Bend man designs new ukulele, seeks backers

Scott Seelye is an idea guy. The Bend man and his wife already operate several successful websites, including thelongboardstore.com and its skateboard counterpart. But Seelye’s passion is in design.

“I just love it, and I can’t help it,” said Seelye.

Recognizing the growing popularity of ukuleles, Seelye decided he wanted in. It took three years to perfect his polycarbonate design. Now, his prototype for “The Plastic Ukulele” is on www.kickstarter.com.

“You know it goes against the grain for me” said Seelye said Monday. “I truly believe products should be started from scratch and slowly built up.”

Kickstarter.com helps people with ideas make them a reality by finding people to “back” the project by donating money. Donators receive products, based on how much they donate.

For example; if you donate $125 to Seelye’s project, you will get one black ukulele, which has a retail value of $150. More donations mean more ukuleles, which are scheduled to ship in November.

Seelye believes his design has two winning attributes: it’ll be made in the U.S. and can survive an active lifestyle.

“I thought it would be fun to imagine people floating down the (Deschutes) River and playing the ukulele and not having to worry about it getting wet,” he said.

Seelye is trying to raise $125,000 to fund his idea. He knows it’s a lot to ask for, but after starting several businesses, he knows the cost involved in making a quality product to ship all over the world.

With more than $2,400 raised since Sunday, Seelye is confident people will pay to play one of his plastic ukuleles.

“It’s just teaching people that plastic (in) an instrument like this will sound as good as wood,” said Seelye.

You can donate as little as a dollar, and all it takes is a few clicks. Seelye says if he’s not able to meet his goal of $125,000, he’ll just try something else — because the part he really loves in all of this is designing a new product.