Here is a selection of features from Craft Focus magazine.
Looking to make a making a positive impact on your business with recruitment and onboarding?Caroline Gleeson, CEO of Occupop, a provider of industry-leading hiring systems, offers expert insight. When recruiting for vacant roles within your company, a huge concern may be how to retain the talent you're bringing in. Especially considering the research showing that 30 percent of new starters leave their roles within the first three months, and the financial impact of replacing them can be as much as £30,614 per research from Oxford Economics and Unum. This is a great example of why a good onboarding program can play a huge role in the retention of top industry talent.
Stockwell Ceramics supplies a range of brooches, earrings, necklaces, cufflinks and hanging decorations, and talks to Craft Focus about the company's dedication to remaining small but successful
Do you worry about your employees' use of social media? Here, guest blogger Sue Tumelty from Hr Dept looks at the benefits of implementing a social media policy. TikTok, Facebook, Twitter and now Threads – social media provides employees with a million and one ways to bring a company into disrepute: from posing in uniform and bad-mouthing customers on a personal channel to making an ill-judged comment on their official page. With 98 per cent of workers saying that they have social media for personal use, it is intrinsic to a business that they have legislation in place to prevent any mishaps from happening. Down under, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales even had to warn its members about creating (presumably adult) content on OnlyFans.
Artificial Intelligence – should you embrace it or fear it? Dids Macdonald, CEO of Anti Copying in Design (ACID) tells us more...Whatever area of the giftware sector you're in, there are many more questions than answers about using artificial intelligence (AI). AI is all around us and developing at an exponential pace and it's on the tip of everyone's tongue. AI's uses span the gamut of ground breaking and enabling, to its unauthorised use by machines plundering others' intellectual property with little or no regulation. Some may say plundering is a sanitised word for stealing the consequences of which threaten many with this sector. This rise on access to AI tools raises the question, will AI replace the traditional approach to designing are jobs on the line? Currently big business AI developers have written off the need for licensing so many ask, how will it be regulated?
The Wholesaler (UK) Ltd. is an online directory linking UK based wholesalers with the independent retail trade. The company only links to UK based suppliers, who are holding stock in the UK and who supply the independent retail trade. The company's aim has never been to publish the longest list of wholesalers but retailers can use the directory sure in the knowledge that they're dealing with bona fide traders. Here, Susan Nayler, Director of The Wholesaler (UK) Ltd. Talks to Craft Focus about how the company links suppliers to retailers
Kayleigh Gresty, founder of Kreate Socials talks to us about how networking on LinkedIn can be beneficial to your business. Are you a business owner looking to grow your presence on social media? Whether you want to grow your engagement or want to increase sales, social media can be seriously overwhelming, so to begin with, just focus on one, until you get to grips with this.
This issue UK mailing service Washington Direct provides an insightful look at how to keep a long-term consumer base happy. Customer satisfaction is an integral part of business' ambitions if they wish to be a long-term success. Building a loyal customer base is important, but keeping those customers happy to ensure they will return in the future is essential as a business grows. Here, we look at how different brands can successfully maintain customer satisfaction, and how in some cases this has been refreshed to put a fresh spin on it.
Tiny Box Company is based in the stunning Ashdown Forest in Sussex near to the Bluebell Railway. The company started in 2007 and has been in various nearby locations as it has expanded. In our December, January edition, Rachel Watkyn, Founder of the Tiny Box Company spoke exclusively to Craft Focus about the company's journey from the Dragon's Den to where they are today!
acufactum is a trade and publishing company located in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia, in the west of Germany. The company was founded in 1989 and has been a family business ever since. Meike Menze-Stöter from acufactum Ute Menze, talks to Craft Focus about their stunning designs...
Highlight Crafts was set up in May 2021. The company is based in the heart of the Derbyshire countryside in a beautiful, brand-new, purpose-built building. Stephanie Weightman, Creative Director of Highlight Crafts Ltd talks to Craft Focus about the company's ability to educate the masses about so many craft sectors... Plus see what they have got in the pipeline - but they can't give too much away!
Launched in 2011, Crystal Parade caters for the growing need of rhinestones and crystals for crafters, nail artists, designers and stylists. Poppy, the founder of Crystal Parade had five years previous experience within the embellishing world, many years' experience within sales and customer service roles and at the age of 16 running a couple of successful enterprises so with dam hardwork, the odd risk here and there, a great team by her side and the love and support of her family and friends she took the leap to start Crystal Parade. Here, Director Poppy Pennington tells us more...
