No? OK, so we might mention blinds and curtains a lot, but one thing we don’t often mention is that we can also make matching soft furnishings.
Take cushions, for example. We can source from a huge selection of fabrics to complement your handmade roman blinds or curtains. There is something to suit every style and taste from classic to contemporary, cosy cottage to city apartments and everything in between. All our work is made to measure by local craftspeople, and designed to your exact requirements.
To complement your blinds and curtains, we can help you design some other great finishing touches that will add flair to a room and pull your entire design scheme together.
For example, if you are decorating a bedroom you might consider covering the bed headboard in a material that matches or adds contrast to your other soft furnishings. Equally, you might like a range of cushions, or even lampshades, for your bedroom in different sizes and fabrics to add subtle variety to your decorative scheme.
You might also want to consider pelmets and valances for your rooms. These can be created in any fabric and style of your choice. In the appropriate setting, they add a wonderful elegance to a room.
We can even make table runners to create a focal point in your dining-room, tying in all the other soft furnishings. Having a table runner made to measure can also be useful if you have a particularly large table and are struggling to find one of a suitable size and style.
So don’t forget, if you are planning new blinds or curtains for your decorative scheme, have a chat with us about how we can also co-ordinate your soft furnishings for you.
You can visit our Showrooms in Norwich or Attleborough, phone 01603 334035 or book an appointment online for a free consultation at your home or office.
Today [Wednesday 26 April] is known as Administrative Professionals Day, so everyone at Pure would like to give a big shout out to all the fantastic office support workers across the East of England.
We’ve placed hundreds of people in office support roles across the region, and helped numerous organisations find the high-calibre administration employees they need to keep the business running smoothly. Not to mention the fantastic team of administrators we have here at Pure!
We know these positions are integral to the success of an organisation and that those who hold them are often the unsung heroes of many businesses. For organisations looking to expand their administration team we do more than just fill positions. We offer support and advice to both clients and candidates throughout the whole recruitment process. Our temporary recruitment team is also able to offer the highest quality temps, filling vacancies quickly and efficiently.
Office support roles are extremely diverse and, despite misconceptions, provide excellent career opportunities. Our dedicated office support recruitment team covers roles including: Executive Assistants, PA, office management, administration, customer service and secretarial positions.
If you’re looking for your next career move within the field of business administration, get in touch with us today. We don’t just place people in jobs, we also offer advice on your career path and options for development.
For more information on the support we can provide contact your local Pure office or click here to see the current office support roles we are recruiting for.
When equipping an office with new commercial blinds, functionality is one of the most important factors. Particularly vibrant colours are unlikely to be suitable, but it will depend on your office and the environment you’re trying to create. In the majority of cases though, neutral colour schemes and timeless corporate colours are a safe bet.
Points you should be considering:
Are you decorating for a single company or for a floor which will be host to several businesses?
Are you looking for privacy?
How long do you want the blinds to last?
Have you got any guidelines on style or colour?
Do they need to fit with an existing colour scheme?
There might be more things to consider as well, but consider these a starting point.
First things first: which commercial blinds will be best for the space. Functionality and the kind of blinds you choose tend to go hand in hand. Typically an office space will use vertical blinds or a roller blind.
Unlike the sorts of blinds you might be purchasing for use in the home, blinds in offices primarily need to keep light out effectively. Glare can affect how well your employees are able to work on a day to day basis. Reflections and an ability to properly see the screen are all part of it. Even if your staff don’t regularly use computer screens, they will still run in to trouble if they’re having to compete with bright sunshine on a regular basis.
Most commercial blinds will need offer a degree of privacy. The amount needed will often depend how visible the office is. For example, you might need more privacy in a ground floor space than you would from a third floor open plan office.
Blinds can also be used in between offices to offer more privacy. Glass walls look stylish but mean your meeting rooms can be quite visible. A simplehorizontal blindsare ideal, as they can be adjusted and folded away when they aren’t needed.
For complete privacy and to block out light effectively, roller blinds are often a wise choice.
