World Environment Day

Celebrated on the 5th of June every year, this day is the United Nation’s principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment.

And environmental issues should be in the minds of every individual and business – it is certainly an issue that we take into account.

Making the greener choice

Helping the environment, and giving your workspace the eco-friendly option, is something we regularly chat about with our customers.

We have a lot of wooden office furniture here at Chrisbeon – but we are dedicated to the movement to ensure environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests, which is why we work with a number of suppliers who ensure the Forestry Stewardship Council standard.

Forestry Stewardship Council

The FSC is an international non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests.

They do this by setting standards on forest products, along with certifying and labeling them as eco-friendly – and we are pleased that many of our products have the stamp of approval.

Renewable fibres

Many of our chairs have eco-seating fabrics like supplier Camira Fabric’s hemp, certified to the EU Ecolabel, which uses two of nature’s cleverest renewable fibres to create upholstery fabrics.

Wool and hemp are blended together to create a range with soft handle and inherent flame retardancy.

Camira Fabrics also do the Nettle Collection, tribal-inspired textiles made from a blend of wool and harvested nettles.

And we also have many other eco-products available for businesses to consider when they are looking for office products.

Eco-products

Among them are our toners, we have a recycled range of compatible ink cartridges and toners. The quality and page yield is guaranteed to be at least as good as the original version but our compatible range is also sustainable and cost-effective.

We also offer a furniture trade in facility on your existing office furniture, helping to offset the cost of new furniture, also helping to meet your ‘green’ obligations.

Carbon Footprint

And of course we as a company work to protect the environment – much of our furniture and seating ranges are made here in the UK, helping the UK economy to safeguard manufacturing jobs and also dramatically reducing the shipping costs and Carbon Footprint.

Reducing Paper and Waste

We are also making a concerted effort to reduce the amount of catalogues we have printed, to reduce paper usage and waste, and are instead promoting our website with online ordering facility.

Page three on our main stationery catalogue shows a large range of eco symbols which are then flagged throughout the catalogue – and six pages of products flagged as natural are available in our promotional merchandise catalogue from page 144 onwards!

A first impression is well-known to be a crucial moment for capturing attention.

“Within milliseconds of entering your office, potential clients make up their minds about you and your company. In a glance, they instantly decide how trustworthy you are, if you’re broke or in the money and, oftentimes, if you’re good enough to do business with.”

Kim Lachance Shandrow, editor at Entrepreneur.com

Which is why a reception area is so important….

The area that first welcomes potential customers should be treated in the same way as your business brand – you need to think about the image you want to portray with your reception or the message you want to give to potential customers, clients, and employees.

It’s always best to start at the beginning and with the basics. If you are planning out new office space you need to make sure the reception area is big enough.

Always check the doors in your proposed area in advance – front doors, toilets, the staircase, the door to the back room. If you allocate an area for reception and then discover that there are no clear walls big enough for a desk your entire office planning could be disrupted.

Your company logo

Your logo is your brand so it should feature prominently in a reception area – whether that be on the front of a desk, on a wall, or even just on the doors leading out of the waiting and reception room.

Wherever it is put it needs to be clearly visible, and needs to be incorporated at the planning stage – it could affect what type of reception desk you choose, or where you put your seating area.

Brand colours

There is a wide variety of colours available when it comes to furniture and waiting area seating – utilising brand colours is a popular choice.

As your reception area is a brand tool having it plain white – like many other reception areas – is a little like having a plain white business card. You have an opportunity to show them the brand you have created, why not use it?

A functional space

Although the reception and waiting area of a business is a first impression and brand tool, it is also a working space and you need to ensure it functions as you intend it to.

Make sure visitors know exactly where they should head on arrival, cater well for those who may arrive early and therefore need to wait, think about disabled access and seating – and especially think about what your visitors will be looking at as they await your arrival.

Products and sales

To ensure a reception area is always working for a business many choose to have products or clear services advertised, or available, in the reception area – and this is what visitors will be looking at while they wait.

Whether it be display cases, clear signs showing services, or even a glass wall looking onto a workshop, the reception area can be a useful selling tool.

In our case we incorporate all of the above – our Telford showroom uses the actual furniture we can offer clients, our stationery offerings are in display cases, and all visitors can see through glass into our working office area.

