How U.S. Trade Wars Could Affect Kun Shoulder Rests
The Canadian factory that makes the popular Kun Shoulder Rest is one of the many companies bracing for the potential effects of the Trump administration's trade war, according to an article published today in the New York Times.
Kun shoulder rests.
Kun makes collapsible fractional-sized shoulder rests that are popular for children's violins, as well as higher-end shoulder rests used by adults and professional players, such as the Kun Bravo, Kun Solo and Kun Seven, its most innovative design that was introduced in 2023. Based in downtown Ottawa, Kun was founded in 1972 by Czech violinist Joseph Kun and remains a family-run business.
"Putting aside our own worries, we are keenly aware of the impact of these tariffs on American wholesalers we have longstanding and very close relationships with who are facing high tariffs on a huge range of products, not just ours," Kun Managing Director Juliana Farha told Violinist.com. "As such, it’s bad news for many companies - and players - in our small industry, across many borders. And of course there are other possible knock-on effects, including on our longstanding local suppliers in Ottawa, and on our ability to continue supporting a wide range of music education charities."
At issue are looming 25 percent tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose on Canadian imports, as well as retaliatory levies that the Canadian government might impose this week. While no tariffs have yet affected the company directly, Kun has been scrambling to prepare.
Kun sells its shoulder rests internationally, but about a third of its products are sold in the United States. Tariffs on their products would affect the cost for their U.S. customers, making even harder for Kun to compete with the cheap Chinese knockoffs that proliferate the market.
Additionally, Kun uses a specialty nylon made by an American company - so any retaliatory tariffs by Canada would also raise the cost of importing that nylon, increasing their production costs.
"We would be hit with a double whammy," Farha told the New York Times.
So far, Kun has escaped tariffs thanks to an exemption made for products compliant with the terms of the North American trade agreement - which permits duty-free sales of goods that use specified minimum percentages of parts and raw materials made within the region.
However, the company was bracing for whatever is next, including the possibility of across-the-board tariffs for Canadian products, or the retaliatory tariffs by the Canadian government.
"Uncertainty is corrosive to business, so even if these particular tariffs go away, we simply can’t operate on the basis of this kind of policy-making," Farha said to Violinist.com. "For that reason, we are focused on trying to find non-U.S. suppliers for some of our materials. I’m sure we’re not alone, and I don’t see how that serves the U.S. economy, but our priority is to safeguard our business and our employees."
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Replies
A lot, actually, Will. And a lot of people will buy the cheap knockoffs.
Put it this way - my Bon Musica a few years back cost me about £45. Last year they cost £81.
Americans buying Korfkers were already putting Kun out of business to some extent, and if you can afford a Korfker, then you shouldn't worry so much about the price of a tariffed Kun.
Like Will says.
I've seen enough moms on VCom asking what 10K violin they should buy for their 10-year-old daughters.
Chinese knock-offs are an economic problem in every field, of course.
Let’s not forget about orchestra in public education where our goal is to outfit students with the highest quality instrument at the cheapest price. For years, our school corporation has outfitted students with Chinese-made instruments (usually purchased through Shar or
Similar American companies), and we have easily met the needs of a growing string program. How will this new policy affect our string education? Public Schools do not have unlimited budgets and we depend on cheaper prices for instruments and accessories so all students have the opportunity to play on an instrument of acceptable quality.
This policy will hurt public school orchestra programs the most— for everyone who started their studies in a public school orchestra program, this policy may not have a direct impact on you, but it certainly does for the new generation of string players. While some parents may be searching for a 10k violin for their ten year old, I can assure you that the vast majority of parents are searching for what I described above (highest quality at the cheapest price). I think this rise in prices will have a profoundly negative effect on our public school orchestras.
@Will: As a professional violinist, I certainly wouldn’t balk at a ten dollar price difference in a shoulder rest; as a teacher who is buying in bulk, I would have no choice but to search for a cheaper (most likely inferior) product and it would be at the expense of my student’s set up.
A sponge held in place with a rubber band can work quite well, if one is able to forgo shoulder-rest hoity-toityness and one-up-man-ship.
I've often said I'd be more than happy with a sponge (one thing shoulder rests do is press on the veins or nerves in my left shoulder giving me pins and needles in my left hand. I'm experimenting with yoga-mat offcuts and chamois leather to cushion it), and I've seen professional symphony orchestra violinists use sponges, but my teacher is stressing the need to stabilise the fingerboard to provide a solid platform for the fingers to move on freely. A sponge will have to wait until I've mastered that aspect of technique, but I've also found a supplier of 90mm Artino gelpads. They might work better than smaller gelpads.
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April 3, 2025 at 03:15 PM · How many violinists and violists will decide not to buy a shoulder rest because the price goes up $10 or $20? Is that how we decide our setup?