We all no doubt have just got over the burden of Christmas and are still paying off those over - stretched presents and luxuries. We thought as you would that the Titanic market would take second place until all was paid off... How wrong we where !

The World has just went TITANIC mad, we are now sending out between 700 to 1000 packages per month with our on-line sales. Your support and the demand for Titanic gifts has just blown us away, and we will as always strive to bring you new products and updated facts on a regular basis.

White Star Momentos Ltd are keen to sell on-line, however this is the year of the 100th Anniversary, so if your group, band, committee or even if you just want to throw a bit of a bash... we are here to help. We are Europes largest supplier of Titanic and White Star Line related gifts, and we are ready to supply your every need.

To finalise this months report I would like to mention our new website upgrade, this features our new Captains Log feature, this will have lots of whats-on articles, news, rare photos and product discounts for all.

Be prepared, because this is 2012 and the world is just about to go TITANIC MAD. We will of course be here to guide you through what will be happening here, the home of Titanic, so keep a close eye on the site and as well as that we welcome any feedback you may want to give.

Welcome to 2012, the year of so many Titanic Anniversaries and we at White Star Momentos aim to keep you updated with everything thats happening.



May we start by wishing all our readers a Happy New Year and it has to be said, this will be a fantastic year for all kids, fans and Titanoraks alike. There will be so much happening it will be hard to keep up with it all. We ask you to keep watching this site for news, and it is to this aim that we want to announce some very good news...

For those who joined our Exclusive Passenger List we would thank you for following the news stories, White Star Line history, product offers and rare photos that we published. Sadly last Saturday was our last broadcast and we have now decided on a new direction for 2012.

We plan to bring all the NEWS, PRODUCT OFFERS, STORIES AND RARE PHOTOS TO YOU VIA THE WEBSITE. The reason for this is to make it available for everyone in this very important Anniversary year. What we invisage is the new "Captains Log" which will bring you all the afore mentioned on a weekly basis, and when needed twice weekly.

We ask for your patience in this matter, our web-designers are working away as I type and we hope to be up and running for mid Feb. We aim to bring you a fantastic service of NEWS,PHOTOS,OFFERS,NEW PRODUCTS,EVENTS,AND MUCH MUCH MORE.

Keep watching this site for more.

For the eagle eyed Titanic fans that follow our website, you may have noticed that things have not always been updated on time running up to Christmas...

You would be quite correct ! The reason is simply that we are being over-run with orders for our Titanic products and must help "Santa" get the goods to everyone for Christmas !


NEW YEAR - BREAKING NEWS

Firstly we plan to have all updates, new photos and stories running bang on time for this the 2012 Anniversary year.

We also plan to give the website an overhaul with new graphics and lots of new features, as well as always expanding our range of quality, unique and affordable gifts.

White Star Momentos will also be following the full restoration of the SS Nomadic with lots of photographs for all around the world to join with us in seeing what is now turning into a beautiful Little Ship!

Finally may we wish you all a very Merry Christmas from all her at White Star Momentos, and a very happy New Year.

On such a cold winter month with all but a few leaves left hanging on the trees, you would think that the Titanic gift and souvenir season would be nearing a close...but you would be wrong !

As we reported from as far back as September we were sourcing Titanic stock from both London and Southampton, two successful factory visits secured us amazing deals that we are now able to pass onto you the Titanic customer.

We have decided to expand the gift range on the web shop and have added what we think was missing and would make excellent Christmas gifts. Your choice now includes Titanic glass coasters in a nautical wooden box, Metal maiden voyage signs, sets of three Titanic/Queen Mary tins boxes, "Smiffy" the Titanic Bear, Padraig Lalor CD, Ismay's Dream and our top seller so far, the Wooden box Wine carrier for that extra special Christmas present.

You can check out all these new products in the Web Shop under the GIFT SECTION.



ARTISITIC DEVELOPEMENT
If you are a regular visitor to this website you will know that we are working closely with two very talented watercolour artists and an award winning photographer, lets find out more about them :

Ronnie McClune - An accomplished artist in his own right, Ronnie lives in our local town Carrickfergus, he has served in the Merchant Navy and has a keen interest in all things nautical. Being a life long Titanic fan Ronnie has turned his efforts more recently to capturing Titanic 'Old and New'.

Debra Wenlock - Debra from Groomsport Co Down has also had a life long Titanic interest, as well as being a member of the Belfast Titanic Society. She brings her own style of art to us in the form of greetings cards that are both Historic and Fun.

