News Blog Extra

Wedding Day at Gretna Green!

...from now on I’m Mrs Alison Tweedie!

Yes, that is indeed a familiar face standing at the famous Anvil in the Blacksmith’s Shop at Gretna Green! It’s Thimble Guild Product Manager Alison Russell with Gary, her partner of 13 years – they headed for the UK’s most historic and romantic wedding destination to tie the knot on 28 October.

It was a wonderful wedding day.

‘It was a wonderful wedding day,’ says Alison. ‘The sun shone and we had a fabulous time, and from now on I’m Mrs Alison Tweedie!’ After a quick honeymoon in Lanzarote, Alison was back at her desk at the Guild’s HQ to finish preparations for the December brochures. You can take a look at her famous wedding venue on page 2 of this January edition!

15th December 2011

60 Years of Royal Thimbles

Royal thimbles have been best-sellers ever since the Thimble Guild first started in 1982.
Indeed, it was a thimble marking the Queen Mum’s 80th birthday that provided the inspiration to get the Guild going, and since those early days we’ve been following the big events at Buckingham Palace and making sure your collection is bang up to date with the latest Royal happenings! Most recently, we’ve been celebrating the Queen’s 85th Birthday, her first visit to the Irish Republic, and of course the weddings of two of her grandchildren, Prince William and Zara Phillips.

The Queen’s Coronation Day on 2 June 1953 was the first major royal spectacle to be televised, and ever since then Her Majesty has performed her public duties in front of a posse of photographers and television cameras, a far cry from those meticulously posed Royal family photographs and jerky black and white newsreel images of the Victorian and Edwardian eras! One wonders what Queen Victoria would have made of the official website of the British Monarchy – click on www.royal.gov.uk and you can communicate directly with Buckingham Palace via Facebook and Twitter, and enjoy access to a huge amount of information about the Royal Family, including news of Royal Visits and State Occasions, Diamond Jubilee celebrations and a chance to delve into the history of kings and queens through the ages.

15th December 2011

Web Free Prize Draw Winners

The latest winners of the Web Free Prize Draw are...
September – Susan Proctor, October – Julie Peake, November – Dawn Button ... Sign up Online today for your chance to win at www.thimbleguild.com!
Plus don’t forget you can enjoy spending £20 with The Thimble Guild when you recommend a friend

15th December 2011

... Coming Soon ! ...

In 2002 the Thimble Guild celebrated the Queen’s Golden Jubilee with a whole host of souvenirs including a special 5-piece commemorative set featuring archive photos from the Royal Family album. Ten years on, and in addition to the many commemorative pieces we’ve lined up for the Diamond Jubilee in forthcoming months, we’ve commissioned Guild artist Julie Menzies to create a 5-part series of finely-painted watercolours, each one inspired by a historic moment from Her Majesty’s 60-year reign. An extra-special treat to add to your collection – more details coming soon in your monthly brochure!

15th December 2011

Alan & Bill say 'Thanks!'

Alan Michie and Bill Rennie of the Biggar & District Branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland visited the Thimble Guild offices recently to receive a cheque for £500, raised through the sale of Remembrance Thimbles in The Guild’s November 2010 edition. Both gentlemen have asked us to pass on to you their most sincere thanks. Handing over the cheque is The Guild’s Product Manager Alison Russell. A further £100, also raised through Remembrance thimble sales, has been sent to Help for Heroes, the charity formed to assist those who have been wounded in Britain’s current conflicts.

1st March 2011

Christmas Winner

Many of you rose to the challenge and picked up pen and paintbrush to get going with your ideas for a Christmas thimble in our October competition! With such a very high standard of entries it was extremely difficult to choose a winner, but the team of judges finally went for the colourful Christmas cracker design by Mrs B Ogden of Otley, West Yorkshire, who won a £30 voucher plus one of 'her' thimbles. Congratulations, Mrs Ogden, and many thanks to all of you who took part!

1st March 2011

Welcome Back Julie!

