In The Spotlight: Orange Swirl Keepsake Box

Looking for the perfect present for a loved one or just want to treat yourself then look no further!

This week's product in the spotlight is: The Orange Swirl Keepsake Box.

The Team Armitage Orange Swirl Keepsake Box is perfect for stylishly storing jewelry and mementos, this hardwood box showcases a ceramic tile (featuring the Orange Swirl design).


The spring-loaded hinged lid stays open without tipping the box over and snaps closed securely.

The box is made of solid hardwood with high-gloss lacquer finish and the interior is fully lined in velvet; bottom is covered with felt. The keepsake box measures 5.5" x 5.5" x 2.25" with a 4.25" x 4.25" ceramic tile.

$3US (£2) from the sale of this product will be donated to Cancer Research UK.

The Orange Swirl design is available on a wide range of products, including (but not limited to!): Infant Toddler T-shirts, Postcards, Mugs, Caps and Badges (aka buttons).

Don't forget the Celebrity Doodles are still for sale. Doodles have been done by a number of UK's best loved actors and actress'. So, if you want to get your hands on a doodle drawn by cast members of: Robin Hood, Vicar of Dibley, Lost In Austen, Little Dorrit, Merlin, North and South, Sparkhouse, Marple: Ordeal By Innocence, Marie Lloyd, The Impressionists and Between The Sheets -- hurry on over to the Team Armitage: Doodle Shop (raising money for Cancer Research UK) and bag yourself a celebrity doodle!

In The Spotlight: Butterfly Swirl Women's Cap Sleeve T-Shirt

The product in the spotlight this week is the Butterfly Swirl Women's Cap Sleeve T-shirt and it's available from the Team Armitage: Doodle Shop! Admittedly "butterfly swirl" sounds like an extremely bad tasting flavour of ice-cream, but I can assure you it's not and I can also assure you there is nothing bad tasting about the Butterfly Swirl design!



Get into sporty, stylin' casual comfort with our Women's Cap Sleeve Raglan. Looks great on the go or just hangin' out. Made of 100% combed ring-spun cotton that gets even softer with each washing.

6.1 oz 100% combed ring-spun cotton 1x1 rib
shaped fit, side seamed
Contrast color cap sleeves and single-needle bound collar

The cap sleeve t-shirt comes in three colour combinations: red/white, black/white and brown/white and is available in sizes small to x-x-large.

£3.50 ($5.00US) from the sale of this product will be donated to Cancer Research UK.

The butterfly swirl design is also available on a number of other products including: throw pillows, note cards, journals, mugs and bags. For a complete product range please see The Butterfly Swirl Design section of the Team Armitage: Doodle Shop.

Remember, products by our featured doodlers: Tom Riley, James Thornton, Lucy Griffiths and Roger Lloyd Pack are still available for sale in the Team Armitage: Doodle Shop!

This Week's Featured Doodler: ROGER LLOYD PACK

I'm proud to announce that this week's featured doodler is... Mr Roger Lloyd Pack! That's him in the picture (he looks a bit different to his most famous character, Owen Newitt from The Vicar of Dibley!)

Roger is a Londoner. He was born in England's capital 8th February, 1944.

In 1984 he was awarded the London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in One for the Road and Wild Honey.

Roger is a huge supporter of the English Premiership football team Tottenham Hotspur.

Aside from English, he's fluent in German, Italian and French.

He's the father of actress Emily Lloyd and the son of actor Charles Lloyd Pack.

OK, where to start with Roger's career! It's been long and varied, but his best known role to date would be that of Owen Newitt (who had questionable relationships with farm animals!) from The Vicar of Dibley.

Roger's first appearance on our screens was in 1965. His part was an uncredited role as, "man with bloodhounds" in The Avengers (a quirky spy show of the adventures of an eccentricly suave British agent and his predominately female partners).

From The Avengers he went on to appear in: Hamlet, Fiddler On The Roof, Confessions Of A Sex Maniac, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Inspector Morse, Mr Bean, Byker Grove, Zorro, Interview With The Vampire, Murder Most Horrid, Heartbeat, Oliver Twist, The Bill, Only Fools And Horses, Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire, Doctor Who, The Vicar of Dibley, and New Tricks.

Roger has appeared in over ONE HUNDRED tv shows/films. For a complete list of his work please visit IMDb.

Mr Lloyd Pack is currently gracing our screens in the BBC comedy, The Old Guys. He stars alongside Clive Swift, Jane Asher and Katherine Parkinson.

