Royal Recognition - The King's Awards for Enterprise 2023

Coolicon Lighting Ltd; 

Winners of The King's Award for Enterprise 2023

It is most definitely not a regular day in the office when you hear that His Majesty the King of England has bestowed his royal recognition upon your 90-year-old lighting brand! 

Words by The Coolicon Team

Six Coolicon lampshades hanging over a marble surface. The colours of the lamps are: Terracotta, Sky Blue, Pink, Teal and Yellow

Photo by Coolicon Lighting


A Large Classic Cream lampshade hanging over a wooden table above a cream vitreous enamel serving dish, a towel and a teapot

Photo by Coolicon Lighting

A Royal Recognition unlike any other

As Britain’s most prestigious commercial awards, The King’s Awards for Enterprise are awarded to highly respected UK businesses for outstanding achievement across 4 categories; innovation, sustainable development, promoting opportunity and international trade.


Introduced in 1965 by Royal Warrant, the Queen’s Awards were first presented in 1966 under the schemes original title, The Queen’s Award to Industry. Evolving over the years and since the passing of our late Queen, the award has justly been renamed to, The King’s Award for Enterprise.


Here at Coolicon Lighting, we are extremely grateful to have received the King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade 2023. We are overjoyed as a small business, and team, to have been recognised for our achievements in recent years. To see the appreciation for our craftsmen’s traditional skills and expertise grow out with Britain over the past few years has been phenomenal. 

What a fantastic way to celebrate 90 years of the Coolicon brand!


From quietly lighting the way in the back rooms and corridors of power in early art deco Britain, to now been recognised by the royal household and His Majesty the King of England himself, the Coolicon lampshade has truly surpassed the test of time.


Winners of this coveted accolade will be hosted by the Royal household at Buckingham Palace later this year to commemorate this highly coveted accolade. The event will highlight the best of British trade, and as such Coolicon Lighting are honoured as a small craft business to be in attendance. 

A close-up of the top part of a Coolicon lampshade with a black Bakelite suspension set, with the King’s Award for Enterprise logo and a line drawing of a shade

Photo by Coolicon Lighting


The Coolicon gold badge is applied by hand onto a Cream lampshade

Photo by Coolicon Lighting

Celebrating Small British Brands

This award comes as a monumental achievement for our small British brand; validating the strengths and endorsing the skill sets of this tight-knit team and the generations of craftsmen without whom years of traditional knowledge may be lost.


Recognised for outstanding short-term growth over the past three years, we are thrilled to see our focus on the export lighting market receive such acknowledgment. It comes with great respect we extend our gratitude to everyone who has supported us over the years. Without you, this achievement would not have been possible.


As a small business, we will continue striving to keep traditional practices and craft alive, maintaining utmost admiration for the generations of craftsmen behind the Coolicon products.

"We are overjoyed to add yet another milestone to the Coolicon story and hope to bring you along with us as we go."

So, what’s next for Coolicon Lighting? Stay tuned to find out...


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