Today we’d like to introduce you to John White.
John, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was inspired as young boy, when upon one Christmas, I received a book about the Titanic.
From that moment on, my fascination grew and by my early 30’s, I had achieved a huge book collection to which I opened my very first exhibition.
It wasn’t long before I went onto collecting other items, such as silverware and china, deck plans, menus and postcards.
By 2000, I had met my future business partner, David Scott Beddard and we decided to join our collections together and exhibit as one.
Clients such as Belfast City Council and Royal Crown Derby started to use our services and it wasn’t long before our hobby became our ‘job’.
We are now the world’s leading Titanic Exhibition company which specializes in hiring out artefacts from Titanic and her sister-ship Olympic.
We have exhibited in Moscow, Dubai, Latvia, Perth and Sydney, along with other attractions in the UK and USA.
Our current exhibition is on-board the historic trans-Atlantic liner Queen Mary in Long beach, called Titanic in Photographs, the exhibition, based on the best-selling book of the same name by Steve Hall and Daniel Klistorner, it tells the story of Titanic from her birth in Belfast to her untimely end in the Atlantic, using period photographs on a very large scales complimented by original artefacts.
Some of the exhibits include an original Life-jacket from the sinking and a lifeboat from the SS Nomadic, that was alongside the Titanic in Cherbourg in April 1912.
Titanic in Photographs the exhibition has just been voted as 1 of the top 11 attractions in the USA as a must see, by USA today.
White Star Memories growth is unprecedented and continues to take on the exhibition world, full steam ahead!
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s a passion, coming to work is a real joy, for both of us, but it still has its own pressures with deadlines to make.
We have worked hard over the years and it is now finally paying off, in the success of the company and its reputation in the exhibition industry. The brand works well but there is no time to sit back and relax as we seek new opportunities and challenges.
David and I spend quite a bit away from home travelling, which has its disadvantages, I, with having young children at home, but I do get a fair amount of time at home to relax too.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the White Star Memories story. Tell us more about the business.
White Star Memories is totally unique, even our accountant and bank manager were surprised! 🙂
We hire authentic artefacts from the White Star Line, Titanic and Olympic to museums and exhibitions around the world. There is nobody else who do what we do, on the scale we do it.
We also supply wholesale, merchandise, such as t-shirts, posters, key rings, that sort of thing.
We have a great client base around the globe and have a huge following on Facebook too.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Titanic is known around the world and the opportunities are countless.
We are about very much about preserving the memory of the Titanic and the White Star Line for future generations to discover and enjoy, so that the subject will always be at the fore front.
I spend a lot of time in local schools, talking to young children about the Titanic, they are fascinated and soak it up, it’s very encouraging to see…
White Star Memories has a great future ahead, I just wish I had I had another lifetime to full-fill it all…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.whitestarmemories.com
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
White Star Memories Ltd.
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