About Speciality Linens - Princess Dianas birthday bash
They might be based in a quiet corner of Manchester but they’re seen at all the very best parties and top drawer celebrity events. They put in a spectacular appearance at Elton John’s 50th birthday party. They were present for the Princess of Wales’ birthday bash at the Tate Gallery in London. And they were tracked down after an international search so that they could be part of the marriage of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and American heiress Marie-Cantall Miller.
They even made it to Liam and Patsy’s cancelled wedding in Knightsbridge, (even though the hot headed rocker and his pretty pop chick didn’t).
In fact these days you would be hard pushed to find a glitzy film premier or first night party that didn’t include them in their glittering roll call.
You see, we’re talking linen. You know, napkins, tablecloths, chair covers, the understudy to the main characters that make up an eye popping presentation like flowers, candles and crockery at to die-for social events. Well, not any more. Thanks to Speciality Linens, a company which, as its name suggests, will scour the world to make the fabric fit to the right occasion.
Animal print for the Jurassic Park premier party at the Natural History Museum? Not a problem. Black & white chequerboard cloths for a grand prix dinner? Consider it done. Gold calico for London fashion week? Absolutely marvellous, dahling. Bold bright colours for Disney’s Hercules party? It’s on its way. Word in the banqueting market is that if you want to cut the cloth to suit the coat of your special occasion then there is only one place you should go. Snakeskin, paw print, even army camouflage. Prints and patterns to suite every taste (or distinct lack of it).
Indeed, as I sit chatting to the directors of Speciality Linens, Raymond and Sara Crammer, a wisp of paper thunders off the fax machine. It originates in Scotland and concerns an urgent inquiry for a “royal event”. The request barely raises a quizzical eyebrow before being filled amongst a sheaf of similar inquiries from party organisers around the world including swish ski resorts or from Raffles Hotel in Singapore (they use the Manchester firm to supply cloths for their annual New Year’s Eve party).
For Raymond, 42, who lives with his wife Sara 40, and their three children in Hale, has a practiced eye for these things.
“This royal event in Scotland will probably involve some minor royal like a Lord someone,” he’s says. “You find that the lower celebrity will tell you who they are. It’s the real stars and top royals who are cagey.
When we did the Greek wedding the party planners were very cagey about who they were. When we did Princess Diana’s birthday at the Tate we didn’t know until the day who was involved. Until then it was just a charity event.” Indeed it’s the royals who are the traditionalists. They choose crisp, elegant, understated fabrics for their event. The Tate required pale ivory cloths overlaid with gold dotted lace, while the Greek royal wedding only off-white pure silk would do.
Of course, not every high profile star wants a low- key theme. Elton John’s 50th birthday was the height of gauche. The chubby-cheeked birthday boy pranced and pouted in Louis XIV regalia and wanted this fancy flair to be reflected in his tables too. Not all of their high spending clients equate opulence with extravagance. One Middle-Eastern businessman wanted purple silk for his daughter’s £250,000 wedding at the Grosvenor house hotel in London. The exact shade of fabric was sourced in India and then made to order for this choosy customer. “But what was really strange,” grins Sara, is that this man didn’t want anyone else to use the stuff after him. We had made all sorts of things with the linen, like chair covers and he wanted them thrown away afterwards. He wouldn’t even give us a picture of the fabric.” recalls Sara, as she hands me an examlpe of a richly-coloured rolled napkin tied with a gold braid and sealed with a costome diamond.
Speciality Linens started life 17 years ago as a catering hire business, loaning out cutlery, crockery and glassware. However the couple quickly identified a gap in the market. Now the company has its own factory to manufacture both for sale and hire, using fabrics from all over the world.
But Raymond and Sara don’t get to see many of the end results. Most of their dealings are on the telephone, but they do get to speak to the occasional big name, including royal nanny Tiggy Legge Bourke, who joined a firm of party organisers after leaving Prince Charles’ employment. “Tiggy is very down to earth,” smiles Raymond. “In fact a lot of party planners hire very sloaney staff, but the girls are very easy to talk to. What often happens is that we end up doing their weddings when they get married and we discover that ‘Fiona’ was actually a Right Hon.” Raymond and Sara do, however sometimes get within sniffing distance of some good gossip. On the day of Liam and Patsy’s non starter nuptials, the couple invited the man in charge of the wedding catering to join them for lunch.
“We dropped off the linens and asked him if he wanted to have lunch with us and he accepted, which surprised us. He seemed to suggest to us that he knew it wouldn’t go ahead, even though everything- including our linen-was laid out. It seemed to us that it was obviously some big publicity stunt.”
You could be forgiven for thinking that the overweight opera star would be more concerned with his palate than his, palette. After calling in Speciality Linens, no doubt he was able to enjoy both a lot more.
