We are well under way with our Yorkshire leg of the portrait tour, with Skipton hosting their 150th anniversatry celebrations, a. To commemorate the occasion, the firm has taken a unique approach by commissioning a series of 10 client portraits by award-winning artist Helen Perkins and presented the aptly named ‘Face Forward’ project at a special event held at Utopia, Broughton Hall, Skipton.
Attending the event, alongside 60 guests, and featured as part of the project was Skipton’s William Whitaker from 129 year old confectionary manufacturer and distributor, Whitakers Chocolates who was keen to offer Armstrong Watson his support,
“It was a pleasure to participate in the 150th Anniversary celebrations of Armstrong Watson. I hope one day that Whitakers Chocolates are able to join them in reaching that milestone.”
Also captured in oils was Mark Sugden, Managing Director of Keighley’s steel dynasty, John W. Laycock, a business established in 1810, who spoke about his experience,
“It has been a real privilege to be involved with the family portrait project. Meeting Helen and sitting for the initial pencil sketch gave me an unprecedented opportunity to reflect on my role in a family business and the challenges and opportunities of balancing family and business.”
Mark was also keen to add how the choice of a series of images - whilst unique - was a fitting approach to take to celebrate Armstrong Watson’s 150 years and reflected current trends,
“The value of images is becoming increasingly important in our private and work lives and following on from our involvement in this project we are now making much more use of visuals within the business.”
Explaining the reasoning behind the project, Paul Dickson, Armstrong Watson Managing Partner, said:
“The accomplishments we’ve achieved are a result of working with generations of clients with successful businesses. We have helped those clients become successful, so we thought let’s tell their story, which, in turn, also tells a story about ‘why Armstrong Watson?”
The Skipton event is one of 9 locations on the 150th portrait tour, encompassing the firm’s 16 office regions and showcases the portraits, the history of the firm and celebrates the longevity of family business.
Commenting on the Utopia celebration, Iain Lightfoot, Operations and Development Director for Armstrong Watson Financial Planning, said:
“To hear both Mark Sugden of Laycocks, a business that has been around for over 200 years, and William Whitaker of Whitakers Chocolates, a ‘mere’ 129 years in the making, express their gratitude and enthusiasm for Armstrong Watson to an audience of other businesses was wonderful. Their appreciation and enthusiasm for the firm has clearly been earned over many years and delivered by many people at Armstrong Watson.”
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