The reception desk and furniture

Investing in suitable desk and reception furniture is an extremely important part of the reception area (and we are not just saying that because that’s our business!).

It needs to look professional, attractive, be in the right place in the room, possibly display your brand colours…..but there is actually more to think about.

• Desks which are too high can be intimidating
• Low-quality desks lead to broken drawers, which give a bad impression
• Those sitting behind a reception desk need to be comfortable to ensure they can be smiling and friendly with ease.
• Waiting area furniture which is not durable will quickly look worn and also give a bad impression
• Uncomfortable waiting furniture makes visitors uncomfortable – something no business wants

If you feel your reception or waiting area is not working for you – or not portraying your business how it should, please do get in touch with our team for advice.

Spectators at this weekend’s Wacky Races in Shrewsbury will be able to support a charity that offers a lifeline to young people who have been affected by physical or mental trauma.

Climbing Out was founded by Kelda Wood, who hit the headlines this year after becoming the first adaptive person to row the Atlantic solo.

Her challenge, which saw her row at sea for 76 days, 15 hours and 37 minutes in a specially adapted boat, raised more than £50,000 to run programmes for young people, aged 16 to 30, who have been affected by injury, illness or trauma.

And furniture and office supplies firm Chrisbeon were with her every step of the way – and will continue to support Kelda and her charity at the Wacky Races on May 26 in Shrewsbury’s Quarry Park.

Craig Hughes, of Chrisbeon, said : “The Climbing Out motto is ‘To Try Is To Succeed’ which is something the teams of this event should maybe bear in mind as the carts make their first run down the route in the Quarry!

“We are really looking forward to it and the team have been working really hard to create our soapbox over the past few months, our final touches will go on just before the event and we are looking forward to unveiling it on the day.”

The charity races will see more than 40 teams racing their handcrafted vehicles along a special track in Shrewsbury’s Quarry Park.

It is the first year Shrewsbury has hosted the Wacky Races and as well as vying to be the winning soapbox Chrisbeon staff and volunteers will be jiggling their Climbing Out donation boxes and hoping to raise some more funds for Kelda.

“There will be loads to do for all ages – street food, bars, family activities, craft competitions – and of course the races themselves which are set to be very entertaining,” added Craig.

“And we welcome visitors to come and have a chat to us, about our cart, about Climbing Out – and even about office supplies if they so wish! We look forward to taking part and having a wonderful experience.”

This week marks National Learning at Work Week in offices across the UK – with a 2019 theme of ‘Shaping the Future’.

When it comes to office furniture and stationery, continued learning and training is something that may not automatically spring to mind.

Training and learning

But in our industry training and learning is extremely important to ensure we can meet all of our client needs.

To design an office layout we use a number of skills, from the basic skills of understanding what a business is looking for, to using CAD to design the perfect layout and utilising our DSE training to ensure the health of employees working with display screen equipment such as PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

CAD

Computer Aided Design allows you to visualise your new office, or a number of ways your office can be, before a piece of furniture is even moved – it can create precision drawings in 2D or 3D and offers greater accuracy.

DSE

A DSE assessment is a risk assessment that looks at the health risks of working with display screen equipment such as PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 apply to workers who use DSE daily, for an hour or more at a time, and should be done if a new user starts work, a new workstation is set up or if you have changed workstations for any reason.

We have a number of staff trained as certified DSE assessors.

Behind the scenes

And it is not only our front of house team that receive extensive training, our warehouse team are also extremely skilled.

All staff behind the scenes have the relevant training to prepare and load the furniture being delivered to our customers and our apprentice Connor received his end point assessment in his Certificate for Warehouse Operative Level Two just last month.

As a company we very much believe in the importance and benefits of continual learning and development, and the impact it has on providing a great service.

If you are looking for a new office layout, or to change your current layout, why not pop into one of our showrooms in Shrewsbury or Telford and have a chat to the staff about the best way to go about it?

Shropshire is a great community to be a part of, both in the business world and outside it.

We are very lucky to be a B2B business and work with dozens of companies of all sizes across the county and beyond – every day we get to find out more about how different businesses work and the people that they work with.

Shropshire Chamber Patrons

We are patrons of the Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, a scheme that runs through the region’s business and educational community and enables the chamber to provide a diverse range of services to businesses across the county.

