Goviers Giftware, Collectables and Commemoratives September 2023

As summer draws to a close, it warms up…..

Janet and I are coming to the end of our time in France, and I am sat at the kitchen table with the shutters closed and the fan on as it is a very humid 34 degrees outside. I find writing my small contribution, always at the very last minute before the catalogue goes off to the printer, as a great time to just sit and marvel at the wonderful products we work with and you our much-appreciated customers, as well as life in general and today my thoughts very much turn to the events of 12 months ago and the death of H.M. Queen Elizabeth ll.

Reading the press reports today and the memories of twelve months ago it is incredible how proud one feels at the teamwork and dedication that our servicemen and women showed in readying themselves to give our late Queen the send-off she deserved and most certainly had earned. I don’t think any of us can be other than immensely proud of the way in which the whole country rallied together. A truly British send off for a truly wonderful Monarch, mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother.

With a Coronation as well as a State Funeral there was plenty to watch and be proud of over the past year. We hope that the ranges that we had designed for us, and those that we chose to feature, captured the right tone for both these occasions.

Being based in Staffordshire and close to the heart of The Potteries we love nothing more than to support and promote the fine products made on our doorstep. Moorcroft is a stunning example of a heritage craft being maintained and enjoyed the world over. The skills of the team there are second to none and we are delighted to feature an extensive selection of new pieces from this iconic brand.

We were very lucky to be able to visit Canterbury Bears earlier in the summer and see the wonderful work that they do there. A true family company with a passion for their work and a degree of care given to each piece that you only see where they truly love what they do. Janet and Kerstin talked away about new ideas while Maude and I enjoyed a cup of tea and I learnt all about the history of the business. I won’t reveal Maude’s age but it is safe to say she is working well past the normal retirement age! The new set of Bears of “The Wales’s” were the result of that visit and we are delighted to be showing them for the very first time in this edition. A well researched and beautifully crafted collection, just as you would expect from the hand of the charming Maude.

I have often said that being someone with a birthday in mid-December I always used to fight hard against Christmas arriving in the Willis house before I had marked off another year. Unfortunately, the advent of Goviers, no pun intended, has meant that we must start talking Christmas in February, in fact I am not sure that we ever stop talking Christmas! Yet more Christmas decorations were added to our offering only yesterday while visiting Maison et Objet, a huge trade exhibition which takes place just north of Paris. This catalogue contains our new range of baubles, designed by Caroline Dadd, which I must admit could well be allowed up before my birthday! They are such great designs and the detail and thought that Caroline has put into them is amazing.

Being something of a foodie, OK that is something of an understatement I hear our team crying, I always enjoy cooking and more particularly seeing people enjoy food; whether or not I have cooked it. I am very lucky that almost 40 years after starting at Denby tableware I still get to work with, and heartily enjoy, fine tableware and glassware. Noritake tableware always featured in our family as my late father used to spend a good amount of his latter years working not far from the Japanese base of this well-known brand. Today I have been able to combine my love of food, and French food in particular, with my love of tableware and cooking. We all felt that the range of photographs available for the Noritake tableware we wanted to feature was not quite what we needed so I said I would have a go at dressing a plate and Janet would get out her iPhone! I am not sure we would win many prizes, and we will have another go sometime with the proper lights and camera, but I hope you will focus on the plates and see how much better even the simplest of ingredients looks on a piece of beautiful tableware. I have to say my plum sauce was very good and note the “chefie smear”! A quote from James Martin!

We hope that we are almost at the end of the supply issues that we have been experiencing for the last 6 months or so. Although many of our suppliers remain busy our back orders are finally being cleared now. We do appreciate your patience and we fully understand that we have tried it at times. Everyone is trying to plan further ahead, and we hope that the events that triggered much of these issues exactly a year ago will not occur again for some time.

I hope that the team have put together a selection of items to tempt and excite you once again.

Simon & the team at Goviers.