The Imperial War Museums (IWM) has announced a new partnership with major giftware supplier Widdop & Co, which has been signed to produce a comprehensive line of gift products featuring iconic imagery and memorable phrases from Winston Churchill.
The range, entitled ‘Words of Winston’ includes notebooks, storage boxes, mugs, wall plaques, key rings and cufflinks and was first unveiled to the trade at Autumn Fair in September.
In addition to the Winston Churchill range, Widdop & Co. has also signed to produce a range of Spitfire, Lancaster and Vulcan mugs, key rings and cufflinks, featuring images of these classic military aeroplanes.
Stephen Illingworth, Product Development Director at Widdop & Co said ‘We are thrilled to be working with IWM. We have well over 20 licenses and a lot of experience in this category and it has been so refreshing to work with a licensing programme that understands and supports our direction and that goes out of their way to facilitate the best results on products and sales. The range we have built is an exciting interpretation of a historic era in British history and in such volatile times we are proud to launch a collection that is packed with encouraging and inspiring imagery and quotes across innovative new formats.’
David Fenton, Head of Retail and Licensing at IWM said, ‘We’ve seen a surge of interest in Winston Churchill in recent years. He is one of the most positive political figures of our time and a national icon. The wealth of archival material we have here at IWM means that we are perfectly positioned to respond to the rising consumer demand for British nostalgia and Widdop & Co have successfully demonstrated how this can translate to a great product line.’