Bill Abernethy - Bill a local man from Straid, Co Antrim is an award winning photographer whose work is simply stunning! We are really excited to be working with him as he has agreed to supply his Titanic Drawing Office photos in a new format exclusive to White Star Momentos.

A full range of their work will be on view at the " TITANIC THE ART EXHIBITION ", held in the lower deck gallery, Carrickfergus Sailing Club.
Opening night will be Thursday 10th November 7.30 - 9pm, with a free cocktail for all on arrival. The exhibition will run right through until January 2012.

This month we can bring you great news of an exciting new product range as well as what we have been up to behind the scenes.

The month of September saw us in London to finalise the O2 Titanic Exhibition (As was reported last month), but it also seen us visit Southampton on business.

We are very happy to report that on this trip we managed to aquire another new supplier of Titanic goods, with products such as Titanic Boxes, Magnets, Coasters and even Wine carriers. All of these new products will be on-sale via the web-site shop for Christmas.

Locally we have also secured a deal with local artist Ronnie McClune. Ronnie who has served in the merchant navy is a keen Titanic enthusiast who paints watercoulour images, many of which feature Titanic / Nomadic / White Star Line and Belfast. His work is selling well and can also be found on the web-site shop.

Our commitment to continually bring you new and exciting products is on-going and I am sure you have also spotted the latest offerings that we feel will be firm favourites for Christmas presents : Our fantastic Gentlemens Pocket Watch and for those who like a tipple we have the brand new White Star Line Hip Flask.

Both of these items are on sale now in the Premier section of the Web-shop.

Next months Newsletter will feature all the Christmas offers and of course anything that is happening in the Titanic world. Keep watching the News section of the site as it changes weekly and sometimes twice per week !

Sorry for the delay this month, in put digit to keyboard but it was simply down to a really heavy workload, quite simply business is good !


This month I thought I would give the readers an insight into what White Star Momentos are about.

As you have probably noticed, our website is not just about grabing money off you in sales. We like to offer a service to all interested in Titanic, the White Star Line and as we are based on the shores of Belfast lough anything interesting happening in the City or the docks.

Just this month we have finished our major contract with Premier Exhibitions, they ran the Titanic Artifact Exhibition at the O2 in London. We had the contract to supply the gift shop and were very pleased to see that even on the last day (29th Aug) the stock was still flying off the shelves.

Back at home we were also supplying many of our key tourist outlets : Titanic Dock & Pumphouse, Belfast Castle, City Hall, Linen Hall Library, as well as the gift shops and hotels.

We have also tried to keep the range fresh by bringing on over ten new stock items in the last two months, some of these include : A Wisteria miniture Tea Set, a Harland & Wolff plate badge, a porcelain china mug, three sizes of 100th anniversary candles, a tote bag, four new calendars, two new books and most recently we are quite excited about our new Gentlemans pocket watches.

White Star Momentos have also been out and about in the community with the opening of our new stall at St Georges Market in Belfast - THE TITANIC SHOP.

The stall is manned by Anthony Mckeena one of our rising stars, who will be only too happy to talk to you about Titanic all day (and hopefully sell you a gift). The stall is open every Friday between 8am tp 2pm, so why not pop down to St Georges and pick up a Titanic bargin.

Finally we would like to thank all who have either bought goods or have emailed us with questions etc, we will endeavour to answer them all, keep watching this site for new items weekly.

Over 75 years ago the last Whiskey distillery in Belfast closed and has been up until now reletively forgotton about ... But things are about to change, not only in the Whiskey world but in the Titanic world as well.


The Belfast Distillery Company Limited was formed in January 2011 by Peter Lavery the Belfast businessman who already operates the successful Danny Boy Premium Irish Whiskey Brands.

100 YEARS ON...BELFAST LAUNCHES A NEW TITANIc...

A century ago , 12.13pm on Wednesday 31st May, 1911 to be exact, more than 100,000 people witnessed R.M.S Titanic, as it launched into the still, deep waters of Belfast Lough. At the time she was the largest man-made object ever moved in the world.

On the 31st May 2011 at the Europa Hotel, Belfast, a smaller but still significant crowd of VIPs and well wishers gathered to witness the world launch of Titanic Irish Whiskey. The creation of the newly formed Belfast Distillery Company, Titanic Irish Whiskey is the first whiskey brand to emanate from the city of Belfast in nearly 100 years. Indeed the last whiskey distillery in Belfast closed 75 years ago and marked the end of the great era of Belfast as the most important whiskey producing centre in the island of Ireland. Unknown to most people today, in the same era when Titanic was being launched, Belfast produced nearly half the total whiskey produced in Ireland.

