Nicky's musings

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T14:12:00.002Z

Happy New Year everyone! I'm looking forward to an exciting new year and I hope you are. Just preparing for the launch of Richard Watkinson & Partners estate agency in Melton which opens next week, Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival which will see a whole raft of great comedy at The Belmont Hotel Leicester and the January Las Vegas Market which opens on the 30th. What more could I wish for? Apart from losing a few pounds after the Christmas feast! Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012.

New website for enterprise educators UK

2011-11-23T17:03:00.002Z

Delighted to see the new website for our clients Enterprise Educators UK is now online. This is a great resource for universities throughout the UK. Check it out at www.enterprise.ac.uk there are events, case studies, news and resources galore!

Opening of the Waterhouse Bridge

2011-11-18T17:00:00.002Z

A lovely celebration for the opening of the restored Waterhouse Bridge today. It was great to see people there from Natural England, Severn Trent Water, Leicestershire County Council, Hoby with Rotherby Parish Council plus lots of others who've played a role in the restoration. Here's a photo in its newfound glory.

Taking time out

2011-10-19T14:27:00.002+01:00

It's all too easy to get swallowed up in the day to day running of your company, I can't believe it's October already but I am very pleased that I've taken some time out over the last few weeks to attend a couple of events that are outside the 'day job'. The first was an Integra event held in Leicester at which the speaker was Deb Leary OBE, Founder and CEO of Forensic Pathways. Her refreshing account of her career path reminded me of my own and highlighted how sometimes being in the right place at the right time can transform the direction of your business and your life.

That event led nicely to one I attended yesterday at Nottingham University's conference centre, organised by UKTI, the subject matter was 'Sell British - using technology to go global'. There's no doubt that selling British goods and services abroad is vital to transforming the fortunes of our economy and I for one love the work that Nicky Stephen Marketing does for World Market Center Las Vegas. We were in the right place at the right time, recommended by a British journalist, we met the client in 2005 just before launch of Las Vegas Market and we now help them reach their international audience through PR, marketing and advertising in Asia, Australasia, Latin America, Canada and Europe. Technology has certainly been pivotal to the way we communicate worldwide.

Beautiful West Wales

2011-08-31T17:36:00.003+01:00

A short weekend break in beautiful West Wales and we visited a wonderful gallery run by Suzi Park showing work in ceramics, textiles, glassware, jewellery and art as part of the Riverside Festival in Cardigan. The gallery is also online and features work from recent graduates as well as more established artists - take a look http://www.suzipark.co.uk/

It's Vegas baby!

2011-08-04T00:55:00.004+01:00

Where else could I possibly be this week but at World Market Center Las Vegas?

A great turnout of buyers and press from around the world at the USA's favourite furniture and furnishings show. I've been thrilled to welcome international journalists on my client's behalf from Italy, Thailand, China, Germany, the UK, Brazil, Belgium and Canada and I think they're having a great time! Last night's highlight was a keynote speech and question and answer session with Bill Clinton - what an amazing evening.

Silver medal for LOROS Garden of Light and Reflection

2011-07-08T07:32:00.002+01:00

What a week! It's certainly been a great one for the team behind the LOROS Garden of Light and Reflection which has been at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show all week - a silver medal for the show garden. Featured last night on BBC2, the garden is looking fabulous and I had the pleasure of being 'on duty' there on Tuesday, meeting the RHS members and explaining about the therapeutic planting and special features which will travel back to Leicester to their permanent home at the LOROS hospice in the Autumn. Have a look, it's all online at http://www.lorosgarden.org.uk/ - we're still fundraising, so all donations gratefully received, there's a link to the Virgin Money online donation facility on the website.

It may be June, but we're already thinking Christmas!

2011-06-06T20:36:00.002+01:00

It may only be June, but for some of our clients we're preparing for Christmas. The Belmont Hotel in Leicester for example has just launched its Christmas party brochure, together with a teaser video.

The Bowie family which runs the hotel took over the business in 1934, so it's particularly fitting that they should choose a 1930s style Christmas this year. It'll be glamorous, sophisticated and fun - Christmas parties where you can elect to dress in costumes of the era or simply look lovely in your party frocks!

For a taste of what to expect, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2g7_j8x5Gg or if you'd like a laugh, have a look at the 'making of' video on our facebook page

LOROS Hospice Garden Appeal - event on 29th May

2011-05-24T21:20:00.003+01:00

If you love inspiring gardens, then it's worth a trip to Wing in Rutland on Sunday to the preview of the Art Dejardin summer garden sculpture exhibition. A fund-raiser for the LOROS Garden Appeal, the garden which is at 5 Top Street in Wing will be open from 12-3.00 p.m. and entry is by donation of a minimum of £4.50 per person which is the normal ticket price. All proceeds will be going to the LOROS Hospice Garden Appeal. There will be wine, canapes and music and a fabulous six acre sculpture garden. Well worth a visit - http://www.artdejardin.co.uk/ and it's all in aid of http://www.lorosgarden.org.uk/

Cape Westerly's new summer collection

2011-05-18T17:27:00.003+01:00

Fab new summer collection has just been launched by my client Cape Westerly. Some really cool colours for what I hope will be a hot summer! Polo shirts, short sleeved rugby shirts and an extremely robust sailing jacket - just what I need for my sailing holiday!

The model stopped for a coffee and seems to have caught a duck!

