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We would like to remind customers to check on our site before bidding on items on eBay, recently people have been paying way over the odds on second hand figures when you can have them shiny and new from us for a better price! Give us a ring if in doubt!
Craig Bellamy
Craig Bellamy signing in at the Wall Of Fame today after having his photos for his up and coming Grogg - 'This place is Rugby heaven' he said on arrival! Even though the figure has not been started yet, we are taking names and numbers if you are interested, email on info@groggs.co.uk
Captains Climb Kilimanjaro 2010
Bob Norster & Ieuan Evans
Many thanks to Bob, Ieuan and Huw for visiting us before their Climb. Good luck to everyone who is making the trip up!
The World Of Groggs has decided to put this piece for sale to the public after much demand. We will be making a donation to Velindre, Stepping Stones Appeal from each piece sold. To order please visit this link , or we are taking at least £50 deposits over the phone on 01443 4o5001.
After months of hard work, this piece has finally been completed. It took ten hours for our head painter Sandra to complete!
Mount Groggmore Certificate
Anyone waiting for a Limited Edition Certificate for the Mount Groggmore it is now on it's way to you! These in their own right are Limited Edition pieces as they are designed and printed in house and of course there are only 45!
FILO TIATIA 5/7/2010
Double delight! Two great shirts!
Ospreys forwards coach and Magners Champion Filo Tiatia came to the shop on Monday morning to collect the missing piece in his set of Groggs. The Toyota Verblitz strip was difficult to track down but Filo eventually got some images for us to complete his career in Rugby Union. We were also able to add another with his Ospreys Magners Champions White Strip Grogg. Filo surprised us with two maginifcent contributions to our ever growing shirt collection. His No8 Ospreys Shirt from season 08-09 and a very unusual Classic All Blacks Shirt. Thanks again Filo - Keep your boots clean - that 100th appearance for the Ospreys might just happen!
Verblitz at last!
Gareth Bale 25.6.10
Spurs and Wales star left back Gareth Bale called in to sign our Wall of Fame and have his pictures taken for his forthcoming Grogg. Gareth will be only the second Tottenham Grogg ever made following in Paul Gascoignes footsteps.
Bob Dylan Bust
21.6.10
Richard's tribute to his favourite Dylan Album 'Blonde on Blonde' has finally been finished, mostly down to the persuasive efforts of Mr & Mrs Bodman. The 'Mask of Dylan' had been in a bag for a record breaking 2 years waiting to be finished and Richard eventually completed it in time for Mr Bodmans 60th Birthday!
Only 45 of these pieces will be produced reflecting next years 45th Anniversary of the releasing of this iconic album.
Congratulations John!
We are pleased to announce Mr John Hughes has been awarded an MBE as part of Her Majesty the Queen´s 2010 Birthday Honours List for services to the Ceramics Industry in Wales.
After John´s illness last year, it´s a huge boost for us as a family and the business. Well done John!
To celebrate the Ospreys Magners League Championship we will be launching only 10 Editions of every Ospreys player we currently make who played on Saturday in the White Kit with 'Magners League Champions 2010' on the back bases, this includes Adam, Goughy, Alun-Wyn, Tiatia, Hook, Shane, Byrne, Mike, Tommy, Jono T and Ryan. To be priced roughly at £150. Please let me know if you are seriously interested on info@groggs.co.uk
'The Maestro meets the Mountain!'
Fittingly Gareth is the first player to see himself 'carved from stone' on Mount Groggmore. Gareth dropped in on his way to the Cardiff Institute for the Blind Launch in Sardis Road today.
Mount Groggmore
Now the piece is finished we would like to finalise the orders, so if you are one of the lucky 44 (the 45th being donated to Velindre) can you please get in touch with us to confirm and arrange the payment.
'Secret' Project Revealed! 10.5.10
Things have been a little quiet on the Work In Progress front because Richard has been working on a new 'Secret' project. We can now let you know that another Mountain is involved. As most people are aware Huw Evans of Welsh Rugby PicsFame is taking 15 ex Captains of Wales on the 'Brains Captains Climb' to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro in September. On behalf of the Stepping Stones Appeal, Velindre, the historic climb is raising funds for Lung Cancer Research. Having known Huw and being fans of his work for years we were delighted to be involved and are making a unique record of the event. Instead of making just one figure at the summit - Richard thought it would be fun to make all the players participating including Huw at the peak taking a snap shot! What Richard didn't realise is that each figure would only be 6 cms high, making them the smallest Groggs in history. It's just as well he's just had his eyes tested and has some new glasses!