The launch event was hosted by Howard Hastings, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the first two whiskeys in the Titanic range a 5 and 10 Year old were presented to the enthusiastic and thirsty guests by Derek Hardy of the Belfast Distillery Company. Asked about their reasons for naming their whiskey after the most famous of Belfast built ships Titanic, Derek Hardy commented that the company felt it was important for Belfast to take huge pride in its great history of ship building and whiskey distilling and what better way to celebrate this than with the launch of a new whiskey brand from Belfast bearing the Titanic name. He further added that the Belfast Distillery Company had, as its long-term objective to once again establish Belfast as the distilling capital of Ireland.

It certainly appeared that the Titanic whiskeys being sampled by the large number of invited guests were very well received. The first two cases of whiskey were brought to the Europa by Belfasts own Peter Lavery, lottery millionaire and successful businessman. Peter who has been a driving force behind the creation of both the Belfast Distillery Company and Titanic brand dusted off his old bus drivers uniform for the occasion and arrived at the launch driving a 50 year old double decker bus, tastefully branded with the impressive Titanic Whiskey logo.

Peter closed the launch by telling the assembled crowd that the Belfast Distillery Company had within its portfolio two key brands, the new Titanic and Danny Boy, which has already gained considerable success in the American and other world markets. Peter further revealed that plans were well developed for the company to open, within the next 18 months, the first distillery to be built in Belfast for 130 years. Peter added that not only would the new distillery be a return to the great whiskey producing days of Belfasts past but would in the future also provide important employment for the people of the city.

From the month of August 2011 a product awareness campaign will be launched, educating the world to this new and exciting Titanic product.

July 2011... and it's Exhibition season. Currently around the UK we have never had a better choice of Titanic related exhibitions and shows, from the private shows right up to the massive Premier Exhibitions who run the Titanic Artifacts Exhibitions worldwide.

I should really start this edition of the newsletter by telling you whats-on and where you can see it.

Firstly one of our own National touring exhibitions - TITANIC HONOUR AND GLORY, are currently running their latest exhibition from 1 July to 30 September at The Historic Dockyard Chatham and entry is included in the normal admission price.
The exhibition, which runs from 1 July until 30 September in No. 1 Smithery: The Gallery has never been seen before in Kent and is set to draw crowds from afar. Titanic Honour & Glory is an exciting, awe inspiring and evocative national touring exhibition, which has already been visited in other parts of the country by over half a million people. It features many rare artefacts from the liners passengers and crew. These include some of the beautiful china dinner plates, which served the first meals aboard the Titanic, silverware, letters, linen and crew possessions. Remarkable, must see artefacts include a fountain pen, which belonged to the captain of the Titanic, together with his Steiff bear and a cup presented to him in 1911 before the fateful voyage. Perhaps most poignantly of all, visitors will also be able to see a beautiful 18 carat gold pocket watch which belonged to the head waiter Vincenzo Gilardino that stopped at 2.12am, as it entered the icy water.

Secondly : After Belfast played host to many Titanic related shows and exhibitions for the launch year of the Titanic, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Culta have just unvailed their brand new static Exhibition on site, entitled TITANICa.
Discover how local enterprise and skills were combined to produce vessels of exceptional quality and design. Find out about life onboard through fascinating objects and personal stories that explore the tragic loss of Titanic in 1912.Entry to this exhibition costs £6.50 per adult.

My third and final entry of Exhibitions currently on in the UK is, of course THE ARTIFACT EXHIBITION at the London O2. This show is run by Premier Exhibitions, they are part of the company that went to the sea bed and brought up all the magnificent pieces that have survived the North Atlantic since 1912.

THE ARTIFACTS EXHIBITION is probably the best in the world, simply because they have so many real artifacts on show. The good news for UK residents and tourists alike is the fact that the show has just been extended to Sept 1st.

Entry per Adult : £ 13.00
Children : £ 9.00


We really have no excuse to not see at least one of these marvellous exhibitions, having outlined all the above we should also remember that the incredible new TITANIC BELFAST building is due to open in April 2012, this will be one of the greatest purpose built exhibitions in the world!

Start planning your 2012 trip to Belfast now.

The story of a beautiful Irish cottage with an incredible link to the Titanic.
Fools Haven is much more than just a traditional old Irish thatched cottage, it holds the memories of days gone by and has a wonderful feeling of warmth to all that cross the door.



