A celebrity interior designer helped a home improvements company celebrate its 40th anniversary in style by raising £7,500 for two charities.
Mandy Watkins, one of the judges on the popular BBC Wales show, Wales’ Home of the Year, officially opened the new £150,000 Grand Designs-like showroom extension at Peninsula in Gaerwen on Anglesey.
The money raised will be split between two charities close to the heart of owner Ken Grayson, St David’s Hospice and the UK’s first female-only charity ultra marathon, the She Ultra.
The poignant occasion was dedicated to the memory of Ken’s late father and company founder, Barrie Grayson, who was passionate charity fundraiser.
An auction, hosted by estate agent Dafydd Hardy, who’s also a trustee of the hospice amassed £4,200 while a raffle made another £2,500.
The pot was topped up by another £400 in cash gifts and a further £400 by donations in lieu of the mouth-watering food laid on by one of Ken’s old school friends, Paul Withington, whose Conwy-based company, The Coconut Kitchen, specialises in award-winning Thai cuisine.
Ken said: “It was the perfect way to celebrate the anniversary because we had a great time and did something really worthwhile.
“We had an absolutely brilliant day and it’s great to see so many friends, customers and suppliers, along with our staff – past and present.
“We’re long established and a lot of the people here also had relationships with my Dad.
“Some of Dad’s original team are still here and they are the guys who were the pioneers who laid the early foundations for what the company’s continuing success and I think he would be proud of what we’ve achieved as a company and the fact that we have used the anniversary celebration to raise money for charity.
“Today is also about the next chapter for Peninsula and the investment we have made in this extension is about futureproofing the company. It’s going to put us ahead of the game for the next 10 years.”
The design magic was provided by Mandy Watkins who styled the chic showroom extension.
After cutting the ribbon to officially open the extension, Mandy, whose own business, Space Like This, is based in Menai Bridge, said: “Peninsula have been brilliant to work with and there’s always a lovely, welcoming atmosphere here.
(Photos: Mandy Jones)
“I think the extension is one that everybody would like on their house and rather than stuff it full of products we’ve made it look like somebody’s home.
“It’s very aspirational and it’s better for customers that it doesn’t look like a showroom so they can see how it could look in their own home.
“It’s got a contemporary feel, it’s very now but it’s also timeless so it has a classic quality about it
“If I saw something like this on Wales’ Home of the Year, I’d obviously give it 10 out of 10,” she added with a smile.
It was also a great result for the two charities who’ll be sharing the money raised.
The She Ultra was founded by Huw Williams, who is an old schoolmate of Ken’s and was diagnosed with inoperable neuro-endocrine cancer in 2019.
The inaugural event in April along a 31-mile course on the Llyn Peninsula was a big success with more than 500 women taking part, among them Ken’s partner, Majella Nicholson, who is also an ambassador for it.
According to Huw, who also organises the popular Pen Llyn Ultra races, the aim of the She Ultra is to raise money for women’s cancer charities.
Huw wasn’t able to be there on the day but sent a video message to congratulate Ken and the team at Peninsula and thank everybody for their support.
After the auction Dafydd Hardy added: “I’m delighted that we have raised so much money and the contribution to the hospice will make a big difference.
“Running a hospice is an expensive business because it costs £7 million a year so there is always a mountain to climb in terms of fundraising every year.
“I’m very grateful to Peninsula for pledging the proceeds from this anniversary celebration to the hospice.”
As well as marking the 40th anniversary, Peninsula’s Sales Director, Dylan Hulse, said it was also a time to “look forward and be excited by the future”
He said: “Barrie who founded the company was one of the pioneers of the industry in the area so Peninsula has been laid on good foundations and we’ve taken it on to bigger and better things.
“Our aim is to continue on the path we’re on, diversifying with more niche, high end products and explore new markets and pushing farther afield geographically.
“As well as our heartland areas in North Wales, we’re also working in South Manchester, the Wirral and Cheshire because there are not many companies that can offer the same range of products, allied to the quality of service we provide, so there is a demand there.
“We are members of the Consumer Protection Association and after every installation we complete a survey is sent independently to our customers and the latest set of figures show we have a customer satisfaction rate of 94 per cent which is fantastic and it’s typical of the type of results we get. That’s something we’re very proud of.”
