Ukulele at the North Pole

Richard Konter with his famous 1K Martin ukulele.

During the 1920's the Martin Company actually produced twice as many ukuleles as guitars. The Hawaiian uke craze was in full swing at the time. Here's an interesting tidbit - in 1926, a seaman named Dick Konter was a volunteer for Robert Byrd's first exposition to the North Pole. He smuggled his Martin uke onto the plane hoping to play it for some eskimos. However, there were no eskimos at the North Pole when he got there. But, the uke did become the first musical instrument to travel to the North Pole. Link

If all goes well, I should be unveiling my first hand-painted "fine art" uke (Tickler Brand) soon. It's a Martin copy that was lovingly hand-crafted by Lou Reimuller (Teenar's creator) from a Stew Mac kit. The second uke is already in production. It will be made from scratch by Reimuller and designed by me. I am painting them with original motifs from my "Monkey Love" and "Little Pierrot" series.
The Art of Amy Crehore