Great Pageantry

2011-05-06T18:04:00.003+01:00

We Brits do know how to do pageantry don't we? I loved the Royal wedding last week and did all those girly things like comment on people's outfits and hats and sip champagne! But I also loved it because the bride and groom managed to make it feel like a very personal wedding, which of course is what's it's really all about. I haven't heard a single bad comment about it from anyone this week - everyone seemed to have enjoyed the additional time off work and got into the whole spirit of the event. Well done the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

Social media strategy

2011-03-25T15:55:00.002Z

Went to a great online conference on Monday this week - it's one of several online events we attend during the year, simply to ensure that we're up to date with what's new and what's happening online. The most interesting elements really were how vital 'social' is becoming for online strategy and also how mobile is becoming more and more important. Speaking as someone who has just about got to grips with my i-phone two years after buying it, I can see that for the younger generation mobile is the 'big thing', but I'm sure there will still be a few Luddites around for whom a mobile is about making and receiving telephone calls! I'll watch this space ...

LOROS Garden Appeal

2011-02-23T09:45:00.005Z

The LOROS Garden Appeal launched last week - this is a great project which will see a beautiful LOROS garden installed at the RHS Hampton Court Show in July and then moved to its permanent home at LOROS (Leicestershire & Rutland hospice) in Leicester. It is widely acknowledged that time spent within or looking at a beautiful garden can help a patient come to terms with an incurable illness and can provide a restful retreat for visitors and staff. Three garden designers & landscapers have come together to provide their services free in order to raise the profile of LOROS and provide a lasting feature at the hospice. There are lots of sponsorship and donation opportunities but for any keen gardeners the team is also looking for volunteers to help plant the garden once it's back in Leicester.

I'd like to thank Rupal Rajani of BBC Radio Leicester who helped us get the appeal off to a great start with the feature on her programme last week! Find out more on www.lorosgarden.org.uk

Woodgate Chambers, Loughborough

2011-02-11T17:51:00.002Z

I went to a lovely event this afternoon, the grand opening of the Glebe House Project's Woodgate Chambers which is the conversion of the old Magistrates Court in Loughborough. Woodgate Chambers is a wonderful historic building and now houses a cafe, fairtrade shop, e-bay shop and facilities for clients of Glebe House which provides services for children and adults with learning disabilities. The event was organised by Glebe House's excellent Project Co-ordinator Alyson Hunter and the official ribbon cutting was carried out by Nicky Morgan MP.

The most exciting part of the project is that clients of Glebe House have the opportunity to undertake work in the cafe, the shop and the e-bay shop and it opens doors for them that otherwise wouldn't have been there. So, if you're looking for somewhere to pop in for coffee in Loughborough, look no further than Woodgate Chambers in the town centre and have a browse around the fairtrade shop too.

Furniture and Furnishings galore!

2011-01-21T14:39:00.002Z

It's furniture and furnishings galore next week, with both the Interiors Show here in the UK and Las Vegas Market in Sin City opening on Monday. I look forward to catching up with all my furniture buddies, but in Birmingham not Las Vegas this time, I'll be back in LV in August!

World Market Center Las Vegas promises some fantastic new products from around the world, with deluxe design in Building B on the second floor leading the way with 'Design & Living.' There are some great seminars and events and as usual amazing hospitality - enjoy!

Singing lifts the spirits!

2011-01-20T10:04:00.003Z

As a Welsh woman I've always been fond of a song or two, often accompanied by watching a rugby match! Had a great time on Saturday afternoon on a 'Come and Sing' day with the Leicester Bach Choir. Remarkably, despite very limited rehearsal time, we managed to put on a pretty good performance of Puccini's Messa di Gloria. Enormous thanks to the conductor Richard Laing who somehow managed to pull many singers who were sight reading like me together with those who've performed it before, to great effect. The tenor soloist Roberto Garcia Lopez was fantastic and my friend and I left feeling that our spirits were lifted!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T16:13:00.002Z

Happy New Year to all my clients! Hope you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011. Looking back at 2010, it wasn't all doom and gloom, although for many clients there was a fair share of that - but for all of them, there was an opportunity to revisit what they're doing, look closely at their core business and choose their preferred areas for growth. That's where we come in and 2011 is all about concentrating on growth and development and building brands, so cheers to that!

Brrr it's cold here!

2010-12-03T17:37:00.005Z

It's been a chilly week - understatement of the year! My client Cape Westerly has taken amazing menswear out to the greater public - thank you to Nicola Wheeler for excellent event organisation as always! Strangely enough this thermal winter hat's been selling out fast all week! I've personally given a Gearbox Gifts alarm clock to a car-mad 12 year old whose father wants one too and another client, The Belmont Hotel in Leicester has taken the initiative and has added mulled wine and mince pies to the menu for those who'd like to pause from their shopping and recover from the cold!

Meanwhile, I've been writing press releases for Las Vegas Market (slightly warmer environment!) in advance of Winter Market in January 2011. In other words, the snow's not stopped things here at Nicky Stephen Marketing, although I am under pressure to go sledging with children and dog!