Vertical blinds are particularly common in offices. These work well because you are able to adjust the amount of light let into a room while allowing airflow through the panels. Often these are made of a slightly thinner fabric so that the effect is to dampen the light rather than block it out altogether. The soft and natural light will make for a more pleasant work environment than using harsh fluorescent lighting to compensate for the lack of natural light. Offices which are either over or under illuminated can even contribute to eye strain.
Hygiene is also an important factor in a workplace environment. Commercial blinds often have antibacterial and antifungal properties which keep them looking fresh and new for longer. A more hygienic workplace will lead to lower staff illnesses and a higher rate of productivity in the long run.
Norwich Sunblinds offer a wide range of commercial blinds, which can be made to reflect your corporate identity if desired. To get started, contact us to book an appoint for free measuring. Our fitting service is also free, so the price for the blinds themselves is the only cost you’ll need to pay.
You can visit our Showrooms in Norwich or Attleborough, phone 01603 334035 or book an appointment online for a free consultation at your home or office.
Despite growing up and spending the vast majority of my life living in Norwich, I haven’t really been to the seaside town of Great Yarmouth that many times, despite it being only 20 miles away. I certainly never imagined finding work there. I’ve visited Yarmouth for business three times since Christmas this year, secured one piece of business with a local company and now it’s looking like Naked Element could be securing some more. I’ve been fascinated by engineering since a young age. From the differential which helped drive the Lego car I had as a child, to internal combustion engines, power stations and large ships and planes, I like to know how things, big and small, work. When I was younger I even wrote to the BBC’s Playschool programme to find out how their clock worked and received a photo and a full explanation in response (I wish I still had them now). So when a Norfolk Chamber breakfast offered the opportunity to hear from a senior member of Seajacks, who own and run some of the most advanced off-shore equipment in the world, I was very excited. I enjoy the breakfasts and networking at the chamber anyway, the big machines were a real bonus! After the customary speed networking, which is a great way to mix up the room and help you meet people, and the breakfast itself, John Vingoe, Operations Manager at Seajacks, told us about their largest vessel, the Scylla, and how it would be used to help build the East Anglia One windfarm off the coast of Great Yarmouth between July and October of 2018. The Scylla is a Gusto MSC NG14000X multipurpose jack-up which is home to 130 crew, has a massive deck area of 5000m2, can operate in waters down to a depth of 65m and does up to 12 knots. It’s a beast and will be used to install concrete jackets for the wind farm. But what’s really great about Seajacks is their commitment to source locally and where they can, they do! There are, of course, some specialist equipment and skills which are not available locally. The East Anglia One wind farm operation will be based out of a port in the Netherlands and although equipment and labour is available in the Netherlands, Seajacks will be flying over its people and supplies from the local area, even though there is a modest extra cost. The slowdown in the oil and gas industry and its effect, especially on employment in Great Yarmouth, is widely known. Seajacks weathered the storm in a unique way by redistributing its crew around different vessels. John described to us how usually a ship’s company is hired and released as needed on a per vessel basis. This was Caroline Williams, CEO of Norfolk Chamber’s, last Great Yarmouth breakfast before she moves on to pastures new after 17 years. I’d like to thank Caroline personally for the help, advice, support and friendly engagement she has given me over the last few years since Naked Element has been a Chamber member. I wish Caroline every success in the future and look forward to bumping into her, as I am sure I will! Networking takes time. It’s not unusual to come away from a Chamber event having started to build some excellent relationships, but without much more than a warm lead. From this Great Yarmouth Chamber breakfast I came away with two solid leads and another demonstrating future potential. A morning well spent!
Cities, by their very nature, aren’t small (unless of course you’re a pretend city like Ely). According to Wikipedia there are over 141,000 people in Norwich and over 370,000 people in the ‘travel to work’ area. I’ve got a lot of contacts on LinkedIn, but these numbers of people are large by anyones’s standards!
Since I came back to work in Norwich for the third time in 2011, I’ve been expanding my professional network at an exponential rate. From time to time, and more frequently as time goes on, I encounter people I was at school with and Rebecca White was one of those people (although she was a year or two above me at Notre Dame High School).
