The New Year is always a good time for new beginnings. Even though technically a new year starts every day there’s something about the 1st January and the new year date that seems to energise in a different way to most other days. Perhaps the celebrations the night before focus us on turning over a new leaf or it might simply be the fact that we are heading out of the darkest days of Winter into Spring and it literally is a new period of growth.
New Place
At Blue Eyed Sun, we’ve marked the change with a move into newly acquired premises which makes it extra special. After nearly ten years of toiling away in our old industrial units in Brighton we have a lovely new factory up the road in Burgess Hill. It’s a great space that we’ve refurbished and I’m sure our team will be very happy there. They’ve been involved in planning the design and look of the interiors. There’s more light and better facilities for them going forward. The units also give us more room to grow, which is exciting. We ran out of space two years ago and although it’s kept us efficient I do think it’s held us back a little.
Out with the Old
In preparation for the move, we have been doing a lot of clearing, sorting and so on. It’s my least favourite job in the whole world. I get side tracked with the detail of it and then despondent that I can’t get through it all fast enough. I kept discovering interesting old bits of paperwork. Like our very first order, our original brochure and a load of rejection letters from top retailers that now stock us. The letters were a good reminder that persistence is one of the things that has really kept us growing all these years.
Despite the distractions I got most of it done and I’ve photographed or scanned the paperwork I want to keep and recycled the rest. My goal for 2016 is to get digital on most of our paperwork and do the full shift over to the cloud. Paperwork takes up space and most of it I only ever look at it when I’m try to clear out the office!
In with the New
Essentially the cloud is online storage for your data files. With tools like dropbox, it’s been around a while now and you can expect to see more big growth of it in the coming year or two. We have a cheap and simple NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that acts like a server which we then back up to Amazon’s servers. Yes. Amazon own that space too! It’s like having a Big Yellow storage facility on the internet for your digital stuff.
The advantages are that you can access receipts and paperwork from anywhere in the world by logging into your cloud storage to find it. A lot of software has been moving into the cloud too, so you can do things like look up your accounts on a range of different devices. This blog post for instance was in the cloud whilst I wrote it on my iMac at home, edited on my phone in bed and uploaded it from my iPad to the blog in the morning. Being able to work from anywhere has really freed up my time.
New Ranges
The most exciting part about having more space is that we can launch lots of lovely new designs because we now have room for the stock. Blue Eyed Sun has had a remarkable run over the last few years. Our market leading stitched ranges like Vintage, Gorgeous and Picnic Time have been massive hits for us. We feel like we have so much more we can do. We love coming up with new ideas and techniques and are really looking forward to showing our customers what’s new at Top Drawer Spring and Spring Fair this year. Even though we’ve been really busy, with getting the new building ready and the big move, Jo has managed to produce over 150 new designs across 5 new ranges.
“What’s new?“ has to be the most common question retailers ask publishers at trade shows. The trick is to have new of best sellers and to try some radically new ideas too (ideally ones that are on trend). Trends have been getting harder to predict of late and now move quickly because of the internet. As all designers are watching the same trend forecasts, staying fresh, original and on trend is a constant challenge for any design-led publisher.
In addition to new product we’ve also been looking to improve our displays.
New Stands
For years we’ve prepped expensive Foamex boards to display our greeting cards at shows, only to find their corners bashed after they fell of the wall overnight after the velcro used to attach them failed. It’s rare for customers to mention the damaged boards and I’ve always consoled myself by saying it’s the card designs that really matter. We all like to do our best though don’t we? I imagine it’s the same for retailers. If your display and point of sale looks good it gives off a different feeling and experience for the shopper who is looking at the lovely cards they stock. It enhances it. Our stands have never looked terrible, but I’ve never been thrilled with them either. I’m looking forward to showing off our new cards on our new, custom made trade show displays for the new year.
New Friends
2015 was an incredible year for me personally as I was invited to attend some amazing events at 10 Downing Street, New Orleans and the Rugby World Cup. I’ve made some wonderful new friendships with all sorts of interesting people from around the world. Social Media has been a big part of all of this for me and it has led me to me changing how I operate online in 2016.
I’ve decided to make a commitment to more connections on social media. Instead of just interacting with friends that I already know on Facebook, for instance, I’m opening up to more friendships from the card industry and beyond in an effort to engage more widely with others. I have been experimenting with all sorts of new digital tools including Slack, Blab and Periscope. WhatsApp (and instant messaging in general) has been the most powerful of the lot for me so far in terms of new meaningful connections and I’m excited to see where they take me this year.
New Commitments
Contribution is really important to me and I’m proud to have been asked to be Vice-Chairman of the Giftware Association and take up my post in 2016. I’ve been working with the GA at committee level for five years. With new CEO, Sarah Ward, already doing a great job it’s going to be an exciting year for the GA. I’m particularly looking forward to working with incoming Chairman Henri Davis who has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in retail.
I’ve been a member of the GA and the GCA for many years now and, having worked closely with both at committee level, they do invaluable work. Our industry wouldn’t be the same without them. Even if you can’t find the time to serve on their committees do join and support them as a member. Whether you are a supplier or retailer, they are fantastic resources that we don’t want to be without. Remember it’s not just about what’s in it for you (although there are loads of benefits for members at each organisation), it’s about the wider community that you are a part of.
What’s New for You?
If you aren’t sure where to start with your goals for the new year. Try a slight shift towards something that you’d like to improve. Take small steps initially so that you can get momentum and progress. They say the one who moves mountains always starts by carrying away small stones first.
I hope that 2016 brings you lots of wonderful new adventures and personal development. Good luck with all of your new endeavours and goals.
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