'With a little help from my friends' Huw gets his shot!
Limited Edition Update 10.5.2010
Miniature Lions Front Row Limited to 100 - 20 Left
New Website April 2010
for his speedy hard work that he's put into this site and getting it up and running quickly for us.
We are going to be introducing a few new things along the way like our 'Archive' section, which will illustrate all the sold out or no longer available figures seen in our museum. If you need any help with the new site or have any queries just drop me a email on info@groggs.co.uk
Richard's Grogg Blogg Feb 2010
Richard begins his ascent of Mount Groggmore!
Well - here we go again, the Six Nations is upon us and the nerves are kicking in. It's at times like this I find it doubly hard to concentrate on work with customers getting excited about the forthcoming matches. It's just as well then that I have Mount Groggmore to keep me busy. As you know the votes are in and I have got to grips with the basic shape and size and I am now down to refining the features on some favourite subjects. In the end I think we have the best mix of old and new and I personally wouldn't argue with any of the choices. Many thanks again for everyone who voted - we had a great response. Gareth was the only certainty but JPR, Neil and Shane have definately earned their place in Rugby history. I do feel a little sad that there is no forward involved - but it's not our fault that the USA ran out of money whilst creating the original otherwise we could have had 5 or 6 more to choose from!
Anyway it's starting to come together and should look great in it's final stone finish. I'm toying with putting a scale model of myself in it to give it some perspective but you would need a microscope to even see me, so maybe not!
One more thing we would like to do as a tribute to our old friend Bill McLaren, is to incorporate on the back of each player a quote from the 'Voice of Rugby' referring to them. We already have the quote for Gareth and Neil but if you can help us with JPR and Shane we would be very grateful.
In the meantime the clock is ticking and kick off time is drawing near - good luck to the boys and everything crossed except my busy fingers!
Tommy Bowe
Fresh from Irelands historic win over the World Champions, Ospreys Super winger called in to collect his 'players' set of unique Groggs. While here Tommy helped us out by choosing our competition winner.
A tricky choice for Tommy
A tough call Tommy finally went for Barry Frost's masterpiece with Dion Steven and Chris Buckley being placed second and third. Many thanks to all our entrants in what proved to be a fascinating challenge!
The Winners!
Groggs Unleashed!
Thanks for all your entries, we've enjoyed them all!
Here's a selection for you to admire!
1st Place chosen by Tommy Bowe!
Jamie gets a eye full in a cold Cornwall, unfortunately they didn't manage to persuade Jamie to get his kit off! Picture by Barry Frost.
2nd Place
Titled 'Hunting Groggs in the Jarrah', the mascot Wallaby gets a direct hit from a traquilizer gun out in the Jarrah Forest, Western Australia. Picture by Dion Steven.
3rd Place
The mighty Pontypool Front Row visit rugby's founder William Webb Ellis grave, Menton, Cote D'Azur. Picture by Chris Buckley.
Shane visits the Overtoun Crags in Dumbarton and overlooks the River Clyde and Dumbarton Castle. Bet he had fun running down there! Picture by Owain Williams.
Gethin judging at the Talybont Agriculture & Horticulture Show in Ceredigion recently. Picture by Janet Fry.
Groggy Sheep spying on the New Zealand Rugby Union Headquaters for some top secret information! Still waiting though! Picture by Denise Evans.
'A Scary Pair' As always Lee Byrne is still red hot on and off the pitch as he cosies up to a firey Pumpkin! Picture by Sian Jenkins.
Gareth gets a fulltour of the Dubai Sevens Rugby ground where Wales recently won the 7's World Cup. Largest Grogg unleashed yet! Picture by David & Daniel Pearce.
Sheepy trying his hardest to get a bit of colour down under stops at the Tropic of Capricorn for a photo op. Picture by Lisa Evans.
Jiffy takes on Phil, Gareth and JPR on the karaoke in a Cardiff nightclub, but who won? Picture by Jonathan Fry.
Dan Carter & Richie McCaw
Many thanksto our old friend Les Miles for these great pictures of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw being presented with a pair of our 45th Anniversary Retro T-Shirts at the Hilton before the Wales game. The boys also signed a white New Zealand training shirt and some Groggs for the musuem
Golden Boy! Daniel with his Uni style Grogg Shirt
Magnificent 7! Richie and his retro tee.