Rebecca is a social entrepreneur and CEO of the social enterprise Your Own Place. Your Own Place equips young people with the skills, confidence and knowledge to live safely and securely. They achieve this by continually developing innovative and entrepreneurial solutions as well as collaborating for the benefit of young people. By working restoratively and delivering high quality interventions they create a culture of empowered and independent young people.
After a number of exchanges on linkedin, twitter and email with Rebecca, I was invited along to hear Baron John Bird, founder of the Big Issue, speak at the St. Giles House Hotel in Norwich. This was an unusual event for me to be invited to, as there was no tech or business angle, but we’re all familiar with the Big Issue and I was already impressed with what Rebecca was achieving, so I was intrigued. On our way to the event my wife and I encountered the Big Issue seller who is often at the top of Lower Goat Lane near the Guildhall, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew John Bird was only meters away.
I was completely unprepared in almost every way for John Bird. We sat at the back, the only place there were two chairs left together, around one of a handful of tables shoehorned into the packed room on the first floor of the hotel. A couple of the usual suspects such as Sarah Daniels from the Redcat Partnership and Lucy Marks of the Norfolk Network also wandered in. My first surprise was to discover that Sarah, who I know well, was chairing. I knew from that point on that with the self proclaimed, “loudest voice in room”, we were in for a fun couple of hours.
Baron Bird of Notting Hill was astounding. A huge personality and presence in the room. He took us through the highs and lows of his life from his upbringing in Notting Hill by Irish, Catholic, racist parents to living on the streets of Edinburgh at 21, meeting one of the founders of the Body Shop, Gordon Roddick, his rehabilitation in prison where one of the “screws” taught him to read, his three wives, money, the Big Issue and admission into the House of Lords. John Bird was funny, entertaining, loud, inspiring and great entertainment. I’ve never seen someone move so much in such a small space, often with both arms in the air, a loud passionate voice and little respect for political correctness. It was refreshing.
26 years ago there were more than 500 homeless charities in London (there are now around 2000). All of them lacked something. None of those charities were helping the homeless to stop being homeless. John Bird had a vision, inspired by Street News in the USA and spawned from a case study funded by the Body Shop, the Big Issue was born. A way of helping homeless people make money to stop them being homeless. John Bird believes in a hand up, not a hand out and is working hard to prevent the next generation of Big Issue sellers.
I could have listened to him all evening. He finished by explaining some of the social ideas he’s pursuing, such as creating a Kitemark called the Social Echo to award to businesses who act on their social conscience.
One such social enterprise is Your Own Place. Following an introduction by Sarah, Rebecca White showed us a recent video which explains the work they do:
Your Own Place are looking for employer sponsored Volunteer Tenancy Mentors. The training costs the employers just £300 per person for two days. Your Own Place work with businesses to provide their staff with a unique training and development opportunity as Volunteer Tenancy Mentors and to prevent youth homelessness at the same time. Their Volunteer Tenancy Mentoring training packages include high quality volunteer training, comprehensive policies, training packs, vetting and ongoing support for the mentors.
The event was over all too soon, but as well as finding out more about what someone I was at school with was up to, seeing some regular faces and making a new contact at Leathes Prior, I was inspired to contribute and am looking forward to Rebecca coming to speak to the Naked Element team at Whitespace.
‘What is our purpose?’ is a fundamental question for companies, the answer to which will often result in a succinct and powerful mission statement. ‘What are we trying to achieve?’ similarly can unlock a vision for the future, a look over the horizon at what will be the outcome of the work.
But just as an important a question for companies is ‘who are we and what matters to us?’ This is often a much more difficult query to respond to as it isn’t easy to distil into words the essence of a company. Or, in other words, the organisational values.
The values are so much more than words stuck on a wall or written on a website. They are the living, beating heart of an organisation. They are what gives a company its personality as they provide the framework for the behaviours expected from the people within.
And there are many ways in which companies can bring their values to life and make them intrinsic to how a business is run.
They are invaluable at recruitment. They convey to potential new employees what they can expect from a company, and they allow candidates to truly consider if their own values align with those of an organisation. This can be demonstrated practically by interview and assessment around the values. This process helps both parties truly understand if they are right for each other, which is vital for any successful relationship.
