We are saddened to hear that Chris Carnell of Strings and Things Ltd has passed away at the age of 41.
Chris joined the company in April 2013 as a warehouse assistant. His keenness and ability soon led him to being promoted to the sales office a year later where he worked for 18 months as Sales Office Administrator, benefitting from the guidance of former General Manager Andy Cocklin. When a Telesales post became vacant Chris was the obvious choice. He very quickly made the job his own and forged many meaningful relationships both with colleagues and customers, lots of whom would become close personal friends.
Aside from his family and his beloved dog Milo, the great love of Chris’ life was music. Chris had actually applied for a role at Strings and Things the year before he joined the Company but he wasn’t interviewed because it was felt it would be too much of a step down in terms of position. But he persevered. To him life wasn’t about salary or status, he just loved music. He was also a fantastic guitarist and an accomplished guitar technician. In his own words, he was ‘the greatest guitarist in the word’, aided and abetted by his cherished Gretsch White Falcon.
Chris spent much of his life playing in bands. His band Gunshot Straight headlined a sell-out show at the Borderline in London and supported bands such as Dodgy and Proud Mary. Latterly he played in covers bands, mostly with colleagues at Strings and Things. Whatever the venue, Chris just loved performing.
Chris was diagnosed with cancer in late 2020. He tackled the challenge as he did with most things in life – simply head-on. However after treatment and initial optimism, his health sadly deteriorated over the following 18 months and he finally passed away, fighting to the end, on April 2nd.
He will be very sadly missed by everyone that knew him.