Weather's turned, thoughts turn to Christmas

2010-10-19T12:36:00.003+01:00

Pouring with rain out there, aren't I glad I'm taking the afternoon off to spend with my children later! I guess that's it, summer's over and it's time to start thinking about Christmas presents so that I'm not rushing round like a mad thing at the end of December. If you're looking for something for the man who has everything, then take a look at Gearbox Gifts - it's got some great stocking fillers for anyone who loves their car and some rather more substantial gifts too if you're feeling generous! This one's my favourite, take a look at this video http://www.youtube.com/user/Videoteq#p/u/5/iwhqStIVXa4

Cape Westerly Clothing website is live!

2010-10-15T18:58:00.003+01:00

A busy start to October with things hotting up for the launch of Cape Westerly Clothing. We've worked on the brand identity, the labelling, website, and marketing and it's all starting to come to fruition. The website went live today http://www.capewesterly.co.uk/ - have a look. It's men's leisurewear with a sporty heritage, so launch concentrates on rugby shirts, but soon to be added will be hoodies, duffle bags, joggers and more. The first order came in ten minutes after the initial emailshot, so we must be doing something right!

There are some perks!

2010-08-05T00:04:00.003+01:00

There are some perks to this job, and last night's was great! I took a group of international journalists to the Viva Elvis show at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas. We're all over in the States for the Las Vegas Market (furniture and furnishings) and after a long day's work our treat last night was a show. Spectacular didn't cover it - the amazing Cirque du Soleil production was a fabulous mix of acrobatics, dancing, incredible sets and of course Elvis music - I thoroughly recommend it to anyone coming over to Las Vegas!

New classified ads website

2010-07-27T14:09:00.002+01:00

Take a look at the latest free classified ads website www.YourSalesAd.com - it's really easy to use and you get 14 days free advertising including 25 words and a photo if you're Joe Public (different packages if you're a trade advertiser). Official launch is 1st August, it's UK based - worth having a go I reckon!

World Market Center Las Vegas

2010-07-20T13:53:00.004+01:00

Things are hotting up in the run-up to the Summer Las Vegas Market and what an exciting one it will be, the launch of VegasKids, Gift+Home as well as a fabulous expansion outdoors into the central plaza at World Market Center Las Vegas for Alfresco Spaces. With less than two weeks to go I'm busy planning for the international marketing and PR side of things - we have a number of international journalists coming over for Market from countries as far away as Australia, Thailand, Mexico, Germany and of course the UK, each looking for their own particular perspective on how Las Vegas Market would work for their readers. I'm flying BA this time, just heard on the news that Unite cabin staff have voted not to accept the latest offer on the table, so fingers crossed there won't be any strike action whilst I'm trying to travel - selfish I know!

Hoby Open Gardens weekend raises lots of money!

2010-07-07T09:38:00.003+01:00

Hoby Open Gardens weekend which I blogged about last month raised £7,700 - a fantastic achievement, thanks to everyone who helped, visited and spent their money!

Hoby Open Gardens Weekend

2010-06-18T13:01:00.002+01:00

It's busy busy busy in the village of Hoby, Leicestershire this weekend - it's Open Gardens weekend on both Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th and villagers can be spotted tending their plants until late every evening! Hoby Open Gardens weekend is held every two years, this time there are 13 gardens open, the village hall is home to craft stalls, fabulous lunches and crepes, there are cream teas, ice creams and a Pimms Bar in one garden. It's a real, traditional English village event, turn a corner and you'll come across the plant stall, turn another and there are cups of tea and scones. The Church is home to a produce stall, an art exhibition and War Memorial exhibition and the Methodist Chapel will see lots of lovely home-made cakes for sale. So, if you fancy a day out, or want to treat Dad to lunch or a cream tea in a lovely location on Father's Day, look no further than Hoby near Melton Mowbray!

Beware rolling advertising contracts

2010-06-01T16:55:00.004+01:00

A word of warning to check the small print ... a client of mine signed up for an advertisement on a television screen in register offices a couple of years ago. He was sold it on the basis that it was for two years and on that basis he agreed. He was asked to sign the agreement and to set up the payments which were made over the period of the first year. Unfortunately, he missed something crucial on the contract's small print which said that if he wished to cancel the ad after the two year period was up, he had to give twelve months notice i.e. he had to cancel after the first year of advertising. Indeed, he was stung for another two years worth of advertising that he did not wish to take and furthermore had to cancel the agreement in writing otherwise he would find himself invoiced for year 5 and 6 too.

Quite apart from the fact that this is appalling business practice on the part of the company selling the deal, I would caution anyone to take advice before signing up for advertising for such a long period of time. I'd be happy to offer advice on this or other such advertising connundrums to anyone who emails me!

Phew, we have a Government!

2010-05-12T14:37:00.002+01:00

Just enjoying the joint press conference at No 10 - I would not have second guessed what happened yesterday to our political process. I'm remembering back to Mrs Rowe my politics teacher at school who inspired me to take Politics as an A Level - what material this will make for those taking Politics A level or indeed degrees this year! Can't remember when I last listened to BBC News to hear a No 10 press conference during office hours ... I think we'll find there will be lots of 'firsts' in the next few months.

A disappointment?