The values also have an important role to play in management – after all, conversations around behaviours are far more productive when built upon the safe foundations of the values. ‘I felt that you could have shown the Empathy value more in that discussion,’ is a more positive angle for a discussion than ‘You were very rude.’ By using the values to underpin difficult management conversations, the sense of it being ‘personal’ is diminished – which means the employee will hear what is being said in a more receptive way.
They can also be used to recognise and reward behaviours which align with the organisational values. In drawing out positive value-based behaviours, companies are also able to highlight examples of what is expected, which only serves to continue to reinforce the whole sense of ‘this is who we are.’
They can also provide a reference for decision-making and discussion, not least when thinking gets stuck. ‘Does what we’re trying to do fit with our values?’ and if the answer is ‘no’ then proceeding is often not advisable.
And they provide a point of difference. This is particularly important in sectors where there may be similar companies operating. The values become the Unique Selling Point, what differentiates an organisation – and what might give it its competitive edge over its rivals.
When I set up The Engaging People Company, I spent a great deal of time thinking about what values I wanted for the organisation. Because, through the values, I would be projecting to the world ‘who’ this company is, and setting my stall up for how I will work. After much consideration, I settled upon the values of ‘be authentic, be creative, have fun and be kind.’ Through these four fundamentals, I am communicating that this is who The Engaging People Company is, this is how it will operate, this is what you can expect – and this is what you can hold me to account on.
By making values part of the everyday dialogue within an organisation, as well as embedding them within the engagement practices around recruitment, retention, management and recognition, companies can create a sense of belonging. The values become owned by the people, something which connects them and creates a sense of being one big team. And ultimately, the values create a sense of being valued.
Blinds have long been recommended as a cost-effective solution for offices, schools and an array of commercial and public sector organisations.
Norwich Sunblinds has been producing an outstanding array of beautiful blinds and shutters (as well as curtains) for domestic and commercial properties for many years but this research confirms what we have always thought.
Studies show that the humble blind can make fundamental changes to our well-being and the environment.
Recent research carried out by the BBSA (British Blind & Shutter Association) has proven that effective Solar Shading brings many positive benefits to commercial companies and organisations, and the people working for them.
Most notably these include positive effects on our behaviour and the environment.
The benefits of Natural Light on productivity at work.
People prefer to work in natural light conditions rather than artificial. Working with natural daylight has been shown to improve people’s emotions, attitudes and cognitive responses. Office workers recently placed daylight in the top two most desirable elements in the workplace.
Research has also demonstrated that office workers performed 10-25% better on tests of mental function and memory recall when they had the best possible views.
We spend 90% of our time inside buildings, and lack of connection with natural light is known to affect body rhythms negatively.
Solar Shading
The use of blinds and shutters; used appropriately in the commercial environment, can solve the problems previously associated with the use of too much glass in a building.
Many older buildings lose or gain too much heat through their glazing, and it was thought that using less glass would help this problem. However, we have already seen the negative effects of people working without natural light, so companies and public sector organisations are realising the benefits of controlling heat loss or heat gain through blinds and shutters. This provides their employees with a much more natural, comfortable and pleasant environment in which to work.
Blinds and shutters can be made to suit a multitude of situations, and they are very cost effective.
Solar Shading with well-designed blinds or shutters allows large areas of glazing to be used in buildings with all the known benefits that brings.
Solar shading provides control of heat and light gain when needed.
Solar shading provides an ambient temperature in commercial & public places which improves productivity.
Controlling glare in a commercial or public place is a legal requirement, blinds and shutters do this.
Solar shading through bespoke blinds and shutters for the commercial and public environment can, therefore, be credited with contributing to superior work performance, higher productivity, increased concentration and a decrease in absenteeism.
The benefits of Solar Shading on our Environment – Save Energy & Save Money
The UK is known as a ‘heating’ nation which means we spend more to keep our buildings warm than cool.
Glazing is known to be a weak element in building construction and known for heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. Using blinds and shutters can help reduce these gains and losses and control light levels.