Adam Jones
Ospreys, Wales and British and Irish Lions super tighthead and Groggshop favourite Adam Jones called in last week to collect his special 'One off' HSBZ Lions Figure and his Ltd Ed all Welsh Lions Front Row.
Best Wishes for a speedy recovery Adam - your country needs you!
Richard's Grogg Blogg October 2009
I think it's safe to mention Christmas now - so as usual we would like to warn everyone to order early to avoid disappointment - especially with some of the unusual strips and low Limited Editions we are launching for the festive season.
In particular the new Mini Front Row in LionsStrip limited to only 100 pieces. As you can imagine the hand painted badges on these figures are extremely complicated, but we feel that Adam, Matthew and Gethin's achievement being the first all Welsh Lions Test Front Row since 1955, deserves every brushstroke! Just in time for the Autumn Internationals I have finished two new Mini's in Blues, Wales and Lions ace Jamie Robertsand completewith his headgear Ospreys, Wales and Lions second row Alun-Wyn Jones. With th exciting first leg of the European Cup over, check out our new look regional strips . All the Welsh regions did well and I can't wait for the next batch of fixtures in December. Some unusual new additions to our Limited Editions range of Soccer figures are the 16" "Cantona Noir" being only 7 pieces painted in the infamous Manchester United black strip. Also Michael Owen in Manchester's current strip limited to only 50 pieces is now available to order through the shop. Seven of the eleven unique 14" Ryan Giggs strips have been spoken for and a special warning must go out for the Gareth Edwards Barbarian Try which has only 4 editions left before the 300 limit is reached and the mould is destroyed! I have almost finished Ospreys, Lions and Grand Slam Irish star Tommy Bowe and I will just have time to add two long overdue editions to our collection before Christmas - namely a new 9" Ryan Giggs (circa 2009) and for our veteran collectors, a 6" Llanelli and Wales No8 Derek Quinnell. I have also started Martyn Williams' much awaited Testimonial piece which will not be ready until the New Year. Seven of these complicated Action figures, showing Martyn breaching the French line before scoring to seal the Grand Slam in 2008, will be painted in unique strips for Martyn and Limited Editions in Wales strip will be available to collectors.
Finally the Mervyn Davies Bust which has been made for a special series of Dinners to honour Wales' Grand Slam Captain of 1976 is now available to order.
Cheers for now and have a Groggy Christmas!
Richard
Scarlets, Wales and British Lions super hooker Matthew Rees called in to check out his new Mini Lions Front Row and collect his special HSBC Lions Grogg.
10.9.2009
Gethin Jenkins
Wales Player of the Year
Gethin Jenkins called in yesterday to finally catch up with his 'Man of the Match' award for the England - Wales game in February. He also collected his HSBC Lions Figure and suprised us with a signed training shirt complete with his embroidered monogram - Thanks again Gethin and get fit soon!Double trouble - Gethins special Groggs
Suprise - another great shirt for our collection!
Looking for Eric!
Many thanks to Melanie and Richard Andrews for this great picture of star of field and big screen Eric Cantona. The French enigma was appearing at the premier of Ken Loach's film 'Looking for Eric' in Bath and Melanie had the foresight to take along her beloved Grogg which he duly signed!
We are now officially proud sponsors of www.ponty.net, click through the link for all the team news, fixtures and Terrace Talk. To celebrate our partnership we have launched our Miniature Pontypridd RFC Collection Online!
24.08.2009
Andy Powell
Blues, Wales and Lions No 8 Andy Powell called in at the Groggshop on Saturday to collect his 'Players only' Lions figure. Andy assured us that the goatee will be back before long!
15.08.2009
Ian Gough & Alun-Wyn Jones
Wales and Ospreys powerhouse second row unit arrived in tandem on Saturday to collect their respective Groggs. Goughie's patience has finally paid off and he was delighted with his new 9" Limited Edition Grogg, as was his club and Grand Slam buddy Alun-Wyn Jones who was also presented with his special 'HSBC' Lions Grogg.
Alun-Wyn checks Goughie's profile!
Adam Jones
Ospreys, Wales and British Lions tighthead Adam Jones was also pleasantly surprised at Abercrave RFC during his tribute night recently, when he was presented with a special Abercrave RFC figure - Best wishes for a speedy recovery Adam!
Many thanks to Steve Phillips of the South Wales Evening Post for the great picture!
Jamie Roberts
Jamie popped in this week to receive his Limited Edition Groggs!