2010-05-07T12:12:00.003+01:00

I've been dying to blog all morning, but technology let me down with my internet connection deciding not to work at the crucial moment. I was so hoping to wake up this morning to a decisive result - but alas no! From a marketing perspective it's been an interesting campaign - leaving aside Gordon Brown's 'bigot' day, the Labour Party's used all the tools it has had available quite well, but they haven't run a positive campaign - their one and only selling point seemed to be that they claim to be able to run the economy in a trustworthy manner ... Nick Clegg used the TV debates to great effect although by debate three his jibes about the 'old parties' were getting pretty worn out and I found myself wanting to understand more about his policies. What I liked about the Tory campaign was that it didn't peak too early - ads and leaflets and posters were still appearing locally right up until yesterday and debate three was the highlight for David Cameron. It started well with the photocall at County Hall and I think it ended well, it just lost impetus half way through and maybe, just maybe that's why he didn't carry it off last night.

If Cameron does manage to form a government, then I hope electoral reform makes it as an agenda item that needs serious debate. How can it be right that a party that's lost around 100 seats and clearly does not have a mandate in terms of numbers of votes can possibly be sitting there in Downing Street this morning still able to hang on by its fingertips?

I hope there is electoral reform for the sake of people like my 19 year old stepson whose first General Election vote it was yesterday and who were engaged in the political process for the first time. The Tv debate was a positive element of this campaign, it engaged people of all ages and political persuasions - let's not lose that engagement because the system turns voters off.

Phew - a sigh of relief

2010-04-06T15:13:00.003+01:00

Can I be the only one who's breathed a sigh of relief this morning at the news that the election date has finally been announced? I cannnot help but feel optimistic that industry's constipation may be eased by this news ... well at least if we get an outright majority elected in May. It feels as though business has been holding its breath for so many months, not daring to make any major decisions until the election is over - roll on May 6th.

What will April bring?

2010-04-01T16:53:00.003+01:00

March was an interesting month both on a professional and personal basis. On the professional side, lots of international work for my client Las Vegas Market whose August show is coming up fast and on the personal side my first ever rugby tour with my eight year old, with all that involves, like dressing up in strange outfits to follow the team's theme for the weekend. Along with that, despite a tough economy my hospitality industry clients like The Belmont Hotel, Whitwell Hotel & Conference Centre and Halstead House are working hard to ensure that they get more than their fair slice of any cake there might be out there. Vortice's launch of a new compact heat recovery system was well received by developers and contractors who are starting to see the new build and social housing sectors pick up a little and roll on the election so that UK business can stop holding its breath and get on with trading!

St David's Day and the start of Spring!

2010-03-04T18:56:00.002Z

Somehow St David's Day is always the start of Spring for me. For several years someone I used to work with brought me a bunch of daffodils every March 1st - he's retired now, but I still remember those daffodils! My children are sent to school sporting leeks and I wear my daffodil with pride every St David's Day - a legacy of my childhood in Wales.

It's been a busy start to 2010, this week I've been at Eco-Build at Earls Court, where the best of today's eco friendly building materials have been on show as we strive for carbon neutral homes for the future. My client Vortice launched a new heat recovery system designed to extract the heat from stale air about to be expelled from the house and recirculate it in the fresh air being brought in from outside.

The evenings are getting lighter, snowdrops abound in the garden and somehow there seem to be more productive hours in the day. My next challenge is accompanying my 8 year old son on rugby tour to Torquay, will I ever learn the words to all those songs?

Happy Christmas!

2009-12-23T14:43:00.003Z

Can it really be a month since I last blogged? I've linked this blog to my client The Belmont Hotel, Leicester, because they're looking particularly Christmassy at the moment as you can see from the photo! They're booked up with Christmas parties, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve activities so lots happening. There's something special about having snow at Christmas - children sledging, parents slithering and sliding along pavements. My colleague Jane and I took our children to Peter Pan at Curve theatre on Saturday - it had a slating from the critics, but we had a wonderful time - sets were great, acting and flying fun and music first class. Yesterday I went on an advanced search engine optimisation course, the third 'tecky' course I've been on recently - so important to keep up to date because everything moves so fast in the virtual world. I'd just like to wish all my clients and friends a very Merry Christmas and let's hope for a Happy and Prosperous 2010!

Juggling work, children and social life

2009-11-20T11:21:00.004Z

I met Ben Jackson of BBC Radio Leicester yesterday at a business networking lunch and was interviewed for his breakfast show this morning on the topic of women combining a successful family life with a career and social life. The subject came up because it was reported at the weekend that a private school somewhere in the South of England has decided to teach girls of 10 that they can't have all three things. Two out of the three are possible, but not all three together ...

Ben interviewed three of us attending a BNI business lunch to see what our views are - it's hard to cover such a wide topic in a few minutes on radio, but for me the key has been first and foremost a hugely supportive husband, plus organisation and timing! I built my career during my twenties and early thirties and was lucky to have two wonderful children in my late thirties. It 's not always easy to balance everything and there have been times when I've wondered quite how it would all work out, but somehow it has.

These days after school clubs, breakfast and holiday clubs play a big role in helping working Mums to manage their time and we're very lucky that our children's school has a fantastic out of hours club. As far as social life is concerned, in our case much revolves around the children and the local community and whilst there are friends who we don't see as often as we'd like, we recognise that this is just for a short phase whilst our children are young.

So, should young girls be taught that they can't have all three things? No! At the age of 10 I believe that all children should be encouraged to aim high, believe in themselves and work hard towards whatever goals they aspire to. There's plenty of time for them to prioritise and decide what's important to them when they're older.

Well done Design Leicestershire member!

