Remembering Roy

Remembering Roy

This week we launched our “Remembering Roy” wrapping paper and gift tag design. 

When I started Curlicue in 2019, the world was a very different place. Many of us have seen our lives turned upside down this year, and the world around us has vastly changed. 

2020 was a big celebration of Remembrance with the 75th anniversary of VE Day and 80 years since the Battle of Britain. Unfortunately, these memorial events - the street parties, services, and parades - were cancelled. A year which would have been a milestone for the heroes and heroines of decades past feels lost.

But this November, Remembrance will be about so much more. 

Many of us, including myself, have lost a loved one unexpectedly this year. Many due to Covid-19 and some, like our family, who were unable to get the care they needed. 

Originally, the Remembrance Poppy print was about paying homage to the heroines and heroes that we commemorate each November. Heroes take new guises this year in our key-workers - the staff at the NHS, the shopkeepers, the cleaners, the people who have worked during the pandemic to keep us safe.

Credit:  Vogue UK

Credit: Vogue UK

But it is also a time to remember all those we’ve lost. That’s why I named this print after my late father-in-law, Roy Stewart. 

Roy was one of the greatest champions of Curlicue - he was the life and soul and self-appointed sommelier of the launch! Roy was also a supporter of The British Legion and would always watch or attend national remembrance events. He would buy poppies all year because, to him, it was an important symbol to remember those who give so much for others. We used the Poppy illustration on his order of service. It’s why I named this print after him and decided to share it with the world the week he would have turned 65. 

And so this print is for Roy, who is never far from our hearts and thoughts. 

For Roy

For Roy