Made In Sheffield awards get into bed with cancer charity
1st April 2016
City Region manufacturers may having sleepless nights ahead of the Made In Sheffield Awards next month - but one guest will be guaranteed sweet dreams afterwards.
A designer bed hand-made by a company which proudly bears the Made In Sheffield mark has been donated to the event to aid Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity. The Natural Bed Company, which recently celebrated its 42nd year with a move to new city centre premises, are hand-making the £1,300 prize in memory of one its long-serving employees. Said Peter Bennion, co-director of the Natural Bed Company: -He was involved in making beds for us for over 20 years and was full of praise for the care he received at Weston Park. I've no doubt that support helped him sustain his positive state of mind. -We are delighted to be making a bed for the Made in Sheffield Awards and Weston Park Hospital. The company, which was based on Devonshire Street for 29 years, celebrates its relocation at its 3,000 square foot Fitzwilliam Street showroom with a launch party at 6pm on April 7. It hand-crafts over 1,000 beds a year at its workshops in Attercliffe for customers all over the world and was awarded the Made In Sheffield license five years ago. Peter Bennion commented: -Some 30 years ago an elderly man in India told me his father had always vowed Sheffield's cutlery was the best in the world. His comments made me reappraise my hometown's fame for quality design and manufacturing and when the Sheffield stamp of approval was given to us, my business partner Kay Wallace and I were very proud. -There has been a recent resurgence of Sheffield designer makers and I'd encourage any of the new generation to apply for the Made in Sheffield accreditation. Over 300 will attend the awards dinner, a celebration of Sheffield City Region manufacturing, at the Cutlers Hall on April 21. A spokesperson for the cancer charity commented: -We cannot thank the Natural Bed Company enough for giving us one of their stunning beds as a raffle prize and the awards organisers for choosing us as the night's beneficiary charity. -We are so very grateful. We need to raise around £2m each year to support the 18,000 patients treated each year at Weston Park Hospital living with and beyond with cancer.