Kickstarter Crowdfunding Gives The Great British Banjo Company the Boost it Needs to Build The Shackleton Banjo in Britain
Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom (PRWEB UK) 23 September 2013 -- Banjo manufacturer The Great British Banjo Company has received pledges from banjo enthusiasts all over the world, to reach the halfway mark in its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
The company has received pledges totaling more than £15,000 ($24,000) towards its target of £30,000 ($48,000) which will enable it to produce its first batch of the Shackleton banjo.
The Shackleton will be the first volume-production to be manufactured in Britain for more than 60 years.
The instrument is named in honour of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the British explorer who led the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914.
The banjo belonging to the expedition's meteorologist played an unexpected but vital role in the journey, after Shackleton's ship Endurance was crushed by ice and had to be abandoned.
Although each man was only allowed to take two pounds in weight of personal possessions off the ship, Shackleton made an exception for the banjo, famously declaring: "We must have that banjo, it is vital mental medicine."
It proved a wise decision, because when Shackleton and a small team had to leave 22 men trapped on Elephant Island for several months while they set off on an 800 mile voyage in a small open boat to seek for help, the banjo played a vital role in maintaining morale for those left behind.
The marooned men held regular concert parties and wrote songs on the banjo.
"It's a fantastic story of British pluck and determination," explained Simon Middleton, managing director of The Great British Banjo Company, "and it has inspired us to undertake our own adventure: to build an affordable banjo in Britain, which has not been done for so many decades."
"So many people have told us it can't be done... but even more have encouraged us and pledged their support via Kickstarter. In fact it's Kickstarter that has made it possible for a small company like us to take a project like this off the drawing board and into reality," Middleton added.
But the funding journey isn't over for the Shackleton Banjo project. The company still has to raise nearly £15,000 and has just 18 days left to do so. Under Kickstarter rules, projects have to secure full funding or they receive nothing.
"We'll get there," said Middleton. "Ernest Shackleton himself said that if you leave shore with funding secured then the hardest part of any expedition is behind you. We know how he felt... and we're determined that we will succeed."
Company Information:
The Great British Banjo Company Limited, which also owns online specialist store Banjos Direct, is based in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
The company works with local craftsmen as well as instrument manufacturers in other parts of Britain.
The business was founded by brand adviser, business author and musician Simon Middleton and has grown rapidly to become the UK's best known banjo specialist retailer and manufacturer.
In 2012, the company launched the Islander Ash Leaf banjo, hand-made for the company in England by Malcolm McLeod, which has received glowing reviews from professional players in the UK and the USA.
The Great British Banjo Company is a private limited company, owned and managed by a small group of family and friends in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
For further information, visit: http://www.thegreatbritishbanjocompany.com/.
Simon Middleton, Simon Middleton, http://www.simonmiddleton.com, +44 7890260312, [email protected]
Share this article