An artwork inspired by Stone Age carvings was unveiled at the 30th birthday celebrations of an Anglesey company.

Peninsula Home Improvements commissioned artist Hannah Wardle to create her Lightcatcher design, based on carvings made 4,000 years ago by Neolithic sculptors, for the company’s new showroom at Gaerwen, Anglesey.

Hotly-tipped Welsh songstress Kizzy Crawford, a BBC Horizons performer who’s played at Glastonbury, was on hand to sing Happy Birthday to founders Barrie and Joan Grayson and their son Ken. He is now chief executive of the company, which first began trading 30 years ago in Pwllheli as a spin-off from a boat-building yard.

The event was also organised to celebrate Peninsula’s partnership with Solarlux, the top German manufacturer of glass houses, sliding folding doors and high spec ‘Wintergarden’ conservatories who helped transform the famous Yankee Stadium in New York.

The bespoke light installation by Hannah Wardle was commissioned by Peninsula and supported by A&B Cymru’s CultureStep programme. It explores sustainable light, using material inspired by Anglesey’s Neolithic site Barclodiad y Gawres -Welsh for apronful of the giantess – on a headland at Cable Bay, Llanfaelog.

Hannah said: “There, a complex pattern of spirals, zig-zags, lozenges and chevrons were chipped by Neolithic artists into a stone carefully placed in the site. These patterns are similar to those found at Newgrange in Ireland where on the winter solstice, December 21 – the shortest day of the year – the low winter sun illuminates the passage and various markings positioned in it.

“Although this light catching phenomena doesn’t occur at Barclodiad y Gawres, it did inspire me to think about light catching materials. The patterns occur at a number of linked sites – proving that people were moving about the seas, spreading these ideas.”

Hannah used this as inspiration to make her Lightcatcher artwork from laser-cut pieces of plywood solid hammered brass and lighting points, which hang in the Solarlux glass display units.

Originally from near St Asaph, Hannah, 36, now lives in Bethesda and has her studio in Treborth, Bangor. She trained at Goldsmiths College in London and worked in London before moving back to North Wales.

She was delighted to have the opportunity to work with Peninsula which installs eco-friendly office pods, conservatories and glass balustrades, and carries out range of other home improvements as well as building extensions.

The company has a turnover of £1.7m and employs 25 staff – some of whom have been with Peninsula since the early days.

More jobs are also on the cards at Peninsula thanks to a strong order book and increasing interest in eco-buildings, said Lorraine Grayson, co-director of the Anglesey-based company.

“We wanted to combine our birthday celebrations with our support for Arts and Business Cymru, which is why we invited Kizzy to perform, and commissioned Hannah’s artwork,” explained Lorraine.

“We share the same core values, of nurturing community, creativity, talent and craftsmanship – we support the community in which we operate because that’s our pool of future talent. At Peninsula we take our social responsibility very seriously, and seek to put something back.

“The birthday event was a night to look back and mark the past three decades of achievements. Most recently these include the new factory and showroom at Gaerwen, which opened in 1997, plus our decision to expand and diversify, which led to the founding of our sister company Heritage Hardwood and a partnership with Solarlux last year. They are very much the BMW of the glass-house world.

“We are also proud that several of our staff are still with us, all these years on – it is like a large family.

“We now aim to grow the company for the future, as interest grows in eco-buildings as a home office, music or art studio, gym or garden room thanks to the Grand Designs generation,” added Lorraine, mum to Sonny, eight, and three-year-old Taleisin.

Among the guests at the event was Anglesey AM Rhun ap Iorwerth who congratulated the company on its 30th anniversary, and collaborating with Arts & Business Cymru.

He said: “Peninsula Home Improvements is a well-known successful local business, which continues to go from strength to strength, now branching into the eco-buildings market and hoping to take on more staff as a result.

“I enjoyed listening to the young singing talent Kizzy Crawford and seeing Hannah Wardle’s light installations, as part of the celebrations to mark Peninsula’s close links and support for Arts & Business in their local community.

“Many congratulations to the team on reaching this milestone, and best wishes for the next 30 years!”

Sian Tomos of the Arts Council for Wales praised Peninsula Home Improvements for its support of Welsh culture.

She said: “Ken and Lorraine and the rest of the team at Peninsula Home Improvements are to be congratulated for their continuing  support of arts and music in North Wales. It’s important that creativity and talent are nurtured – these are a key part of our Welsh heritage. Businesses can play an important role in sustaining and enhancing our culture for future generations, whilst at the same time reaping tangible benefits of their own.

“Art can easily be incorporated into everyday business life to everyone’s benefit – as Hannah Wardle’s specially-commissioned Lightcatcher artwork at Peninsula’s showroom demonstrates.

“The Arts Council of Wales and BBC Cymru Wales’ Horizons programme, of which Kizzy Crawford is part, is a partnership that gives young and emerging artists new platforms on which to perform to a variety of audiences. The link with business at an event like this is tremendous. We hope other businesses will be inspired by Peninsula’s success.”