But Chrisbeon are a family firm and we like to go further than the business community and be a part of the wider community – and that link gives back, to us and our staff, more than we could imagine. This article highlights some of the local charities and organisations that are close to our heart and deserve to be shouted about!

Kelda Wood – Row to Raise

We are honoured to support Kelda Wood and her charity Climbing Out, which runs activity programmes aimed at rebuilding confidence and self-esteem in young people aged 16 to 30-years-old who’ve been through a life-changing injury, illness or trauma.

As our adopted company charity we have assisted by providing stationery, taking part in charity walks and donating time and services.

Kelda recently hit the headlines with her Row to Raise Challenge, which we also supported, which saw her become the first adaptive person to ever row the Atlantic alone, completing the 3,000-mile journey from the Canary Islands to Antigua in a little over 76 days – raising more than £30,000 for charity in the process.

Meeting Kelda, talking about Climbing Out, and supporting her in the run up to the Row to Raise challenge has had us in awe – and we will continue to support Climbing Out with our next fundraising event as the Shrewsbury Wacky Races event later this year.

Shrewsbury Town in the Community

We are sponsors – and supporters – of Shrewsbury Town Football Club, but we also support Shrewsbury Town in the Community, another charity that we are always inspired by.

We were originally approached by charity trustee, Nick Jones, a patron of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, about supporting the organisation, and it is a relationship that has continued ever since.

We donated more than £2,000 of new and pre-loved office chairs, tables, sofas and cabinets to be used in the community hub for fundraising events and by disabled participants.

Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust

We are proud to be one of the founder builder’s that stepped up to support the 1,000 Builders Fund for the Future Campaign, which is raising money to enable the Trust to look after the landmarks and monuments in the Ironbridge Gorge well into the future.

An iron plaque bearing our name is laid in the grounds of the Enginuity Museum in Coalbrookdale as that is the area the fund will focus on – the site of the original furnace where Abraham Darby first smelted iron.

Madeley Cricket Club

We are also big cricket fans and sponsor Madeley Cricket Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs in the county.

The club also has a Women’s Cricket Team, a thriving youth section playing in the Shropshire Junior Cricket League and take part in the ECB Allstars initiative to encourage younger children from the age of 5 to take part in the sport.

Smaller charities and not-for-profit support

As a company we support a number of charities both local and national with fundraising, and in the case of Christ Church Nursery in Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury, provided them with supplies for a new purpose-built building for the children in their care.

Corporate donations

We find that corporate donations are a great way to help charities and non-profit organisations that matter to us, our employees, and our community.

And it has always been really important for us to do so!

Shrewsbury’s Community Football Hub has opened its doors in the town – complete with Chrisbeon chairs delivered to the site this month.

Shrewsbury Town in the Community

Shrewsbury Town in the Community (STITC), the official charity of the town’s football club, came to the rescue after the Powerleague five-a-side football site at Montgomery Waters Meadow was one of 13 earmarked for closure.

The move came after creditors approved proposals to restructure the struggling Powerleague business last year.

The charity, STITC, has now completed the takeover of the site, with all of the existing staff being retained, and renamed it the Community Football Hub.

Recovered seating and chairs

We paid a visit to the hub not long ago to recover the existing built-in seating within the supporter’s bar.

And along with manufacturer Nomique, who have supported us in supplying the hub with 16 free-standing chairs, we paid another visit to see the new seating and the new hub in action.

STITC head of community Jamie Edwards said he is looking forward to welcoming people to the new hub, which officially opened on February 1st.

“We are working in partnership with Shrewsbury Town Football Club and the Supporters Parliament to offer a quality facility that gives us a platform to increase our offer particular around recreational football, health and match days,” he added.

Nomique Managing Director John Ravenhill said the company is looking forward to continuing to work with the charity in the future.

“As a local manufacturer Nomique are delighted to help and support Chrisbeon and Shrewsbury Town in their work in the community and look forward to supporting the STITC in any future projects.”

Schools and grassroots clubs

The facility will be used to ensure that Shrewsbury Town in the Community can increase participation in physical activity, provide further opportunities for employment and volunteering and further develop links with local schools and grassroots clubs.

Chrisbeon today made its mark in the ground of the Ironbridge Gorge as we became one of the founder builders to support the future of the historic site.

Why is Ironbridge important?

