31 Dec New Year, new challenge

At this time of year I always tend to think back to the same time in the previous year, reflecting on what was happening at adverset. That’s when I start asking myself where the time has gone.

It’s hard to believe that this time last year we had not long since produced the Royal Variety Performance programme for 2010 – that particular year celebrating 100 years of entertainment at the London Palladium. This was followed by our attendance at the show, one of the billed highlights being the first performance of Robbie Williams in a new look ‘Take That’. Not a patch on Kylie – but that’s personal (it was the thigh length red boots that swung it for me – and for that I can even forgive her for miming!).

I always find it curious the way an event in life can feel in one respect like a couple of months ago and yet in another, a distant memory. I assume that this is due to the fact that so much occurs in a given business year that one day almost blends into another at times.

2011 highlights

My highlight of 2011 has to be our new personalised wallpaper offering. Whilst we have had the resources to create this unique product for a while now, we wanted to ensure that the quality was sufficiently tested and proven before letting it loose in homes, offices and retail units. If somebody had told me 35 years ago when I started my life in the print industry as a ‘paste-up artist’, that we would be designing and producing items related to interior decor, I would have thought that they had lost the plot.

and 2012…

Which brings me to the first highlight of 2012, which will be the launch of our new display product e-commerce website at the end of January. The site has been specifically created to offer existing and new customers a pain-free ordering experience on all our display products. For example on our personalised wallcovering product, it will be as simple as typing in wall dimensions to provide an instant price and on-line ordering option.

To sum up, as we move into 2012, every corner we turn will present a challenge – and no matter how jaded we become, it is these challenges which inspire us all to move forward and rejuvenate.

The best of luck to everyone in 2012 and thanks for your fantastic support!