Palatine instrument repair business expands

Musician Bonnie Radecki Reidel recently expanded her home-based musical instrument repair business to a store in Palatine.

Fix This Musical Instrument Repair Inc. operates at 746 E. Northwest Hwy. The business owner repairs brass and woodwinds, including flutes, clarinets, trumpets and saxophones. The business also sells used instruments and accessories and handles consignment sales.

After operating the repair business for the past decade from her Hanover Park home, Radecki Reidel was in the position to expand and saw a need for the shop in the Palatine area.

The business owner is able to handle all types of repairs. She also cleans the instruments.

She often sees children's instruments coming into the shop for repair.

"I just repaired a saxophone that was dropped and a flute that someone sat on," she said.

Radecki Reidel started playing the flute when she was 11 years old. She has a musical degree in flute performance and plays in several symphonies.

When she was in college, she realized that she did not want to pursue a professional flute career, but she wanted to stay active with music. With a love of working with her hands, she studied instrument repair through Renton Technical College located just outside Seattle.

"(Playing professionally) is so competitive," she said. "I'm filling a niche in the repair market."

Radecki Reidel is raising two young children with her husband, Kevin, a mechanical engineer. Repairs typically take a couple of days, but she added that she is able to offer emergency repairs as well.

The business is open from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, check out fixthisinstrumentrepair.com.

Kim Mikus covers small business. She welcomes comments at (847) 427-4567 or kmikus@dailyherald.com.