The area around the town of Ironbridge is known as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and the furnace, which stands in the heart of Coalbrookdale, is where Abraham Darby perfecting the technique of smelting iron with coke.

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) launched Fund for the Future, a bid to raise £1 million by 2021 which will then be match-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

What are we supporting?

As part of that bid the 1,000 Builders Campaign was launched and IGMT appealed for businesses across the UK to step up and support them – and we were proud to put ourselves forward.

The money will be used for specialist work to maintain some of the key buildings in Coalbrookdale, including Darby’s Old Furnace, the Quaker Burial Ground and the Coalbrookdale Company Warehouses.

Iron plaques

An iron plaque, forged by Bridgnorth-based Grainger & Worrall, and etched with our company name, has now been laid in the grounds of Coalbrookdale, near Enginuity, marking our contribution.

We are a founder builder for the campaign but as more businesses sign up further ceremonies will be held and more plaques laid in the grounds – and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust will be closer to their goal and closer to securing the important buildings and monuments for future generations to enjoy.

You can find out more about becoming one of the 1,000 builders here or contact Saffron Buckle on fundraising.manager@ironbridge.org.uk for more information.

As employers many of us are required to comply with the Health and Safety Regulations 1992 and carry out a DSE assessment on new employees and new and changed workstations.

But what is a DSE assessment and does it apply to you and your employees?

A DSE assessment is a risk assessment that looks at the health risks of working with display screen equipment such as PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Do my employees need DSE assessments?

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 apply to workers who use DSE daily, for an hour or more at a time, and should be done if a new user starts work, a new workstation is set up or if you have changed workstations for any reason.

Who can carry out DSE assessments?

A certified DSE assessor is required to carry out an assessment. Independent assessors are available, some employers train up employees to carry out the role, or office furniture suppliers – such as ourselves – can supply one.

Are there any other benefits to DSE assessments?

Carrying out regular DSE assessments address poor posture and poor working habits – correcting this will reduce problems that may keep the employee off work, so, therefore, improving employee attendance, and in turn productivity for the business.

A DSE assessment also provides you with evidence should any legal action or compensation claims arise.

Looking after employees also increases morale in the workplace and increased morale leads to increased productivity.

For more information, or to book a DSE assessment, contact us on 01952 292606.

Are you an employer looking to take care of a pregnant employee?

As part of any good safety management system within a business it is necessary for risk assessments to be conducted.

Assessments on the use of display screen equipment ensure compliance with legislation and reduce any risks which may arise from the use of DSE (Display Screen Equipment) to the user.

Revisit the employee DSE assessment

When an employee is pregnant it is important to revisit the employee DSE assessment to ensure they will be safe and healthy in their employment throughout the pregnancy.

And something that can often come out of a fresh risk assessment is the need to ensure the pregnant employee is sitting on a suitable chair.

As qualified DSE assessors ourselves we assist businesses across the country in meeting DSE requirements and can advise and recommend on what is possible.

Meeting their needs

Making sure that the back is properly supported is fundamental in aiding the relief of back pain, and if the chair the employee is sitting on is causing discomfort, we would suggest looking into alternative solutions.

An extra high back chair with adjustable arms and seat would be our recommendation. We have a number of these in our showroom as we believe it is important for employees to try out the chair before you buy.

The AWC71, the blue chair in our image above, has an extra high back with fold-down height adjustable arms, an option 10 lumbar pump – to support the lower back – and you are able to adjust and angle the seat.

The AWC81ADJ, the black chair in our image above, has a high back, height adjustable arms, lumbar pump and a seat slide.

Both chairs can come with an optional headrest and in a variety of colours to match any office branding – they are suitable for all employees due to adjustments that can be made so it would not only be used for nine months.

It may be that you do not require a new chair, but your employee is in need of a footrest, or additional arms or a headrest.

Your next move

We are happy to go through the options with you, and your employee, and can be contacted on 01952 292606 or feel free to pop into our Telford showroom and chat to one of our DSE assessors.

This week is National Apprentice Week 2019 – so it seems the perfect time to congratulate our apprentice Connor on his first year with us!

Warehouse Operative

Connor started at Chrisbeon Office Supplies at our head office in Stafford Park, Telford, in March 2018 – and he has gone from strength to strength in the past 12 months in his role as a Warehouse Operative.

