Proud manufacturer of English fine bone china tableware, Royal Crown Derby, has extended its reach into the hospitality market with a new partnership with iconic British tearoom and craft bakery, Bettys, based in Yorkshire, England.
The Derby-based company, which offers a personal bespoke service to high-end brand hotel and food service establishments, has supplied the world-renowned purveyor of afternoon tea with an exclusive tableware collection for its new reservation-only ‘Lady Betty Afternoon Tea’.
The initial order for the specially commissioned collection includes a 23.5cm Plate, 16cm Plate, Tea Cup and Tea Saucer and is exclusive to the Lady Betty menu offered in the Imperial Room, Harrogate or the Belmont Room, York. Each piece is hand-embellished with a bespoke tealeaf design created exclusively for Bettys by Royal Crown Derby.
The collection, which was designed by Royal Crown Derby’s Creative Director, Andrew Klimecki, was inspired by a tea leaf design discovered in the company’s extensive pattern archives, which dates back to the year that Bettys was launched – 1919 – including a dual-branded back stamp.
“With our shared British heritage, focus on artisanship and mission to deliver the experience of luxury and indulgence to our customers, there is a clear synergy between our two, established brands,” says Christopher Oakes, sales & marketing director of Royal Crown Derby.
“Bettys is known and loved the world over and we are honoured to have been selected to provide the fine bone china collection for its exquisite ‘Lady Betty Afternoon Tea’. We worked closely with the team at Bettys throughout our bespoke programme, from design consultation and pattern development, to durability testing in our in-house laboratory.
“We are extremely proud of this new union between two established British heritage brands, whose foundations are rooted in skilled craftsmanship and look forward to developing this blossoming relationship.”
The 3,300 piece order was produced at the Osmaston Road factory, Derby, using techniques largely unchanged for centuries ensuring the very highest quality materials.
“When we were looking for a British manufacturer to produce a bespoke set of fine bone china for our new Lady Betty Afternoon Tea, one name stood out: Royal Crown Derby,” says Paula Kaye, Bettys retail and catering operations director.
“Like Bettys, Royal Crown Derby have a long tradition of the finest craftsmanship and attention to detail in creating things of real beauty. The stunning new design, commissioned especially for the Lady Bettys Afternoon Tea, was created by Bettys Creative Manager, Georgina O’Conner, and Royal Crown Derby Creative Director, Andrew Klimecki, inspired by archives from 1919, the year Bettys opened its first Cafe Tea Rooms.”
