After a hugely exciting, glittering night at The Gift Awards last Thursday (16 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!
GiftsandHome.net shares some of the initial reactions from five very delighted Greats winners . . .
At Bill & Bert’s, winner of the Independent Gift Retailer – London, South, South East and East Anglia category, owner Bill Nettlefield’s daughter Amy Myer took a video of the lead up to the shop being announced as the winner, which went live on Tik Tok the following day.
See link HERE
@billandbertscolchester What a night we had at the Gift Awards in London. We are the proud winners of The Best Independent Gift shop in London, The South, South East and East Anglia. This wouldnt be possible without our amazing staff, fantastic loyal customers and of course our great suppliers and reps #billandbertscolchester #billandberts #bestindependentretailer #giftshopoftheyear #winners #thegreatsgiftretailerawards #fyp #colchester ♬ Celebration – FASSounds
“When we were announced as the winners in our category we felt a rush of emotions,” Bill told GiftsandHome.net “Elation, pride and very humbled to have been thought of as winners. Twenty four bottles of prosecco were enjoyed by our customers and staff throughout the day on Saturday to celebrate our success!”
“We had an amazing night and were so thrilled to win, especially as we are celebrating our fifth anniversary,” enthused Cilena Eason, owner of Artichoke in Tynemouth, winner of the Independent Retailer of the Year – North and Northern Ireland category. “It was such a wonderful evening. We love our shop in Tynemouth and we have worked hard to find amazing brands that we are so proud to stock. To be recognised for this is really rewarding. We couldn’t have won this without the help of our wonderful staff that are always there for us, and we will certainly be celebrating and toasting our success. Thank you all for making the night a memorable evening that we will have fond memories of forever.”
As delighted was Caroline Ranwell, owner of Hugs & Kisses in Tettenhall, winner of the Independent Retailer of the Year – Midlands & Wales category: “This award means the absolute world to us. To be recognised in this way in our wonderful industry is a huge honour. This award very much belongs to the whole team at Hugs & Kisses so we will be arranging a celebration party for our fabulous staff very soon.”
Carla Ringer, buyer at Blue Diamond, winner of the Best Garden Centre Retailer of Gifts category, enthused: “I had a great night at the awards, and winning the category was the icing on the cake. I was not expecting it and it was a lovely surprise to have all the hard work of the team recognised.”
Concurred Nicola Hibon Jackson, owner of The Voewood in London’s Blackheath Standard, winner of the Greats Best Non-Specialist Retailer of Gifts category. “Totally thrilled! The awards really are the ‘Oscars’ of the gift world so to win one, and be flying the flag for small, independent boutiques is just fantastic. We’re sharing the win with our wonderful customers with a special award treat in store and, of course, lots of fizz!” added Nicola.
“When Mooch was called out we couldn’t believe it, as there were so many other strong contenders,” said Jon May, co-owner of Mooch Gifts & Home in Bewdley and Stourport on Severn, winner of the Best In Store/Window Display. “We were in complete shock walking up to the stage! This award really makes all the hours we dedicate to our windows worthwhile.”
Added Greg Rose, co-owner of Maybugs which has shops in Bexhill-on-Sea, Eastbourne, Hailsham. “All of us here at Team Bug are thrilled to have won the Retailer Initiative Award, as the artisan market project has been a real labour of love for us all over the past 12 months. John and I have decided to host a beach party for our team to celebrate the win later in the summer, hopefully on a hot day, with games, fish and chips and a little bit of booze!”
All Gift Award winners photos can be viewed HERE.
Visit www.thegiftawards.com; www.giftoftheyear.co.uk; www.thegreatsawards.co.uk
(pic 1) Top: The winners of The Greats and the Gift of the Year with their trophies, on stage at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel last Thursday (16 May).