"First established in the mid-1940's in London. It's very exciting to be a part of an establishment that would have seen so many changes over the years." Says, Emily Langley, Marketing & Digital Content Creator at Barnett Lawson Trimmings. Here, she talks to Craft Focus about moving from their Aladdin's cave establishment in the heart of Soho to being fully digital...
The Small Pop-up Frame kit officially launched at the London Stationery Show 2023. These flat-packed kits have six sizing options from 15cm up to 31cm including A4 and A5 and can be assemble in a few minutes. They're made from FSC certified 350+gsm quality card in numerous colours. Roger Felton, Founder and MD of Differentiate Design (trading as Pop-up Frames) talks to Craft Focus about shaking up the framing market with these practical and affordable options...
July is just round the corner which means only one thing - Home & Gift is nearly upon us!
The buyers' festival of the summer is gearing up for another spectacular show, which will transport visitors back to the summer of love. Socialise and connect in the laid back atmosphere of Home & Gift, which embodies the essence of togetherness and pressure-free connecting centred round a passion for quality products.
Taking over the grounds of the DoubleTree by Hilton and the Harrogate Convention Centre from the 16-19th July, buyers will have 5 halls and multiple Design Points to explore - bursting with thousands of lust-worthy products from over 500 brands.
The supply chain affects every industry to some degree, from the movement of products and labour to finding the right tools for the job. And making sure that you can provide your customers with the best experience is key for the running of any business. Customer satisfaction can cause loyalty for your business, making it an important factor to consider. To maintain this, you need to adapt to changes and challenges which you will face, including problems with the supply chain. Here, Peter Campbell of Snowshock, a UK based slush machines and slush syrups business, explores what the supply chain is, what issues it can face, and how businesses are managing to navigate these issues successfully.
Visible Image was founded in 2004 and the company is now based in Bridgend, South Wales. It is now 19 years since Mark Alexander, Creative Director of Visible Image will have made his very first clear photopolymer stamp! Here, Mark talks exclusively to Craft Focus all about his successful stamp and stencil business that will be celebrating 20 years, next year!
h+h americas is the platform for the North American Handicraft Industry and sister event of the German h+h cologne, the world's leading trade fair for the handicrafts industry. It's a B2B trade show with an extended digital marketplace accessible before and after our event. Open to everyone who makes a living in crafts, h+h americas serves a community without membership requirements. The show dates in June are carefully timed to serve buyers with seasonal offers to the entire handicraft industry. The first-time event in 2022 combined 2,000 attendees with 200 exhibitors who displayed a wide range of products from yarn, fabric, art, craft materials to toys and pastimes. Darrin Stern, Vice President Koelnmesse Inc. Show Director of h+h Americas, talks to Craft Focus exclusively about the upcoming June event in Chicago...
The company was first started in 2004 in a tiny attic space in Newlyn, Cornwall. Initially it was just Poppy and one very old Singer sewing machine which she used to develop a technique called Freehand Machine Embroidery. Her first collection featured tea cosies, cushions and textile pots drawn in stitch with imagery taken direct from her sketches of fishing boats, cottages and flowers.
Poppy Treffry, Company Director and Tamsin Hosken, Wholesale Manager talk to Craft Focus about their fabulous range of giftware and sewing projects...
Variety is the spice of life, and what better way to add some flavour to your leisure time than by taking up a new creative hobby or pastime? A change in routine, expanding the mind, destressing, or finding ways to meet new people are all reasons to get involved in a new pursuit. And what's more, pastimes that inspire adventure needn't cost the earth as a host of galleries, museums, workshops, and studios are within easy reach thanks to discounts available when travelling by rail!
Back in 1993, founder Kate Golby ran out of kits she wanted to stitch so decided to start creating her own. Inundated with requests for cross stitch designs, Kate reached out to artists she admired and she began converting their works into cross stitch and tapestries. Adding a smattering of beads and sequins, she created the bright and colourful cross-stitch designs that Bothy Threads is known for today. From the humble beginnings, working in the garden bothy at the bottom of her parents' garden (hence the name), Bothy Threads now operates from a busy, bustling unit on the edge of the Lake District, producing over 800 designs for our avid fans. As Bothy Threads enters its 30th birthday year, we speak to Managing Director Chrissie Rayment about how they plan to celebrate...