Here's a very brief outline of the sitcom (with thanks to The British Comedy Guide):

The Old Guys is about the relationship between Tom and Roy, who live together. Tom and Roy believe there is life in the old dog yet - but it might just need a kick.

Tom is a baby boomer who has never done anything much with his life, while Roy is a suburban pensioner who harbours the illusion that he may be one of the country's leading intellectuals. When Roy's wife left him, Tom moved in and, together, they are determined to go out in a blaze of glory.

The pair lust after sexy neighbour Sally. Tom has a dreary daughter Amber who is having a relationship with a vicar, Phil.

Roger took time out of his very busy schedule to draw a doodle for the Team Armitage Doodle Shop, and for that I would like to say a huge huge thank you to him.

Thanks Roger!

Roger's doodle is available on several products exclusively through the Team Armitage Fundraising Store. You can buy Roger's doodle on a mug, t-shirt, mousemat and other products.

Don't forget, this is all for Cancer Research UK. Team Armitage is not for profit. All monies raised from the sale of goods sold on the Doodle Shop and the Easter Emporium will go direct to Cancer Research UK (via a cheque made payable to the charity).

Remember, you can still buy doodles from our previous featured doodlers, Tom Riley, James Thornton and Lucy Griffiths.

The new "sister" shop is now open!

The Team Armitage: Celebrity Doodle Store has been open for some time now, and it remains open, meaning you can continue to buy loads of celebrity doodles (including our featured doodlers, Lucy Griffiths, James Thornton and Tom Riley) and other cool goodies!

However, I'm very pleased to announce that Team Armitage have just opened a new "sister" store -- The Easter Emporium! This is the first of several "specialty" stores that will open over the next twelve months. Each store will be dedicated to one particular theme and as the name suggests this store, The Easter Emporium, is one hundred percent dedicated to Easter!

Just like with our "flagship" store all proceeds raised from the sale of goods in The Easter Emporium will be donated to Cancer Research UK via a cheque made payable to the charity.

So, what can you get for your loved ones (and for yourself!) in The Easter Emporium? Loads of stuff, including: cards, mugs, ceramic tiles, baby/infant/toddler clothing, bags, teddy bears, ornaments and badges!

Just to wet your appetite here's a sample of the goodies (click on the pictures to see the entire product range -- and other gifts you can buy too!).

Easter Chicks

Master Bunny

Easter Googy Egg

Three Crosses

The Easter Emporium is open for a limited time only -- so hurry!

Introducing Several New Pink Ribbon Product Ranges!

I'm pleased to announce that the Team Armitage Fundraising Store has added several brand spanking new ranges of products! The new ranges all feature a pink ribbon.

The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer/cancer awareness and hundreds of thousands of products are sold each year (worldwide) with a portion of the sales going to breast cancer/cancer research charities.

Here is a very brief history of the pink ribbon (with thanks to Wikipedia):

In the fall of 1991, the Susan G. Komen Foundation handed out pink ribbons to participants in its New York City race for breast cancer survivors.

The next year, Alexandra Penney, who was the editor-in-chief of Self, a woman health magazine, was working on the second annual National Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue. Evelyn Lauder, who was the senior corporate vice president at Estée Lauder, was invited to be the guest editor of the NBCAM issue edition in 1992. Penney and Lauder came up with the idea to create a ribbon and to enlist the cosmetics giant to distribute it in stores in New York City. Evelyn Lauder then promised to spread the ribbons throughout the entire country, but a color for the ribbon was not yet decided upon.

Charlotte Hayley, who battled breast cancer, produced peach color ribbons. She sold them with a card saying, "The National Cancer Institute annual budget is 1.8 billion US Dollars, and only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon". Her message spread fast. This made Penny and Evelyn Lauder interested in Hayley's concept.

They offered to adapt Hayley's idea by working with her. But Hayley rejected the offer, saying that they were too commercial. After discussing opportunities with Lauder, Hayley and their lawyers, they came up with a "new" color. The new color of the ribbon was pink and became an international symbol for breast cancer awareness.

Which, brings us nicely to the brand spanking new ranges which, can be found in the Team Armitage Fundraising Store.

Here's a taster of the cool goodies you can buy!






Is your man "man enough to wear pink?" Even the men in your life can show their support for the cause buy wearing a product or two from this specially designed range of products just for men!








Be "proud to wear Pink"! It's not a dirty colour! In this range you'll find loads of t-shirts, bags and badges.












Let everyone know you're "helping to find a cure" for cancer by proudly wearing a t-shirt or badge or by slinging a bag over your shoulder! Between £2.00 to £3.50 ($3 to $5) from the sale of these goods will go direct to Cancer Research UK.