2009-11-12T11:10:00.002Z

Just been reading today's Marketing magazine and fellow Design Leicestershire member Checkland Kindleysides has won the Marketing Design Excellence Award for 2009 for its fabulous retail design for Timberland at Westfield London. Well done!

For those who don't know, Leicestershire and Rutland are home to the largest design cluster outside London, with award winning retail, textile, product, graphic, architectural and web designers. The Design Leicestershire website is currently being updated and soon anyone looking for cutting edge design from an agency that happens to be based outside London can search the database within one click.http://www.designleicestershire.com

HOW TO BOOST THE COFFERS FOR CHRISTMAS!

2009-11-11T13:54:00.002Z

After a few months of development, my client Eyewun has just relaunched its fabulous reverse auction website with lots of opportunities to win cash prizes between now and the end of January 2010. In these recession hit times what better to cheer you up than having a go at a fun reverse auction, it might even boost your coffers for Christmas - have a look! http://www.eyewun.co.uk

London Fashion Week

2009-09-25T12:37:00.003+01:00

Well done to Mark Fast who caused a stir at London Fashion Week by using a few curvier models (size 12-14) to show his knitwear. There's been a lot of talk about body image, great to see some action and not only did this result in a brilliant PR coup for Mark Fast, but it's also a celebration for 'real women'!

Hotels of distinction!

2009-09-17T19:46:00.003+01:00

Staying at Las Vegas Hotels is something else! Over the years working with my client there I've been lucky to stay at a variety of great hotels - this year it's the Palazzo, last year it was Mandalay Bay and before that a couple of times at the Paris and Caesar's Palace. It's useful for me to experience first hand how some of these top hotels do things - I work with a lovely independently owned hotel in Leicester which is constantly investing in upgrading their facilities and services - visit http://www.belmonthotel.co.uk/ and there are things I can draw from what I see in the US that come in useful back home.

Las Vegas is incredibly theatrical, it takes a while to appreciate, because first glance for us Brits creates that 'is this for real?' feeling, but these hotels are really very clever. In the middle of the desert what do they have? Sunshine year round, gambling, girls, but also real luxury, designer clothes stores and great shows. No expense is spared and it's all about fun, fun, fun and treating yourself. Apparently the Bellagio Hotel has more Michelin starred chefs than the whole of Paris - quite some accolade.

Viva Las Vegas!

2009-09-17T00:17:00.004+01:00

I thought it might be fun to blog from Las Vegas where I've been since the weekend at the fabulous World Market Center for the Las Vegas September market. The doom and gloom that's hit the furniture industry this year appears to have been banished here - there's energy, excitement and glitz and where better to work hard and play hard than Vegas!

The spirit of this city seems to permeate through the business done here - optimism rules. The end of the working day merely heralds the beginning of party time - yesterday, to celebrate Mexican Independence Day there was tequila, Mexican dancers, music and fun, and for me that was just the aperitif. Fabulous dining at the Wynn, followed by dancing at Blush and very little sleep - truly Las Vegas!

Sunny Italy!

2009-08-18T19:27:00.006+01:00

Been meaning to blog every since we all got back from sunny Italy! What a delightful two weeks, sunshine, sunshine, sunshine - great food, great wine and more sunshine! La Passione (http://www.lapassionevilla.co.uk/) really is the most wonderful place to rent - glorious house with pool, tennis court and olive grove, in the middle of nowhere in Le Marche where no-one speaks English - tested my pigeon Italian somewhat. Only when you get away do you realise the benefits of switch-off time, only two weeks later and I'm still sitting at my computer at 7.30 p.m. when I really should have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, oops sorry Prosecco in my hand! My children are having a wonderful summer despite the UK's somewhat tricky weather - this week it's Rutland Water for sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and more high jinks - thank heavens for my husband for sorting it all out for them. Seems a lifetime ago when my summers used to involve lots of sailing, canooing, haymaking and harvesting - suppose it was decades ago - whoops.

2009-08-07T10:33:00.001+01:00

Design Leicestershire

2009-06-24T11:55:00.002+01:00

Went to the launch of the Design Leicestershire book last night at Athena in Leicester where I bumped into a fellow delegate from the original Microsoft course on blogging that I went on. He asked if I was still musing and I suddenly remembered that actually I haven't blogged for about a month, so it's about time I did!

The book, with its distinctive yellow and black logo, outlines Leicestershire's rich history in design and brings the reader up to date with the movers and shakers in the county's design community today. Why a book in today's internet age? Peter Hogarth, the International Trade Director for UKTI East Midlands got it in a nutshell - yes websites are important, but in his line of work there is still a place for a substantial printed directory with gravitas which international delegations can be shown when they visit the UK and which can be used overseas to generate new business. My copy's on the coffee table in my office and I will be showing it to my overseas clients whenever they visit me.

The design industry contributes a huge amount to the UK economy, as witnessed by the Cox Report. It doesn't just revolve around London, the wealth of great designers and marketers based here in Leicestershire is something we should be shouting about - so I am - consider this shouting!

Google conference

2009-05-28T09:28:00.002+01:00

Went to a great google conference called 'Survival of the Fastest' in London this month as part of my striving to keep up to date with what's what in new media! The speakers were really good - the sessions were focussing on adwords and Arjan Dijk of Google started with an overview of the marketplace and an explanation of how google can have a huge impact on trading within a recession. Two case studies from Chemist Direct www.chemistdirect.co.uk and from Big Red Book www.bigredbook.com were fascinating as was a fictitious case study presented by two googlers.