Also at the event was one of the firm’s first customers, former Manchester City and Sheffield United player Bill Russell and his wife Cathy, a charity worker, from Dyserth.

Music for the evening was provided by 18-year-old singer-songwriter Kizzy Crawford, who won the Brwydr Y Bandiau at the 2013 National Eisteddfod. Her soul-jazz work, which previously featured in the Six Nations TV campaign, will form the backdrop for the 2015 Visit Wales adverts.

One of the BBC Wales Horizons artist of the year, Kizzy has performed at BBC events and radio sessions including a live session at BBC Maida Vale. Following a tour of Canada, she played a showcase at the House of Commons, Westminster alongside Cerys Matthews. She has also performed with Super Furry Animal’s Gruff Rhys and recorded with Amy Wadge – co-writer with chart-topper Ed Sheeran.

More details about Peninsula at www.peninsulawindows.co.uk

A new work by a talented composer who orchestrated the music used in a trailer for the latest Hobbit movie blockbuster will be unveiled at a top music festival.

Owain Llwyd, 30, a former pupil of Ysgol Dinas Bran, Llangollen, who’s also composed for the X-Factor, Top Gear and Big Brother, is looking forward to the premiere at Bangor Music Festival, which starts on March 4.

He’s “really excited” about the commission which he has written specifically for North Wales Camerata – an ensemble of more than 20 young musicians, under the direction of Patrick Rimes.

The concert will be at Capel Penrallt, Bangor on Saturday, March 7, at 7:30pm.

Owain, a Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol lecturer at Bangor University, said: “It’s quite a change from what I would normally compose. It’s based upon a traditional Welsh tune called Y Deryn Pur but in my piece you don’t hear the full melody until the last few bars. Before that the melody is stretched.

“The whole piece, which is in three movements, is quite a change for me as a composer.

“I wrote the first and last movements over Christmas and the work is quite spiritual. I think it happened subconsciously but I lost four or five good friends and acquaintances, all of whom had strong North Wales connections, during that time.

“The result is Gentle Dove which is a piece for strings and trumpet. The first and last movements are almost in a memorial style while the second movement is more joyful and celebrates life.”

Owain, who’s post is funded at Bangor University by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, which works with universities across Wales to develop Welsh language medium opportunities for students, says as soon as he heard North Wales Camerata play he knew he wanted to write something specifically with them in mind.

He said: “That’s why I was so delighted to be commissioned by the Bangor Music Festival. As soon as I saw the Camerata play I was excited about the prospect.

“Gentle Dove is a piece for strings and trumpet. Gwyn Owen will play the trumpet but all the musicians have connections to North Wales and all are studying at UK music colleges.”

Owain hails from Glyndyfrdwy, between Llangollen and Corwen, and attended Llangollen’s Ysgol Dinas Bran before completing his sixth form studies at Ysgol Y Berwyn, Bala. He studied music at Bangor University.

During the course of his three years as an undergraduate he won all five Eisteddfod composition medals in both the Urdd National Eisteddfod and the National Eisteddfod of Wales – the only composer to have ever achieved this.

He then completed his PhD in composition writing music for film and TV at Bangor before becoming a Welsh-medium music lecturer under the auspices of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.

As well as lecturing in music at Bangor University and composing his own music, Owain is kept busy orchestrating the work of other composers.

He said: “I do a lot of orchestration work for the British composer Tom Player. Basically I notate the score for his music. Tom specialises in writing music for film trailers and TV adverts.

“It’s very common he will write the music and I score it up for the orchestra. Orchestration is an important part of the writing process. It has meant I have worked on some wonderful projects such as the last Hobbit film and TV adverts for companies such as Ikea.

“And I have also composed my own original music that has been included on such programmes as The X-Factor, Top Gear, the US Open, Masterchef and Big Brother to name just a few.”

Dr Guto Pryderi Puw, the festival’s artistic director and a renowned composer in his own right, is thrilled to have been able to feature a new work by Owain Llwyd within the 5 day long festival.

He said: “Owain’s reputation as a fine composer is growing very fast, not only in the film and TV industries but also within the concert halls. His music is direct and often full of rhythmic energy and will be greatly anticipated as part of a thrilling programme during the Saturday evening concert.”

The life and work of music legend Frank Zappa will be celebrated at the festival where fans can talk to his widow, Gail, via a live link from California.

The iconic American bandleader, songwriter, composer and film director will be remembered in a series of events.

The theme this year is ‘Crossover and Multimedia’ with each concert having a connected educational project that will involve a number of local schools as well as the city’s university students.

The Apollo Saxophone Quartet will open the festival with a concert of crossover music influenced by jazz and minimalism together with the quartet’s own scores to short silent films in Reichel, Ffriddoedd Road, Bangor.

The festival will close with the awarding of the William Mathias Composition Prize for a piece for flute, clarinet, piano and electronics during the Rees/Roche/Pestova evening concert on Sunday, March 8.

For more information on Bangor Music Festival and for ticket information visit www.bangormusicfestival.org.uk