Effective use of blinds and shutters in the workplace can reduce energy consumption, reduce the need for artificial lighting and hence reduce energy bills.
With correct solar shading, companies can use less heating or air conditioning, making them a cost-effective solution.
The Shard, one of London’s most iconic buildings, solves the problem of solar shading by using motorised roller blinds built into the external envelope of the building. The Shard achieves 88% heat rejection.
If you would like to learn more about how your company can best utilise blinds and shutters to help improve the working conditions for your employees, increase well-being and productivity, together with saving money, then call us on 01603 334 085 send an email, or visit a showroom.
What are the differences between a Mobile App and a Website optimised for Mobile? And how can I work out which one is best for me? This is a question we often get asked here at Naked Element, and there are a lot of biased articles online favouring one or the other. Consider that a Website optimised for mobile may be a public facing website or a secure login area for members, is easy to navigate on mobile phones and tablets but better viewed on desktops. A Mobile App may be a game you play on your phone, which is easy to navigate on mobiles. There are differences between the two approaches, so in simple business language and without bias, here are a few things to consider to help you decide. It is worth noting that no one area should be considered in isolation. Accessibility A Mobile App may be downloaded from a store such as Play Store and Apple Store onto a phone, so that it is accessible by the user even when they are not connected to the Internet. This requires the user to download software onto their phone before they can see the content. A Website optimised for mobile is only accessible via a browser when you are connected to the internet, so nothing needs to be downloaded and it’s easily accessible by new users. Ask Yourself – Will my user base change frequently and be connected to the Internet at all times? A Mobile App may be best if you have a specific set of users who will use the app intensively. It supports interactivity and regular use. A Website optimised for mobile may be best if you have a lot of content that cannot easily be arranged on a Mobile App and if your user base may change. Interactivity and amount of content A Mobile App lends itself to regular and heavy use, such as gaming, managing your bank account or social media. A Website could also lend itself to regular and heavy use if it were a login area of a website where you manage your customers accounts, such as a quotation and ordering system, but the amount of content presented could be more extensive. Ask Yourself – Have I got focused content that’s easily navigable and interactive? Visibility A user would have to search for a Mobile App in their store, whereas the Website may be found via any search engine or accessed from a known public facing website. Ask Yourself – How will you inform new and potential users where to find your App? Where would they expect to find it? And finally, a Website optimised for Mobile can also be developed to behave and act like a Mobile App. So if you really like the idea of a Mobile App but the questions above direct you to a Website optimised for Mobile, we can help you achieve the best of both worlds. A blog by Emma, Commercial Director
Shutters are very popular because they are insulating and economical as well as being extremely versatile.
Our 10% off offer last year was so popular that we’ve decided to re-run it for the month of April 2017.
The offer applies to domestic shutters and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
Why Shutters? In the Winter, shutters are more effective at keeping the warmth in than blinds and curtains. This helps to reduce energy bills.
In the Summer you have many options – shutters can be opened completely to let the light in, closed completely to keep the room cool or you can open the louvres to let air flow in. You can even have one shutter open and one closed.
Because our shutters are made to measure they can suit almost any room, and are especially useful in older properties with windows that might not be perfectly shaped. They also look great in bay windows. At Norwich Sunblinds we can cater for special shapes e.g. circles, arches, gable installations.
Shutters are easy to clean, provide additional security and can also help to deaden sound – especially useful if you live near a busy road.
We are pleased to annouce that we have launched a new website Bridging Loan Hub. The site acts as an introducer for those looking for bridging finance in the UK. This is a type of short term finance used mostly by homeowners and property developers as a way of making a large purchase before other funding becomes available.
A common example is for homeowners that have not sold their home yet but are desperate to complete on a new property or they risk losing it. A bridging loan allows them to get the money they need to complete on the property and then they can repay the loan when their house eventually sells.
Why Did We Set It Up?
Whilst our company specialists in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and getting other companies to the top of Google, we find that we are already working with lots of bridging lenders including SPF and Silverstream Finance. The brands have benefitted from receiving high quality leads through Google, so it only made sense to continue and help them achieve this. So setting up a broker website means that we can continue to pass on leads to our partner and they can continue to grow their business.