Richard's Grogg Blogg July 2009
Well the Lions Tour is over for another 4 years and the new domestic season is almost upon us. Congratulations to all the Welsh Lions - they did us proud and quite a few had a truely remarkable tour. As to the result - I think we were very unlucky not to get at least a drawn series - if there had been a fourth test like the old tours I'm sure it would have happened.
Special mention must go to Lions Player of the Tour Jamie Roberts and we have made a special figure for Jamie celebrating this event - we can't wait to present it to him! Also many thanks to an old friend and Lions legend Neil Jenkins for a special 50th Birthday present - a signed training shirt from the tour - I think this is going up in my studio!
We have finally decided to part with the unique Bridgend V New Zealand JPR Williams Bust making it available for public auction. All the proceeds from this first ever Groggshop Auction will go to JPR's charity namely - Spinal Research, so we hope it does well. As I have explained to many collectors we thought it was time Grogg fans got a chance at owning some of these very special pieces, so fingers crossed! We will let the auction run to the end of September and bids can be made by email or directly in the shop. There will be a running total online so everyone can see whats happening http://www.groggs.co.uk/page.charities. On the new Grogg front I have been busy trying to finish the 15" Ryan Giggs but have also decided to finish our old buddy Goughie. Goughie has been very paitent and his 9" Limited Edition should be ready in a couple of weeks - fingers crossed. A bust of Mervyn Davies has to be ready in time for a function being held in his honour in November. 38 of these pieces will be made in Welsh strip, 8 in Lions and some unique pieces in London Welsh, Swansea and Barbarian strips. Anyone interested in these needs to get in touch ASAP to reserve numbers.
Amongst all this I will hopefully be starting some new figures in time for Christmas, only 23 weeks away! A mini Jamie Roberts and finally the long awaited Del Boy Grogg. We did also think a Mini Lions Front Row featuring Gethin, Matthew and Adam is richly deserved - please let us know if you agree as it could swing the decision.
Well back to the clay face,
Cheers for now,
Richard
Pleased as punch
Richard sees there are some benefits to getting old!
Richard's Grogg Blogg June 2009
We are all quietly ticking along here at the shop, enjoying the weather and the rugby. Well done to the new look Wales team in Canada, tough team to beat in their own back yard and nice comments on 'our Neil's coaching from Man of the Match Dan Biggar. Lions looked a bit shaky but all the Welsh boys did really well especially our hero from Tondu, Lee Byrne - great game! On the new Grogg front Mini collectors will be pleased to hear that Andy Powell will be ready very soon as he has been fired and moulded. In the Limited Edition range Jamie Roberts is needing some last minute detail ready to join his Lions pals in our new Lions 2009 Collection. Sadly we didn't get to see Leigh Halfpenny for his pics but I will probably start
him next anyway. We will obviously be adding Hooky to our Lions range also so watch this space, Lions 2009 Collection. The new Ryan Giggs figure is coming along and I have received some help on the 11 unique strips illustrating Ryans long service at Manchester United. Many thanks to our great friend and Grogg fan Jeff Thomas for his research and print-out of all the Man U strips Ryan has played in - I think the Newton Heath one in particular will look great.
Latest news on the Bust of JPR in Bridgend strip, is that it will be auctioned online and at the shop with all the proceeds going to JPR's Spinal Research Charity - an announcement will be made soon on how bids can be made. Great news also from the 'Help the Heroes' figures of Lawrence Dallaglio and Scott Gibbs which were auctioned recently. They did very well raising £600 and £450 respectively, which in this current climate is excellent - Thanks again to Geryn Jones for his involvement. Well that's all my poor brain can think of for now - the next time I update this I'll be 50 years old, so look out for a special announcement!
Keep Grogging
Richard
"Mentioned in dispatches!"
Some press clippings, old and new.
Cliff Morgan, Sunday Times, May 31st 2009
The Wales and British Lions legend is shown at home with his Limited Edition Action figure made by Richard in 1998. It was commissioned by the Wooden Spoon Society, for a special presentation honouring Cliff's long and illustrious career in rugby and broadcasting.
Brian & Nigel Clough, Daily Mail, January 2009
Nigel Clough shown here with his famous father and his 'Starfacts Player of the Month Award' made by Richard in the late 80's. This portrait was unique and was one of the series made including John Barnes, Paul Gascoigne and Peter Shilton.
John, Carly and Michael Jackson! Western Mail, 1992
Carly, aged 6, holds aloft the first Michael Jackson Grogg made by Richard in 1992 which was presented to him after his concert in the Cardiff Arms Park. Although no picture of the presentation was taken, Michael sent his personal camera man to the Groggshop to film where it had been made! Carly has recently re-acquired one of these very rare figures for our museum, being one of only 22 made this is quite a coup!