If you or a loved one is a survivor of cancer then why not let the world know? With the "I'm A Survivor" range you'll be able to do just that!








It's a race to find a cure and to save as many lives as possible. Together we can help find a cure and make a difference. The "racing for life" range of products will help to raise awareness (and funds!) for Cancer Research.







The "pink ribbon" range is a cool range of goodies (t-shirts, bags and badges) that feature a solitary pink ribbon. In most jurisdictions, the pink ribbon is considered public domain, which is how they can feature on the our products.





Remember, you can still buy "doodles" by our featured doodlers, Lucy Griffiths, James Thornton and Tom Riley. Of course there are loads of other doodles by loads of other Celebrity Doodlers as well!

Thanks for your continued support.

This Week's Featured Doodler: LUCY GRIFFITHS

OK, so I thought it was time to showcase the talent of the female Team Armitage Celebrity Doodlers! That being the case, I'm proud to introduce this week's featured doodler the stunningly beautiful, Lucy Griffths! I should warn you now you will not be getting any thudtastic comments in this post. I reserve thuds for our male doodlers only (for obvious reasons!). However, please feel free to insert your own thuds as you read this post!

Lucy was born in the seaside English town of Brighton on 10th November, 1987, which, means she's a young 21 year old Scorpio. Other celebrity Scorpios include: Joaquin Phoenix, Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Schwimmer and Prince Charles. I'm sure you can agree she's in very good company!

Lucy is relatively new on the tv scene. Her most famous role to date is that of Marian in the popular BBC1 Saturday night family series, Robin Hood. Lucy starred in two seasons of Robin Hood, along side the very talented Jonas Armstrong, Richard Armitage and Keith Allen.

We first saw Lucy on our screens in 2006 when she played Rebecca in Sea Of Souls a drama about a group of faculty and staff at a Glasgow university who studies the paranormal. Shortly there after we next saw Lucy as Lettie in Sugar Rush, which was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series "production team".

It won't be long before we see Lucy back on our screens. She's just finished filming U Be Dead a thriller/drama (based on a true story) about a doctor and his girlfriend who are stalked by a woman who claims to be in love with him.

Lucy has also appeared as herself in several programmes including: World Of Robin Hood, The National Television Awards and Children In Need.

Ms Griffiths has been extremely generous in her doodling talent. She donated FOUR wonderful doodles for the Team Armitage Doodle Shop raising money in aid of Cancer Research UK and you can buy Lucy's Doodle on a range of fantastic products.

I would like to take this opportunity to send a very warm thank you to Lucy for helping Team Armitage continue to raise vital funds and awareness for Cancer Research UK.

Thanks Lucy!

If you'd like to find out more about Lucy Griffiths why not visit Lucy Griffiths Online or her Official Forum.

Remember, not only can you buy Lucy Griffith's Doodles, but you can still buy doodles by our previous featured doodlers, Tom Riley and James Thornton too! And if you're a fan of Lost In Austen and Merlin, you'll be pleased to know cast members of these popular shows have recently donated a doodle or two! You can buy their doodles HERE and HERE.

And finally, the Team Armitage Justgiving Online Fundraising Page is now up and running! Wahoooooooo! Please feel free to sponsor us to do Cancer Research UK's Race For Life 2009. So far, four women have answered the call and will be doing the race on July 19th, in London's Hyde Park. Well done ladies!

Until next time!

Race For Life 2009

I'm very excited and happy to announce that Cancer Research UK's Race For Life is now open for registration and we've already got several Team Armitage team members signed up and rearing to go! A very special thanks to Caroline, Tanya and Kirrily for taking up the challenge and doing the race! You go girls. I'll update the team list as and when new team members come on board (I know there are a few more who will be doing the race!)

You’re invited to do something amazing at Race for Life 2009

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life 2009 needs women everywhere and their friends, family and colleagues to take part and raise money to help them continue their life-saving work.

Race for Life is the UK’s largest women only fundraising event, where women come together to raise money to help Cancer Research UK beat cancer. Whether you walk, jog or run 5k you can go at your own pace and enjoy a great day out.

There are over 230 Race for Life events taking place all over the UK this summer. So please join us and enter Race for Life 2009 and invite every woman you know to take part too.

Our Just Giving FUNDRAISING PAGE is up and running so if you'd like to make a donation you can do so HERE. All money donated via the Just Giving Webpage goes direct to Cancer Research UK.

Also, as if you needed reminding (!) our FUNDRAISING STORE is open and new products have recently (and will continue to be) added.

