Yorkshire Says Happy Birthday Shilpa
13th June 2007
Shilpa Shetty, the most recognised star of Indian Cinema in the
UK was presented with a special birthday present from the Yorkshire & Humber region. Shilpa, who earlier this year won the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother, was presented with a unique opaque lavender and transparent pink glass piece in an ornate petal pattern which was produced by Yorkshire glass makers Gillies-Jones.
Ms Shetty, whose birthday coincided with the Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) awards weekend coming to Yorkshire, was presented the glass piece by Gary Topp, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Culture, at a party held in her honour at Leeds’ Victoria Arcade.
The piece is a unique piece of glass art called a ubiquitous bowl and is made from overlay sand-carved glass. Gillies-Jones are one of the finest studio glass makers in Europe, each piece they produce is entirely individual and a true one off.
Mr Topp commented “it is fantastic for us to have a truly global star like Ms Shetty celebrate her birthday here in Yorkshire, the IIFAs are a great showcase for this region and on behalf of Yorkshire I’d like to say it has been a pleasure to treat all of the stars to some real Yorkshire hospitality”
David Andrews, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Tourist Board, the company whose inspiration brought IIFA to Yorkshire, said: “Ms Shetty is a globally recognised figure these days and to have her celebrate her birthday in Yorkshire was quite a coup. Yorkshire’s famous for its arts and crafts so to give her such a beautiful gift was very appropriate. We’re looking forward to more Bollywood films being shot in Yorkshire and should Shilpa return on location, she will be assured a great welcome.