Richard's Grogg Blogg April 22nd 2009
Firstly congratulations to all the Welsh boys on being selected to tour with the Lions this summer
in South Africa - especially the first timers. In Groggshop tradition we hope to present all the boys with figures of themselves in their Lion's strip which of course will mean us making another new Limited Edition in Leigh Halfpenny. Leigh has been in outstanding form this year and thoroughly
deserves his Lion's selection. Busy as he is we will hope to coax him up to have his photos taken
before they fly off to Africa! As you have probably seen on Work in Progress I have started the 15' Limited Edition Ryan Giggs
which is being made to commemorate him breaking Bobbie Charlton's all time appearances record for
Manchester United. It is also being designed as a companion piece to the Limited Edition George Best but (unlike George) will only be Limited to 100 pieces. We do plan on making a few unique strip within that limit which will be available later including 11 pieces in Wales strip. On the 9" front work on Jamie Roberts and Goughie is ongoing but the first Brian O'Driscoll with the Six
Nations trophy will be painted later this week. The hard work then starts in catching up with the orders. I hope everyone is as understanding as usual as the painting on each of these pieces will be very complicated. In the same vein the double mascot Springbok v Lions is finished but will be a while coming through - again your patience would be greatly appreciated!
On the Ospreys front we were delighted to see Filo Tia Tia back in the shop after his visit with Scrum Five in December 2008. We had finally got round to painting Filo's set of club strips which included Wellington Lions and
the Hurricanes. Filo was delighted with his full set and it was lovely to meet some of his family who enjoyed their tour of the museum and studio.
News of the special JPR bust depicting the infamous New Zealand v Bridgend stamping incident is iminent. Including all the blood and gore involved this is sure to be a fantastic piece - a decision about it's destiny has yet to be
made so watch this space.
This Blogg will be updated on a regualar basis to keep you in touch with our plans and any future unique items and low numbered Limited Editions. In the meantime,
Keep Grogging.
Cheers,
Richard
Andy Powell2.3.09
Fresh from his close encounter in Paris, Blues and Wales No8 Andy Powell called in to collect his Limited Edition Action Grogg. Don't worry Grogg fans - he's promised to grow his beard back!
JPR or Bust!
Picture courtesy of the Huw Evans Picture Agency
Wales' legendary Full back JPR Williams came to the Groggshop on Friday the 27th of February to unveil his 60th Birthday Bust. JPR, an old friend of the World Of Groggs, was delighted with the finished piece and is looking foward to seeing the unique strips, including the Bridgend (post John Ashworth) Bust! We were also delighted to receive on loan two of JPR's own collection of vintage Groggs which are now on display in our museum.
Created to commemorate the 60th Birthday of Wales' legendary Fullback JPR Williams this new addition to our collection of Limited Edition Busts is now available to order here
Mervyn Davies
Picture courtesy of the Huw Evans Picture Agency
On Friday 27th February Wales' Grand Slam Captain Mervyn Davies also paid us a visit just in time to check out the progress on a Bust being created for a series of functions planned in his honour later this year. The experience proved invaluable for Richard who rarely gets chance to work from life!
Gethin Jenkins World Of Groggs Man of the Match
Although delighted with the result of the England Wales game we were a little confused by the Man of the Match award. Taking nothing away from Mr Worsley's preformance we did think however the Man of the Match by a country mile was our own son of Pontypridd Gethin Jenkins. In true Groggshop fashion we decided to so something about it and have made a special one off figure with a unique inscription commemorating the game, to present to Gethin. This is a World Of Groggs first but any further anomalies will be addressed in a similar fashion!
Daniel Gets Carter! Merci Beaucoup to Bertrand Guillemin, Canal + Jour De Rugby sports presenter and Grogg fan for these great pictures of Dan Carter with his Grogg. Dan was presented with his figure after the Perpignan V Castres game on the 23rd of December 2008 at the stadium Aimé Giral.
Filo Tiatia
The worst kept secret in Wales was finally revealed last week when Ospreys and New Zealand star no 8 Filo Tiatia was presented with his Limited Edition Groggs at the shop during filming for the Scrum V Christmas Special. The episode goes out on Sunday the 21st of December so keep your eyes peeled for some Groggy Christmas magic!
Unfortunately due to the Christmas rush figures will not be available before Christmas but please feel free to ring for details of the strips available.