We're delighted that Julie Menzies has returned to The Thimble Guild as one of our team of regular designers after a 10-year break to concentrate on home and family. Julie was our resident artist from 1993 to 2000, responsible for scores of individual commemoratives and complete sets, and most Guild members have at least one of her designs on their thimble shelves. Her carefully observed and finely painted portraits have always been best sellers, and we’re fortunate indeed to have her back with us in time for all the excitement of the Royal Wedding!

1st March 2011

Best Sellers

We've been keeping tabs on which thimbles have been particularly popular in recent editions of The Guild, and since October last year our best sellers have been: Autumn Posy, Congratulations & Celebrations (Sir Cliff Richard’s 70th Birthday) and the Counting Magpies set; Poppy Peep, We Will Remember Them and In Flanders Fields the Poppies Blow from November's Remembrance selection; Noel, Jolly Holly, Sir Norman Wisdom, Two Royal Residences, A Royal Engagement by Julie Menzies, An Engagement Photograph, farewell to HMS Ark Royal and to the RAF Harrier Jump Jet and Two from Gretna Green.

1st March 2011

Introducing thimble designer MANDY PAGE...

who’s making her Thimble Guild debut in this month’s brochure! Hello! My name is Mandy Page, I’m 37, happily married, and I live in a tiny country village in Suffolk called Bures. At the moment I’m a ‘stay at home Mum’ to my 3 year old daughter Anya, who is the inspiration for my good fun thimbles. I am an avid thimble collector and love anything and everything ‘different’ e.g. shapes, materials and handcrafted thimbles. Before I had Anya, I was a manager for 13 years in a retail discount store. Since I was a child I have loved all things crafty, like painting, sewing, cake decorating etc, gaining an ‘A distinction’ grade in Art at school. I started to make my own thimbles for Anya to play with (really to try and get her interested in my hobby too!).

1st October 2010

Letter of the Month

Mrs Alison Tabberer of Derby enclosed a letter with her July order….. I’ve ordered nine thimbles - that’s seven for me and two for a friend of mine, she’s not been too well in health lately – she had a bad fall so I want to get her a few thimbles to cheer her up a little bit. You will find I have ordered two of the same thimble - that’s because one is for me and one is for my friend - she has been good to me in the past and sent me thimbles for Christmas and my birthday so I want to return the favour! She has been collecting for well over 26 years so she will have a good few thousand in her collection by now - she is a Royal Family freak, she loves the Royal Family! I am building my own collection up slowly - can’t rush these things! I even have a place in my sideboard for my Thimble Guild order forms and envelopes etc dating back to 2004. - Many thanks for your letter, Mrs Tabberer, and we do hope your friend is on the mend! You’ll be delighted to know that TWO surprise thimbles will be on their way, one for you and one for your friend, to add to your collections as a ‘thank you’ for sharing your story in our Letter of the Month!.

1st October 2010

Best Sellers

It’s always interesting to see what’s been ‘Top of the Thimble Pops’ over the past few months. Since June this year, our best sellers have been… Cameron & Clegg, FIFA World Cup 2010, Jade Swan, Aqua Eagle by Ullmannglass, Last of the Summer Wine, HRH The Princess Royal 60th Birthday, The Potteries, From Land’s End to John o’ Groats pair, and all things Girl Guide from our Centenary selection in August

1st October 2010

Thanks for your feedback!

Many thanks to all of you who filled in the questionnaire in the June edition of You Write - your views and ideas are most valuable! Of particular interest were your suggestions for display racks, and two of the most requested shapes have now been added to our Accessories selection. You’ll find them at the top of page 11! All those who returned their questionnaire to us were entered in a
special prize draw, and we’re delighted to announce that the first name out of the hat was Mrs Jack of Wolverhampton - she’s the lucky winner of the £20 Thimble Guild voucher!

1st October 2010

You can be a winner too!

Visit our website at www.thimbleguild.com, sign up to receive news of our special web offers, and you’ll automatically be entered in our monthly prize draw. The prize is a £20 Guild gift voucher, and recent ‘Sign Me Up’ winners were: Ms Slater of Manchester (May), Mrs Woods of Chester (June), Mrs Mackintosh of Aberdeen (July) and Mrs Holmes of Dublin (August). Congratulations to you all!

1st October 2010