How Does It Work?
Customers apply for finance of up to £25 million that can be used to invest in a new property, development, business or invest opportunity (although property is the most common one). Using our basic application form, the customer enters their basic contact details and clicks ‘get a quote.’ The details are then passed to a professional broker that we can partnered with who will speak to the applicant and get a better idea of their requirements. Once confirmed, they will run a series of checks such as affordability, credit and property valuations and then put them in touch with the best lender based on their criteria. From the customer’s point of view, they are able to find the right lender for the product and amount they are looking to borrow. Part of the FCA’s requirements of Treating Customers Fairly means that the applicant will always be offered the lowest interest rate possible – so we can pleased to give the customer a good deal.
About The Products On Offer
Applicants can borrow between £50,000 and £25 million on a loan that is typically secured on the property or business premises in question. The funds are transferred to the customer’s bank account in one lump and the loan term is a maximim of 24 months, whereby this point, the borrower has either sold an asset to repay the loan or they refinance.
The interest rates start at 0.59% per month and the customer has the choice to repay in equal monthly instalments (like a mortgage) or they can roll up the interest and pay at the end of the loan term.
Moving home is a common reason for using a bridging loan but it is also used by property developments to renovate a new or existing property and get access to finance without having to apply for a mortgage and be caught up in the regular property chains. Since valuations and solicitors are a key part of the application process, on average takes 3 to 4 weeks for a loan to be successfully funded.
Bridging Loan Hub is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference number 713027.
“Speaking at nor(DEV):con is a good indicator that people know what they’re talking about” If anyone knows the truth of that sentence, it’s Dom Davis. People in the tech industry know him for many different reasons – as CTO of TechMarionette, providing consultations through Somewhere Random, or perhaps even his YouTube gaming channels – but his speaking career was launched by nor(DEV):. “I started doing the local talks for the Norfolk Developers evening sessions, then speaking at nor(DEV):con, eventually graduating to larger and larger rooms at the conference. That eventually led to offers to speak from outside Norfolk.” ‘Outside Norfolk’ ended up being Israel. A conference over there was looking for interesting international speakers and found Dom’s talk from nor(DEV):con on YouTube. After negotiating travel arrangements, they flew him out to give the closing keynote. “Off the back of that I got to speak at Foundercon in Berlin. So now I can say I’m an international keynote speaker!” He’s also got talks at GraphConnect and ACCU coming up later in 2017. Dom has also been engaged as a trainer as a direct result of being at nor(DEV):con. “I was asked to provide training on Go to others, based on the fact that I am a respected member of the community – Paul Grenyer‘s opening keynote gave me glowing review! Speaking at Nor(DEV): is a good indicator that people know what they’re talking about.” Dom also bumped into the founder of one of the companies formed at the last SyncTheCity at the 2017 nor(DEV):con, who offered him consulting work. “There’s work and business to be done with all this talent and business in one place!” Click here to read on the blog Words by Lauren
Over the coming months, you will all have a role to play in shaping a new Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk.
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership is working with local authorities and businesses to develop a strategy which outlines our ambitious vision for the future. It will look at how we build on our strengths to make the most of our region’s opportunities.
Consultation is key to the success of this piece of work as it is you – the local businesses – who will create jobs, innovate and drive economic growth.
Our current plan runs to 2026 and sets out ambitious targets to create:
• 95,000 more jobs by 2026 • 15,000 new businesses by 2026 • 117,000 new homes by 2026 • Increased productivity (added value per job) to equal the national average We are on track to reach many of these targets and where progress is slower than we’d anticipated, we are working together to drive the change which is needed. The new Economic Strategy will give further strength to our plans to achieve them. We will be looking at the timeframe for the new Economic Strategy and the targets will be reviewed accordingly.
So what are we doing? At the moment, work is under way to develop the evidence base which will be used to look at future potential growth. Over the next few weeks, that evidence will be analysed and any gaps will be identified. The draft evidence report will be ready by the end of May. Once that report is ready, we will start consulting with businesses to get your views on the future scenarios which the data presents.