with Preston Thompson Guitars’ Christine Funk, who offered these thoughts on how Mid Oregon has helped their company:
How did this loan impact your business?
Christine: This loan was critical for Thompson Guitars to expand and continue to grow their business. Having a line of credit to count on for cash flow ups and downs gave us a sense of security as we moved quickly forward with purchasing inventory and creating a larger brand presence in the marketplace. Also the small equipment loan helped speed up our processes with new and improved jigs, fixtures and larger pieces of equipment to fill guitar orders in a more timely manner so that we can accommodate more orders. We also were able to replace a high interest short term loan with a longer lower interest loan from Mid Oregon Credit which helped out our monthly expense total.
Any comments about Mid Oregon?
Christine: Mid Oregon Credit has been helpful every step of the way from the loan process, providing a list of items they needed to complete the loan and making it a quick the turn around for both the credit line and equipment loan to keep our company growing. We have a great team at Mid Oregon Credit that we can ask questions to and feel they are a part of our business helping us to be successful. They provide a very personal touch with coming out to visit our shop to check on progress even after the loans were put into place.
More about Preston Thompson Guitars:
Preston Thompson Guitars
Website: pktguitars.com
Address: 352 E Main Ave, Sisters, OR 97759
Mailing Address: PO BOX 250, Sisters, OR 97759
Phone: (541) 588-6211
From their workshop in the music-loving town of Sisters, they build custom guitars and standard models based on the best American made guitars from the 1930’s. The choice of Grammy-winning flatpick and fingerstyle guitarists alike, Preston Thompson Guitars are among the best acoustic guitars available anywhere, renowned for superior tone, craftsmanship and materials.