Thanks to Cancer Research UK for giving Team Armitage permission to use their logos to help us get the word out about Cancer Research UK and the Race For Life!

But most of all, thanks all for your continued support!

This Week's Featured Doodler: JAMES THORNTON

From one thudtastic British actor onto the next! I’m proud to announce Mr James Thornton as this week’s featured doodler! Isn’t he thudworthy? (look at the picture to your right!).

Please, take a moment or two to enjoy the thudworthiness that is, James Thornton!

James was born 31st October 1975 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England -- by my calculation that makes him 30 something years old! His star sign is Scorpio and according to the Chinese Zodiac he’s a Rabbit! He married “Gavin and Stacey” actress Joanna Page on 6th December, 2003.

It was way back in 1997 that James first appeared on our screens in Emmy Award nominated (for “Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Movie) Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone.

It was the following year, 1998, when we finally saw James on our screens again firstly in Playing the Field (a drama about the on-the-field trials and tribulations and the off-the-field lives, loves and infidelities of 'The Castlefield Blues', an under funded, badly managed ladies football team) and then, Among Giants, a romantic comedy from the writer of "The Full Monty".

1999 started off with James appearing in Plunkett & Macleane followed by The Lakes, in which he appeared in 14 episodes of the series, which gave many of his adoring female fans some thoroughly thudtastic moments!

From that moment on it’s been nothing but onwards and upwards for James Thornton with very little time off our screens. He had reoccurring appearances on shows such as, Red Cap (he played SSgt. Philip 'Hippie' Roper), No Angels (his character was Marcus), Dalziel and Pascoe (Hugh Shadwell), Holby Blue (he played PC Jake Loughton – thud! Oh, how we all love a man in uniform!) and of course he was in Between The Sheets (alongside Richard Armitage) playing Simon Delany. James will play another policeman in Breathe which is currently in post-production.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank James for his doodling talent and agreeing to help Team Armitage to continue to raise vital funds and awareness for Cancer Research UK.

Thanks James!

You can buy James’ doodles on several products from the Team Armitage Celebrity Doodle Store. Tom Riley's doodles (last week's featured doodler!) are still on sale too! All monies raised from the sale of these goods will be donated to Cancer Research UK (via a cheque made payable to the charity).

For a complete list of James’ work please visit IMDB.

Sexy Calendar Girls Pose For Cancer Awareness Calendar

I thought, after the thoroughly "thudtastic Tomtastic" blog I should do something for the guys. After all, Team Armitage does not want to be accused of being sexist!!!

Enter stage right: The Team Armitage Calendar Girls!

To wet your appetite (and by that I really mean, here's a taster if you want to see the rest you need to buy the calendar -- hey, it's all for Cancer Research UK after all!) I'm proud to introduce:

Miss April!

(check out her picture to the left -- phwoar!)

Miss A (as she likes to be called) is a graduate and holds a BA in Biochemistry. Her interests are: Shopping, listening to music and hanging out with friends. Her ambition is to have world peace and a cure for cancer.

Miss April proudly features "Bowel Cancer Awareness Month" and "Cancer Control Month". Bowel Cancer Awareness is a UK event focusing on the treatment and prevention of bowel cancer. Cancer Awareness Month is a US event and as the name suggests, the month will highlight the prevention of various cancers.

Next is Miss November, (that's her on the left -- what a hottie!) or Novie as her friends and family like to affectionately call her. Miss November -- Novie -- is a "student of the world". Her favourite TV quote is from Lost In Austen:

"You mean there really *are* ladies who... steer the punt from the Cambridge end?"

And she's proud to admit that she's well and truly been "Rileyed" and thinks Tom Riley is absolutely thudtastic! Just like Miss April, she too would like world peace and a cure for cancer.

Novie proudly supports "Lung Cancer Awareness Month" and "Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month".

As a special treat, the Team Armtiage Calender Girls got together and did a "Vanity Fair" cover and for one time only, the girls can be seen all together in one special sitting.

If you like what you see (and I'm sure that you do!) the calender is available for sale in the Team Armitage Doodle Shop! All monies raised from the sale of the TEAM ARMITAGE CANCER AWARENESS CALENDAR 2009 will go direct to Cancer Research UK.

I would like to say a very special thank you to the Calendar Girls who ALL took time out of their very hectic schedules to pose for us.

Thanks Gals!

This Week's Featured Doodler: TOM RILEY

This week’s featured doodler is, Tom Riley!

Who is Tom Riley?

