The Gift Awards: Winners Reactions

After a hugely exciting night at The Gift Awards last Thursday (12 May) winners of both The Greats and the Gift of the Year awards were fast off the mark to celebrate and shout about their tremendous achievements!

In one of a series of articles, GiftsandHome.net shares some of the initial reactions from some very delighted winners of both Awards:

“We are over the moon to have won this award!” exclaimed Greg Rose, co-owner of Maybugs in Hailsham and Eastbourne, winner of the Greats London, South, South East & East Anglia category. “We had special bottles of fizz made, with Maybugs labels on, which we’ve given to everyone on the team.”

Highlighted Greg: “It means so much to everyone at Maybugs to have been recognised at such a high level within the industry that we love. Meanwhile, we would also like to congratulate all the other nominees – we were amazed to have won against such stiff competition.”

Above: Phil Verrills, (right) sales director of Gift Republic, category sponsor, presented the winning Greats trophy to Greg Rose, co-owner of Maybugs. Comedian and compere Charlie Baker is shown on the left. — **Above**: Phil Verrills, (right) sales director of Gift Republic, category sponsor, presented the winning Greats trophy to Greg Rose, co-owner of Maybugs. Comedian and compere Charlie Baker is shown on the left.

At the three Nest stores in Broughton Astley, Stoneygate and Thurlaston, owner Samantha Gibbs, winner of the Greats Midlands & Wales category, enthused: “We’re all thrilled and still on cloud nine! When I heard Nest being called out it was an absolute shock, and such a huge honour to be part of such an amazing bunch of contemporary forward thinking shops! I don’t think it has properly sunk in yet, but we are all looking forward to celebrating and shouting it from our little rooftop! We will continue to champion bricks and mortar retailers and the energy and positivity they bring to our local high streets.”

Adds Sam: “With The Greats success behind us, I feel like you have given us a wonderful boost, as if to say, you know what Sam, keep going, your doing okay!”

Above: Dan Illingworth, (right), head of independent and export sales at Widdop & Co, category sponsor, presented the winning Greats trophy to Samantha Gibbs, owner of Nest. — **Above**: Dan Illingworth, (right), head of independent and export sales at Widdop & Co, category sponsor, presented the winning Greats trophy to Samantha Gibbs, owner of Nest.

In the North of England, Andrea Pinder, owner of Presentation Cards & Gifts in Barrowford, winner of the North, Northern Ireland and Scotland category, admitted that she was: “totally shocked, with an overwhelming sense of emotional achievement.” Added Andrea: “Also, having the opportunity to share it with my colleague, Lisa Thomason, made it very special indeed. It’s a night I won’t forget that’s for sure, and our trophy is standing very proud in our widow.”

Above: Andrea Pinder, owner of Presentation Cards & Gifts, was presented with her Greats trophy by David Cree, sales manager of Joe Davies, category sponsor. — **Above**: Andrea Pinder, owner of Presentation Cards & Gifts, was presented with her Greats trophy by David Cree, sales manager of Joe Davies, category sponsor.

Gift of the Year (GOTY) winners too, were equally thrilled with their success.

“Winning Gift of the Year again is an amazing achievement for our growing family business,” enthused Sanjay Aggarwal, Spice Kitchen’s chief spice officer, winner of the Gift of the Year’s Best Food & Drink Product or Range category.“We had the most wonderful evening, surrounded by supporters from other gifting businesses, as well as lot of our retailers. A milestone moment for Spice Kitchen.”

Above: The team from Spice Kitchen joined founder Sanjay Aggarwal on stage to receive their GOTY trophy from Jo Pilcher on behalf of Pink Key Licensing. — **Above**: The team from Spice Kitchen joined founder Sanjay Aggarwal on stage to receive their GOTY trophy from Jo Pilcher on behalf of Pink Key Licensing.

Winner of the Gift of the Year’s Best Tech &/Or Gadget Product or Range wasFizz Creations, with Zoe Ryan, head of marketing, telling GiftsandHome.net: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been crowned winners of the Tech & Gadgets category for the second year in a row. It’s such an honour to have the phenomenal work from the team at Fizz get recognised by the gifting industry – I’m just so pleased!”

Above: Nathan Aspin, managing director of Aspin, category sponsor, presented Fizz Creation’s head of marketing Zoe Ryan with her GOTY award. — **Above**: Nathan Aspin, managing director of Aspin, category sponsor, presented Fizz Creation’s head of marketing Zoe Ryan with her GOTY award.

Concurred Nikki Garner, co-owner of Inside Out Toys, winner of the Gift of the Year’s Best Design & Craft Product or Range: “It was a fantastic evening spent with a great bunch of people, topped off by winning the Design & Craft category with ReCycleMe!! We were absolutely thrilled – both for our IOT Team who have worked so hard throughout the last few challenging years, and for Arco, the brand owner, who created such a clever product which fits perfectly into our portfolio of sustainable toy brands.”

Above: Mike Antwoon, sales director of Yodel, category sponsor, presented Julian and Nikki Garner, co-owners of Inside Out Toys, with their GOTY trophy. — **Above**: Mike Antwoon, sales director of Yodel, category sponsor, presented Julian and Nikki Garner, co-owners of Inside Out Toys, with their GOTY trophy.

Winner of the GOTY Best Branded Gift Product or Range was Blade & Rose. “What an amazing event it was!” said Blade & Rose’s director Amanda Peffer. “We are truly honoured and immensely proud to win Best Licensed Product Award, for our Peter Rabbit collection.”

Above: Amanda Peffer, director of Blade & Rose, was presented with her GOTY trophy by Ben Roberts, senior content strategist, licence global, Brand Licensing Europe, category sponsor.

To flick through The Gift Awards 2022 photo album CLICK HERE.

Watch some of the Awards highlights HERE.