For me, the most valuable lesson was that Google exists and has a presence in the UK and Ireland - so many people cold call our office trying to sell us google related 'expertise' that it was refreshing to find that it's actually quite easy to talk to a real googler! I'll be putting my new found expertise into action very soon ...

What a great foodie week last week!

2009-05-08T09:42:00.002+01:00

What a great foodie week it was last week. The Italian Chamber of Commerce had set up a cookery school at Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi's La Cuccina Caldesi on Marylebone Lane and Jane and I joined food journalists and enthusiasts for some lessons in making ravioli, a main course of chicken stuffed with pecorino cheese and wrapped in proscuitto and some melt in the mouth 'pudding'. All used protected status (PDO/PGI) foods from Tuscany and the quality of the ingredients really sang through. As a reward for our hard work cooking all afternoon, we were driven to Bray to Caldesi in Campagna for a mouthwatering meal with the food producers and journalists. (http://www.caldesi.com/)

The next day saw a seminar at the City Inn Hotel where food experts talked to us about the EU scheme of protected status foods and we got to sample the Tuscan PDO/PGI foods in particular. Helen joined Jane and I to welcome the journalists attending and we had a really interesting day, broadening our food industry experience still further.

Love your food?

2009-04-07T15:13:00.002+01:00

I'm having a great week, busy but fun - promoting Tuscan pdo/pgi status foods like pecorino cheese, Tuscan ham, honey and chestnuts among others. My client is a consortium of food producers in Tuscany who are introducing their products to the UK market and my job is to help them reach food journalists. There's a cookery school, seminar, in-store tasting and a special menu on offer at restaurants in London for a week of flavour at the end of this month. So if you, like me, enjoy good food and you happen to be in London, why not check out the special Tuscan menu on offer at Caffe Caldesi in Marylebone Lane and at the Metropolitan Group restaurants (Galileo Locanda Toscana in Haymarket, Getti on Marylebone High St and Jermyn St and Zia Teresa in Hans Rd Knightsbridge). It runs from 27th April 2009.

A beautiful Spring morning!

2009-03-24T11:08:00.003Z

What a difference a bit of sun makes... everyone seems to have more of a spring in their step, including my Springer spaniel puppy. Despite the continuing doom and gloom headlines, most of my clients are looking positively at how to claim and build market share in 2009 and good on 'em. They're the ones who'll come out of this all the stronger.

On Friday night the Leicester Mercury kindly invited me to join them at the East Midlands Women of Achievement Awards in the Walker Stadium - lots of inspiring stories from women who've made a real difference to their communities or their businesses - a great evening. A particular 'well done' to Ellen Bianchini who single handedly set up the Spark Festival in Leicester, a wonderful way of bringing the arts and drama to the children of the region. I became aware of it through The Belmont Hotel which is one of the festival venues and look forward to taking my children to some of the 2009 events.

Just a bit of snow!

2009-02-05T12:07:00.004Z

This is the view from my office window today!

I for one am enjoying seeing some snow, it reminds me of my childhood - and yes, I have seen snow in the last 25 years, but somehow I'm reliving the excitement of sledging and building snowmen through my children. Despite a couple of recent skiing holidays, seeing your own garden and surroundings bathed in that magical white stuff is slightly different. I'm getting loads of work done because the telephone has been quieter for the last few days as people struggle to get to their various workplaces and I'm able to look out of my office window and watch my boys build an igloo in the field below. What more could I wish for?

This is when it's great having an office within walking distance of my front door, but my sympathies lie with head teachers today, having to make the decision as to whether to open or close the schools. The local news was full of the local director of education trying to keep as many schools open as possible and I applaud the sentiment - it's not easy trying to arrange childcare at half an hour's notice. However, it's never as simple as just clearing the playground so that they break no bones - rather the getting to and from school in the first place. I'm glad I didn't have to dust off my car this morning and slither down the hill to try to get out of the village and I know my children will remember this week for the rest of their lives as a very special time simply having fun with their friends.

Hectic start to 2009!

2009-01-21T17:13:00.002Z

What a hectic start to 2009! Nearly the end of January and I've not stopped for 5 minutes, or so it seems. Product launch for Vortice during the first week back after the Christmas holiday - that was great - really good to see how the creative work we've been doing has come to fruition and the product is really exciting. I never thought I could get so excited about eco-friendly ventilation products, but I even started lecturing my husband on heat recovery systems last week! This week's been Interiors Birmingham, the UK's biggest furniture exhibition and contrary to the general doom and gloom flooding the newspapers and news channels, my client YP Furniture has had a great launch of several new bedroom and living/dining room products. Those attending the exhibition were serious buyers and it was refreshing to see how enthusiastic they were, despite the realism that this is not going to be the easiest year on record. It's busy too at The Belmont Hotel, we're just finalising plans for the year and there are lots of exciting events happening there - not least that it's one of the venues for Leicester's Comedy Festival. Busy at World Market Center Las Vegas too - the next market is only a couple of weeks away, so it's all systems go getting everything ready for the throngs of visitors and press who will attend.

Don't know about you, but 2009 is pretty good so far...

Can it be Christmas already?