FOOLS HAVEN - OUR TITANIC CONNECTION


Fools Haven is where two local children, orphaned by the Titanic tragedy, were brought up. They had been sent to live with their Aunt when their father sailed on-board the Titanic as an engineer on that fatefull maiden voyage to New York in April 1912. There were eight children already living in the cottage, the additions of two more made ten.

Susie Millar is the great grandaughter of the Titanic Engineer, she has published a book THE TWO PENNIES, a true story from the Titanic. It tells the story of the Millar family and offers a unique insight into how the tragedy affected ordinary lives, in particular those of Thomas Millar's two sons.

This gem of a thatched cottage is over 250 years old and is situated at the start of the world famous Causeway Coast and Glens Route, on the shores of Belfast Lough.

Arrival by either air or sea, to one of the main airports or ferry ports in Northern Ireland, brings you within 30 minutes easy drive to Carrickfergus. Why not experience this Titanic Connection yourself and stay at FOOLS HAVEN.


The Two Pennies Book can be purchased on this website.

This month we would like to give you a brief report on the Belfast Titanic launch celebrations as well as a few other items. The White Star Momentos team where in attendance on the famous old slipways of the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic.
On a very rare occasion the area of the slipways being opened to the public, all interested parties were led from the Queens road through 100yards of debris to the cleared open space of the slipways. Awaiting us was a marquee decked out for the occasion, we were treated to the amazing voices of the Harlandic and Queen's Victoria male voice choirs with the preceedings being hosted by the Chaplain of the Titanic Quarter. It has to be said that he was quite a character, explaining to the audience that it took 62 seconds for the Titanic to travel the entire length of the slipway. He then counted down the time until 12.13 - the time she was let go, everyone in the crowd joined in cheering for exactly 62 seconds, even the floatilla of boats at the end of the slipway sounded their horns with their passengers cheering, it was really a moment of realisation that here, one hundred years ago a legend entered the water and that Belfast has produced something that was beautiful, magnificent and would live on in history for ever.

JUNE : We have also decided to expand our range and as you have a look around the on-line shop you will see many new gift items from books to tie bars / money clips and even solid silver 100th anniversary pendants and cufflinks. We are constantly updating and if you have any product requests please let us know and we will look into it.

Our Canadian division of White Star Momentos run by George Watters and his wife Yvonne has just updated us on their Launch day celebrations in Toronto.

In Canada George needed a focal point to bring his guests to as he obviously didn't have the slipways. He decided to make it a celebration on the water and booked a large Toronto Passenger Cruise boat the JUBILEE QUEEN, here is his report :

"Our Anniversary Cruise went very well everyone on board had a great time.
The weather was perfect a warm beautiful summer evening which began with the Toronto Blackwatch Pipers
piping all our guests on board.

We had a good turn out with over two hundred guests - including members of the Belfast Forum, a group of ex-pats who meet on a regular basis to celebrate their culture.

Hugo Straney who is also originally from Belfast was our master of ceremonies and entertainment
for the evening. He did a fabulous job of keeping everyone happy and in good spirits.

On board from Montreal was author - Alan Hustak - who has written a book called : Titanic - The Canadian Story - he will be releasing a new version of the same book with a few updates later this year or in early 2012. Alan spoke to the guests about a few fascinating stories in his book.

Amazingly we also had the relatives on board of the two wireless operators on the RMS TITANIC .
Andrew Phillips with his wife and also his brother Martyn along with their parents of course were related to Jack Phillips.
The second family tie to the Titanic was a young man named Terry Wilson who was related to the other wireless operator Harold Bride. Both these families now live in the Durham Region of Canada.

During the course of the evening we served our guests a light supper and my wife Yvonne baked a cake for the occasion - so near the end of the evening we served coffee and desert with our 100th Anniversary cake.

Hugo Straney as I said earlier did a fabulous job of entertaining the guests who all had a wonderful evening.
Towards the end of the evening we had a draw for some prizes that were donated by our sponsors.
A VIP package from Steam Whistle Brewing company, Six dinner dance cruise tickets from Jubilee Queen
and of course we at RMSTitanic.CA donated a framed Titanic print entitled Farewell to Belfast.

We had a selection of merchandise on sale as one of our sponsors Victory Cigars who also sold his products.

Finally as the guests were leaving the ship we presented each one with a goodie bag with a photo of the
Titanic imprinted on the bag and inside was a gift from yet another sponsor Iceberg Vodka along with our
marketing brochure and a price list of Titanic products for sale.

It was an amazing and really enjoyable evening and should help to push the name of White Star Momentos in Canada."

GEORGE WATTERS.
Watters Marketing Inc