Platinum Jubilee Rug unveiled at Ulster Carpets
The winner of the Northern Ireland Office鈥檚 Platinum Jubilee design competition and Minister of State for Northern Ireland Conor Burns have returned to Ulster Carpets for the unveiling of a special Platinum Jubilee gift for Her Majesty the Queen from the young people of Northern Ireland.
Dundonald Primary School pupil Emily McMullan (11), was announced as the winner of the competition by Minister of State Conor Burns in June, and met with Ulster Carpets designers to learn how her design was being turned into a special gift for Her Majesty the Queen.
Emily鈥檚 design, featuring some of Northern Ireland鈥檚 most iconic landmarks such as Samson and Goliath in Belfast and the North Coast鈥檚 Giant鈥檚 Causeway, was woven into a rug by Ulster Carpets鈥� expert team, and unveiled by Emily and Minister of State Conor Burns at the manufacturing company鈥檚 Portadown headquarters on Tuesday 23 August.
Emily鈥檚 postcard to the Queen was chosen from over 2000 colourful and creative entries, with primary schools across Northern Ireland offered the opportunity to take part in a unique design competition as part of this year鈥檚 Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The specially designed Jubilee rug will be delivered to Her Majesty the Queen as a gift from the children of Northern Ireland in her Jubilee year and Emily will also receive her own copy of the rug as a lasting memory of the important role that she has played in helping Her Majesty celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.
Speaking about seeing the rug, competition winner Emily McMullan said:
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to see all of the places that remind me of home being made into a gift for Her Majesty the Queen. I still can鈥檛 believe that something I designed in art class is now being delivered to the Queen!
鈥淚t has been great learning from the designers at Ulster Carpets about how they turn art into rugs and carpets. It is something that I will never forget and I think I would like to be a designer in the future.鈥�
Speaking after the visit, Minister of State Conor Burns said:
鈥業t seems like only a few weeks ago when I was on the phone to Nick from a primary school in Bournemouth. I told him I鈥檇 had an idea and asked him to tell me honestly if it was crazy. Thankfully Nick and his team at Ulster Carpets are as open minded as they are creative. Nick said let鈥檚 do it. So the Platinum Jubilee Rug Competition was conceived.
鈥淟ittle did I imagine then that it would be embraced so wholeheartedly by Northern Ireland鈥檚 young people. Yet the entries flooded in - over 2000 from schools of every kind in every county. Emily, her fellow finalists and indeed every child who entered can be incredibly proud of their designs.
鈥淭hey have captured the natural and built wonder of this amazing place. Today I have seen the finished product and it is beyond my wildest dreams. We asked the young people to design a rug on the theme 鈥榓 postcard from Northern Ireland鈥�. What they did and Ulster carpets have produced is literally a gift fit for the Queen.
鈥淚 am bursting with pride in what these wonderful young people - the future of Northern Ireland - have done and I thank them sincerely.鈥�
Group Managing Director of Ulster Carpets Nick Coburn said:
鈥淚t has been a great privilege to be involved in the NIO鈥檚 Platinum Jubilee design competition and to have the honour of manufacturing a rug for Her Majesty the Queen, particularly in the same year as we received the Royal Warrant.
鈥淭he designs created by schoolchildren from across Northern Ireland demonstrate the immense artistic talent that we have in our country. As we look to the future, it is reassuring to know that Ulster Carpets can transform this potential into the carpet designers of the future.鈥