Thursday 31 May 2012

A Rather Grand Affair


So, as some of you may already know, Welsh Royal Crystal was bought out by us in May 2011 and it was action stations as we were busy moving to a more suitable premises. With all hands on deck, we set about organising the building layout, and there were electricians , plumbers and forklift trucks everywhere as we were building the interior from scratch. All of our machinery had to be relocated and placed in order for Alan and David to be able to work their magic. A new coffee shop was being built and we were slowly moving trolley load after trolley load of our stock into the new showroom. We had announced that we would be open for business as from the beginning of May 2011, and friends and family all came to help. As the phone lines were being transferred, we had a call out of the blue to inform us that we had been selected to produce a Wedding Present for Prince William and Kate Middleton. This would be the official gift from the Assembly Government and the National Assembly of Wales.

Alan sat down with their staff and sketched out different ideas on glass, and this is where our pretty Cymru design was born. A pretty pattern cut with daffodils, which would be used around the bottom of the large footed Cambrian Bowl, along with the the personal message engraved in the front panel. Normally such a commission would take up to four weeks and we were asked to have it delivered with just over a week to work on it. In the middle of the move, but with such a commission to work on, we all knuckled down and worked around the clock. Adrenalin pumping,  we finished the commission, and it was placed into the most beautiful velvet padded case and then whisked off to Cardiff where a representative of the Palace came to collect it and take it back to present to the Royal Couple. 

The press had been tipped off by someone ( who could that be I hear you say) and within four hours of speaking to the team from the BBC Wales team, it was online and the news spread like wild fire. We hit the National  and local newspapers, and there were websites all over the world talking about the news of the Welsh Royal gift from the people of Wales. So many phone calls asking about whether they could see the finished piece, but the answer was of course no, it couldn't be shown until after the Wedding. I can remember sitting down to watch the Royal Wedding in our front room and feeling a moment of personal jubilation for our little company in Rhayader, that had been picked to produce such a personal gift for such a world renowned couple. A few glasses were raised in triumph that day!

Oh and yes, just in case you were wondering, we did open for business as promised, and we had people coming in their droves to look at the replica of the gift which was on display for all to see. We also produced a very beautiful rose bowl to celebrate the occasion with our customers. If you look, you can see the daffodils cut on the side. This is available to purchase online now.


So are we up to date now? No not quite! The Diamond Jubilee is just around the corner, and to celebrate, we produced our pretty Diamond Jubilee Bowl which is available to purchase online. How will you be celebrating the day? Our town has many events happening, and we will be attending waving our red white and blue flags with great pride!

 
Also, what's coming up next?

 We have a superb new LIMITED EDITION announcement happening, and it will be tweeted sometime tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled! Clue? A group of boys sang a song on a show where a certain Mr Cowell was a judge. It's also a rousing song sung at Welsh Rugby matches. 

Until tomorrow!



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