2008-12-22T11:00:00.002Z

It seems that Christmas is upon us - the parties have started, carol services enjoyed, most presents bought and wrapped, Christmas cards ... well, still being written - one day I'll actually get them written in time to post and get there in the right year! Reflecting on the mad financial whirl that the end of 2008 has been, I for one am looking forward to 2009 - even if it is tough. I was talking to friends yesterday about previous recessions and if there is one sure thing - it has to get better, maybe not today, or tomorrow or next month, but people still need to live, to work, to eat. I'm looking forward to a few days off, long walks, too much eating and drinking, enjoying my family and friends. Here's to a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Web 2.0 and using the social web for business

2008-12-11T15:06:00.002Z

This morning I set aside some time to go to a seminar about Web 2.0 and using the social web for business. It was interesting to understand how some of these networks are built and friends of friends become your contacts and so on. I'm a social animal and have friends all over the world but my biggest worry is that with two young children, a business to run and a puppy, I barely have time to keep in touch with the friends that I already have, let alone whole new communities. I received a Christmas card from a friend last week who's announced that it's the last year she's sending out cards - in future she'll be making a charity donation instead. In her case, I see her regularly anyway, so it's not a great problem to me, but I know that if I didn't send Christmas cards to many of my friends, years would go past without them hearing so much as a squeak from me - not because I don't want to be in touch, just that I have no time ... I live in hope that as the children become older and more self-sufficient and I learn to delegate more at work, I might actually get to pay some attention to more of my friends again. I'd hate them to think that I don't value their friendships, because I do, very much.

Meet Freddie!

2008-11-20T14:02:00.003Z

Meet Freddie, he is the newest member of the family, moved in on Sunday and is entertaining us all with his antics and his adorable face. Freddie is an English springer spaniel puppy of eight weeks old, with all the bounce and fun you'd expect. We're getting to know him and starting his training now!

Keeeep dancing!

2008-11-11T18:08:00.003Z

Surely I must have blogged at some time between August and now? Where has the time gone to? Credit crunch or not, things are very busy at Nicky Stephen Marketing and my forward thinking clients are certainly not battening down the hatches and doing nothing - quite the opposite - they're looking for innovative solutions to drive their businesses forward (with some budget consciousness of course!). Children are back at school, nights are longer, Halloween and fireworks have passed by without disasters here and we're on the hectic run through to Christmas! Apart from work, the fabulous new Highcross centre has opened in Leicester, so some retail therapy has been a must, we've done a great village fund-raiser to renovate the church and its war memorial and of course Saturday and Sunday evenings have had to involve a bit of cheering on Austin Healey and his dance partner Erin on Strictly Come Dancing. My youngest child announced that he wanted to marry Austin's oldest daughter when he was 3 so loyalty still prevails even though he's not so keen on the idea of marriage to anyone now. We all try to watch at the weekend, keeeeeep on dancing Austin!

Las Vegas Market

2008-08-05T15:47:00.003+01:00

Just back from sunny Las Vegas for this Summer's amazing furniture and furnishings market. World Market Center certainly knows how to treat its visitors, glorious weather, great shuttle transport service from the hotels, amazing parties and our very own Rod Stewart show - live. Rod was fantastic - made me proud to be a Brit and is it just me or has he improved with age?! What a showman, what a show - visitors from all around the world had a great time. If you have to work whilst abroad, Las Vegas Market makes it very pleasurable - beats any other furniture show I've been to hands down. Practised my Italian too, thanks to the team at Fiera Milano - buongiorno to you all!

Fabulous Weather

2008-06-09T15:16:00.002+01:00

Glorious weather and I'm writing about Air Conditioning Systems and Ventilation Systems from one of my clients Vortice which has a whole range of eco-friendly products. It's only in recent years that I've felt the need to even consider an air-conditioning system, but on days like this my office would definitely benefit - time to investigate I think!

Good experience at Terminal 5

2008-04-18T13:58:00.003+01:00

Just had to blog about my experience at Heathrow Terminal 5 on Tuesday. I wasn't flying anywhere, but my client had flown in from the States the day before and was off to Milan that afternoon so meeting at the airport seemed like a good plan. Having watched all the scenes on television about how chaotic it was and how everything was going wrong, the calm, serene terminal that awaited me was a huge surprise ...

Naturally everything's new, so it hasn't really had time to look tired or battered unlike some of those people trying to travel in the first couple of days, but it really did look 'the business'! The staff to visitors ratio was huge, there was someone to greet you when you came out of the car park looking for the lift, there was someone in the lift to press the button, there was someone to tell you which way to go from there and numerous people to ask about those minor questions like where you might get a wireless connection. All in all, my clients checked into their flight, joined me in Carluccios for lunch, where we also had great service and the whole experience was a delight. Don't think I've read anything else positive about Terminal 5 yet, so thought I'd do my bit!

Stormy North Yorkshire

2008-04-07T12:05:00.002+01:00

This morning as I reflect on a great weekend with the 'Working Mums', I just want to say - The Magpie in Whitby is still the very best fish restaurant I have ever visited and well worth the snowy, sleety, rainy walk across the cliffs we chose to get there. If you get the chance and you love fresh, simply cooked, delicious fish, don't miss it. On our journey back we stopped at Harrogate for a bit of shopping, wandering and of course a visit to Betty's for tea. What more can a girl ask for? Don't answer that!

