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Industry A ‘Greats’ Day Was Had By All Tears, Cheers & Laughter On A Sunny Afternoon The winners of The Greats 2021 were revealed at a fabulous sunny September afternoon Awards event that took place at the historic Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) in London at the end of September. Attended by the cream of the great and the good in the gift community, guests enjoyed pre-lunch drinks on the lawn, as well as a specially prepared Greats lunch, before being entertained by stand-up comedian Stuart Goldsmith. “It was a fabulous day, with the gift industry finally able to get back together again after 19 months for a live event, so there was a lot of hugging going on!” says PG&H’s editor Sue Marks. In her welcome speech, Sue told guests: “Our congratulations go to all the fantastic Greats finalists and winners who showed outstanding resourcefulness and resilience in challenging retail times.” Among the winners who couldn’t hide their excitement at hearing their names called out was Nilou Noorbaksh, co-owner of Jumping Bean in Beckenham and Honor Oak. “I did a cross between a jump and dance on my way to the stage!” she laughed. For other winners, it was an emotional day, with happy tears from James Webster, owner of Josie’s in Bideford. “I felt very emotional. I didn’t expect it all, but I felt very proud.” The Outstanding Achievement Award was
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Jo Williams, owner of Joco Interiors in Nuneaton, was recently voted as overall winner of the NoW Network Awards Service in Excellence category, held in Coventry. Jo was shortlisted as a finalist in two other categories and also received a commendation in the Locked Up to Looked Up Award. Below: The Service in Excellence Award won by Jo Williams.
awarded posthumously to Widdop & Co’s Robert ‘Bob’ Illingworth, founder of the family business, who sadly passed away in August aged 91. His eldest grandson, Stephen Illingworth, Widdop’s creative director, collected the trophy, and recalled the tremendous achievements of his grandpa, with Stephen receiving a standing ovation. (Turn to page 26). To see the full list of Greats winners, turn to pages 20-27, and to flick through the Greats party photos, turn to pages 18 and 19 to share in all the fun of the day. The Greats Awards are organised by Progressive Gifts & Home and GiftsandHome.net and owned by Max Publishing. Details of The Greats Awards 2022 will be announced shortly. Visit www.thegreatsawards.co.uk Above: Max Publishing’s ‘Greats’ team, ready to welcome guests. From left to right are (back row): Sue Marks and Warren Lomax; (centre, from left to right): Jo Pilcher, Ali Farrell and Jakki Brown; (front row, from left to right): Ian Hyder and Rob Willis. Left: Greats winner Lisa Carberry, owner of Original Artists, was among the winners who made headlines in their local media.
The Greats Sponsors 2021 The Greats Awards 2021 were sponsored by the following companies (in alphabetical order): Allsorted, Ashleigh & Burwood; Candlelight; Carte Blanche Greetings (CBG); Gift Republic; GiftsandHome.net; The Giftware Association; Gisela Graham; Harrogate Christmas & Gift; Heritage Art and Design; Joe Davies; licensingsource.net; Life Charms; Method UK; Premier Decorations; Products of Change; Progressive Gifts & Home; Progressive Greetings Live; Progressive Greetings magazine; Spring Fair and Autumn Fair and Wrendale Designs.
A Marathon Achievement Despite the fact that David Lorimer, co-owner of four Brocante gift and lifestyle shops in Cornwall, (a finalist at The Greats 2021), ‘hates running’, he not only completed the recent 26.2 mile London Marathon, but raised over £3,000 for national charity The Children’s Society. He took part in the Marathon with his business and life partner Keiron Cockley, revealing that they were spurred on by the cheering crowds and the historic London landmarks around every corner. “Every mile, whether it’s one or 26 is hard, which is why I need a goal to achieve,” he explained. Kieron completed the Marathon in 4 hours 20 minutes and David in 4 hours 50 minutes. “We felt a huge sense of achievement, and to raise money for the charity felt fantastic,” said David.
Mooch Opens In Fulham Greats 2021 finalist Mooch, which has three shops in Ealing, West London, recently opened a fourth branch in trendy Fulham. Co-owner Sandra O’Connell explained that it was driven by customer demand. “Customers were always coming into our Ealing gift stores and saying ‘if only we had a shop like this in Fulham’, so we’ve opened one!” Above: The new Mooch gift shop in Fulham.
Jumping Bean Jumps Into Dulwich The owners of newly crowned Greats’ winner Jumping Bean - winner of the Independent Gift Retailer of the Year - London category, will be adding to their award winning gift shop portfolio in Beckenham and Honor Oak with a third Jumping Bean gift outlet. Located in Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, and scheduled to open this month, co-owners Nilou Noorbaksh and Terry Newton explained: “We feel that now is the time for independents. Given that lockdown happened, and the tremendous support we received locally, we decided we wanted to open another shop in an area close to where we are already part of the community.” Below: Jumping Bean will be opening a third shop in East Dulwich this month.
Left: From left to right: Jo Jenkins (left), executive director, social impact, The Children’s Society; Brocante’s Keiron Cockley and David Lorimer, and the Rev. Mike Todd, The Children Society’s fundraising development manager.
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