Jewellery Quarter firm's gifts showcased in St Paul's Cathedral's OBE collection

Jan 1 2009 by Jon Griffin, Birmingham Mail

A BIRMINGHAM company is enjoying a special New Year honour – showcasing its wares within the cloisters of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

To tie in with the announcement of the Honours List, St Paul’s has launched The OBE Collection, a range of gifts inspired by the OBE Chapel in the Cathedral.

And the array of gifts has been created in tandem with 320-year-old Birmingham firm Toye, Kenning and Spencer, sole suppliers of buttonhole badges designed to be worn by recipients of honours.

The collection includes a tie, scarf, cufflinks, goblets and a bracelet, with a percentage of the sales going towards upkeep of the OBE Chapel.

Duncan Smith, commercial manager of St Paul’s Cathedral, said: “We are delighted to offer this new collection of gifts, created by award-winning British designers, which ties in so well with the OBE Chapel.

“Many members of the Order are married or christened in the Chapel and these gifts will provide a fitting memento to such once-in-a-lifetime occasions.”

Toye Kenning & Spencer’s sales and marketing director, Fiona Toye, said: “The Toye Group has a long association with the OBE as suppliers of the badges and ribbons presented at investitures and sole suppliers of the buttonhole badges.

“So we are particularly proud to be associated with St Paul’s Cathedral in this exciting project.”

The gift range will be on sale in St Paul’s Cathedral and in Toye Kenning & Spencer’s Great Queen Street showroom in London from mid-January.

The Jewellery Quarter-based company employs about 300 people at its bases in Birmingham, Bedworth and London.

The OBE chapel stands in St Paul’s Cathedral Crypt, where members of the Order come to worship, marry and have their children baptised.