Probably one of the best looking guys on television at this point in time! Of course, that is just my humble opinion (one I’m sure you’ll agree with judging by his drop dead gorgeous picture to the left -- thanks Tom for the use of the picture!) Take a moment to “thud” before reading on…

Finished? Don’t worry, you can return to thudding in just a moment!

Tom was born, 5th April 1981 (which makes him an Aries and 28 years old!). He was born in Maidstone, Kent, which is in England.

2006 was the year which saw Tom hitting our screens when he appeared as David in A Few Days in September (aka Quelques jours en septembre) a drama about the disappearance of an American C.I.A. agent holding top secret information on the immediate future of the world.

A Few Days in September wasn’t the only time we got to “thud” over Tom on our screens. He appeared in Casualty 1906 (an innovative hospital drama that plunges the viewer into the Receiving Room (today's A&E) of the London hospital deep in the teeming East End) as Dr James Walton.

In 2007 he was rarely off our screens, not that you would have heard anyone complaining, after all, his roles in I Want Candy, Freezing, Marple: Ordeal By Innocence (alongside Richard Armitage, the actor NOT the politician!), and Return To House on Haunted Hill, were just more opportunities to see this very talented young actor in action.

Little did we realise, as 2008 began, that we would soon be hit with Wickhamtasticness (a phrase coined by Tormented Space from the Darcylicious forum) but first, before we all could begin to spend many hours discussing Wickhamtasticness we were again treated to watching Tom in, Freezing, followed by Lewis, Casualty 1907 and Agatha Christie: Poirot.

Back to Wickhamtasticness!

What is Wickhamtasticness? Watch Lost In Austen, a unique take on Jane Austen’s much loved (and much adapted) Pride and Prejudice to know what is meant by Wickhamtasticness.

Apart from how thudtastic Tom looks in Wickham’s uniform, I think (again, this is just my opinion) what made Tom’s “Wickham” more appealing is the way he played the character. Tom gave his Wickham an air of vulnerability and loneliness, yet while at the same time being roguishly boyish and humorous (oh, and did I mention good looking in Wickham’s uniform? Oh, I see I did!).

We will not have to wait long to see Tom on our screens again. Just like the previous three years, 2009 is shaping up to be a busy one for him. Curiosity is due for release this year and Happy Ever Afters is currently in post-production.

Yet, despite how busy Tom is he still took time out to lend Team Armitage his “doodling” talent to help us raise vital funds and awareness for Cancer Research UK.

You can buy Tom’s doodles on several products from the Team Armitage Celebrity Doodle Store. All monies raised from the sale of these goods will be donated to Cancer Research UK (via a cheque made payable to the charity).

Team Armitage would like to say a huge and warm thank you to TOM RILEY for his generosity. The sale of his doodles will go a long way to helping Cancer Research UK find a cure for Cancer.

Thanks Tom!

If you would like to find out more about Tom and or want to indulge in some thudtastic drooling over him, then DARCYLICIOUS is the place to be! Oh, and you may want to check out the TOM RILEY LIVE JOURNAL COMMUNITY and the TOM RILEY FANSITE as well.

Celebrity Doodles For Sale!

The new Team Armitage Fundraising Store is now open! It's a new year meaning I've cleared out the Christmas stock and jammed the shelves with brand new stuff -- the "stuff" being Celebrity Doodles! I've even decided to get into "blogging" and here were are -- new year, new shop and a brand spanking new blog!

OK, so what's the deal with CELEBRITY DOODLES being in the TEAM ARMITAGE Fundraising Store?

Simple.

In July 2008, I started to contact actors and actress' who have appeared alongside actor, Richard Armitage (he's the one the "team" is named after!) as I wanted to keep the "Richard" connection and asked them if they would like to draw a "doodle" to help the team raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK.

To be honest, I really wasn't expecting anyone to respond, well, maybe one or two and no more. However, the response has been, and continues to be, overwhelming and actually bought a tear to my eye. The "celebrities" have been extremely generous with their time and talent and their works of art are for sale in the Celebrity Doodle section of the Team Armitage Cafepress Shop.

What else can be found in the store?

Loads of stuff!

The Racing 4 Life range features all of the Team Armitage team stuff. Because TA has members from all corners of the globe(!) it's not possible for all of us to be there on Race Day (Cancer Research UK's Race For Life) but you can show your support (and team membership!) by wearing a t-shirt (among other things!).

The other ranges include: IT'S 2009, STANDING UP TO CANCER and I BOUGHT THIS...

New doodle's will be added through out the year, so keep checking.

Help raise money for Cancer Research UK by buying a CELEBRITY DOODLE!