Waste not want not

2008-03-28T12:46:00.002Z

It's humbling sometimes to appreciate how simple the world seems from the perspective of children. The Easter weekend was spent in Wales where I hail from (well done Wales for a fab Grand Slam result!) and it's quite some journey from Leicestershire, particularly with children in the car. As we drove down the motorways the children noticed just how much litter and rubbish, particularly plastic carrier bags are wound around trees and hedgerows en-route and were asking pertinent questions about why. They remembered that in Corsica for example, there simply were no plastic carrier bags - it was paper bags or re-usable long life ones in every supermarket. That led to more discussion about our consumerist society, recycling, re-use and rubbish dumps... My oldest had just returned from a school trip to a recycling plant, so had some strong views on the subject.

I explained that I have been doing some very interesting work with community waste organisations over the last couple of years and that the objective was to encourage businesses and consumers to think before they send things straight to landfill. The children regard this as just sensible - why does it take some companies so long to see it in such a simple way? Have a look at Resource Saver - this scheme acts as a marriage broker between businesses and community groups that can re-use or recycle their unwanted materials/goods. Established in the East of England, it's now operating in the North West too, www.resourcesaver.org.uk worth looking at ...

The wonders of technology

2008-03-12T15:46:00.002Z

I don't often get the chance to do this, but today I set aside a few hours to help some girlfriends with the wonders of modern technology. Now I've worked with all of these girls in the past when they've been high flying executives in various high brow roles in industry and each are now either 'retired' or 'semi-retired', so unlike me they aren't in a position to keep abreast of new web developments. So I found myself being 'the expert' in buying and selling on e-bay - something I rarely do incidentally! It was quite a frightening proposition being 'the expert' but we had a hilarious time and did actually manage to achieve our objective of listing at least one item to sell. One of the funniest things was starting out with a selection of potential items to sell, but then working out that many of the girls actually didn't want to part with half of them (or at least not for the money that it looked like they'd get on e-bay)! The moral of the story however, was that all of us agreed we should take some 'time-out' more often not just to learn new skills, but to keep in touch with old friends ... it was fun!

Well the earth moved for me!

2008-02-27T12:43:00.003Z

Well the earth certainly moved for me last night, Leicestershire appears to be right where it all happens on the Richter scale - and it wasn't just because I was sleeping on my wonderful new Sleepflex Coolwave bed! http://www.sleepflexcoolwave.co.uk/ Who does know what you're supposed to do when an earthquake strikes? I listened to fascinating ideas like 'stand underneath a doorframe,' 'hide under the stairs' or even 'hide in the bath' - not sure if there's any science behind any of it! All I know is that it sounded like my chimney had collapsed so I hid under the duvet and went back to sleep on the basis that I'd be better able to do something about it in the morning!

Eating at The Belmont

2008-02-22T15:50:00.004Z

Well one thing I've learnt, is that you may set out to write a regular blog, but life seems to get in the way ... my weekly blog is already one that appears once every three weeks instead ... This week I've had to come down to earth after a glorious 7 days in sunny Austria on the slopes, gazing at blue skies and wondering why I didn't think about getting fit before setting off on a skiing holiday! I've been working on an exciting project this week, the rebranding and relaunch of one of Leicester's favourite hotels, The Belmont. When I moved to Leicester in the early 1980's, The Belmont was the place to meet for an 'early doors' drink after work and I've spent many a happy evening there over the years. As I now live and work outside the environs of the city centre, I don't have many opportunities to pop-in for a swift glass of wine, but it is somewhere I'd recommend for excellent food and great service. The hotel interiors have obviously changed somewhat from the frilly blinds of the 1980's - today's contemporary interiors - modern leather seating in the lounge and bar areas, smart black and metallic for banqueting rooms all bring a fresh new look. You should try it http://www.belmonthotel.co.uk/ !

Blogging and beds

2008-02-01T10:32:00.000Z

It's been an interesting week, not least because it began with my birthday, which was fun, but also because I'm trying to keep up to date with what's new on the digital media scene - pretty vital for someone whose day job is marketing and PR - http://www.nickystephenmarketing.co.uk/ However, speaking as someone who can't even programme the video without referring to my 8 year old son for guidance, this blogging stuff is new for me! I went to a workshop yesterday where Microsoft's Eileen Brown http://blogs.technet.com/eileen_brown/ persuaded us that blogging's simply something we should do, so it's Friday and I thought I'd have a go.

More importantly, I've really enjoyed the projects I've worked on this week, many and varied ... the first is a fantastic new bed called Sleepflex Coolwave - http://www.sleepflexcoolwave.co.uk/ which I'm promoting - so good that I've put my money where my mouth is and I'm expecting delivery of one in the next couple of weeks. It is over ten years since I last bought a new bed and my other half is constantly complaining of back ache, so I guess it was time to do something about it. I was at the country's biggest furniture trade show last week Interiors 2008 http://www.thefurnitureshow.co.uk/intfurn08/show_highlights.html, so there was plenty of opportunity to try out a few beds - this one's different, because it incorporates memory foam which is incredibly supportive and comfortable, but it doesn't get hot ( a regular complaint about memory foam beds) because it incorporates a plaited foam system that allows air to circulate freely through it. You'll soon see the product advertised in home interest magazines and you can already try it out at Furniture Village stores http://www.furniturevillage.co.uk/ and other leading independent furniture stores around the UK. Do I sound convinced? I am! Well, my first blog done, I'll now work out how to publish and you never know, I might manage to wax lyrical again soon!