He told us that initially, he was not sure an apprenticeship would be for him, but after spending a year working and learning he would now recommend it as a career option.

“Before I got an apprenticeship I thought that it wasn’t really for me, I just wanted a normal job,” he says. “But I have realised that it is not just about working, it is about learning how to do the job well.

Learning more each day

“It has been really great here at Chrisbeon, you get looked after really well, the staff are really nice and whatever I need whether it be new tools or new work clothing it is always sorted out for me.

“I assemble furniture, load up customer’s cars or delivery vans, check and prepare pre-loved furniture if needed and sometimes go out on the delivery to clients – I am learning more and more every day.”

National Apprentice Week takes place from March 4 to 8, 2019, and highlights the benefits of apprenticeships to employers, individuals, local communities and the wider economy.

And Connor, who came to us through Juniper Training, has definitely been a great benefit to our business – we are looking forward to welcoming him in as a fully-fledged member of staff when he has completed his assessments.

From our experience, we would definitely recommend the role of an apprentice to other businesses – and we are very pleased that Connor would too!

What a fantastic achievement!

It’s almost impossible to comprehend the trials and tribulations Kelda Wood must have gone through in completing her demanding Row to Raise challenge.

But complete it she did and in incredible fashion, which saw her become the first solo adaptive rower to cross the vast Atlantic in a 3,000-mile challenge. Well done, Kelda! An amazing achievement and one we at Chrisbeon are proud to have been part of as one of Kelda’s sponsors.

One can only imagine what it must be like to tackle this monumental challenge alone . . . and in a rowing boat! Battling the elements knowing you are on your own if anything goes wrong and there’s only you to put things right.

There have been some nail-biting moments along the way and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief when we heard Kelda and her boat, Storm Petrel, had made landfall safe and sound.

£30,000 raised for charity

Just for the record, Kelda completed the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in 76 days, 15 hours and 37 minutes – raising more than £30,000 for charity along the way.

She said the worst thing she had to negotiate on the trip was going through a thunder and lightning storm about 1,000 miles from the finish. What a frightening thing that must have been.

Kelda received a tremendous welcome on finishing her epic journey and was heading back to the UK today (FRI), hopefully in a little more comfort and somewhat quicker than her outward journey from the Canary Islands to Antigua.

Worlds toughest row

The challenge is regarded as the World’s toughest row and Kelda took it on to raise awareness and funds for her Climbing Out charity, something which is inspiring young adults facing mental and physical trauma.

It’s a cause Kelda will continue to champion and one that deserves the support of as many people as possible.

We are all immensely proud of Kelda and look forward to catching up with her on her return to Shropshire . . .wonder what will she come up with next?

You can find out more about Kelda’s Climbing Out charity here.

Big Energy Savings Week has just come to an end and to mark it we are highlighting some of the energy-saving items we have available to help you keep those bills at a manageable level – while also aiding the world we live in.

The week is a national campaign aimed at raising general, family and financial awareness of how much energy we use, how much we actually need and what it costs us and the environment in the process.

Last week was the seventh Big Energy Saving Week and focused on all sorts of things like the benefits of switching energy supplier to get a better deal and making homes and offices more energy efficient.

But did you know if firms invested in simple energy efficient measures and were able to better monitor usage they could save up to 15% on energy bills?

Some simple general steps we can take include ensuring electrical items are not left on standby continuously and switching off monitors, printers, computers, microwaves, kettles drinks and food machines when they are not needed.

The same applies to heating, air conditioning and lighting in the office. It really is quite amazing what a difference it makes if they are turned down or off when there is no one in the building.

At Chrisbeon we are doing our bit to help you make the right decisions when it comes to office equipment and are proud of our extensive range of energy saving items which provide options that are kinder on the pocket and the environment.

Here are some things you may be interested in: We can provide cost-effective shredders complete with energy saving systems that will power down after two minutes of activity and also reduces in-use energy consumption.

Our bulbs and lights range is extensive, with all our bulbs being accompanied by an easy to follow guide on choosing the correct one. Eco bulbs make tremendous savings by having a life-expectancy of about twice the length of an incandescent bulb.

The longer life bulbs come with a very high-efficiency rating and incur lower maintenance costs.

Strip lighting, POD+, desk lamps, uplighter and magnifier lamps are all extremely popular products with customers. The Flexi, Hobby, Swing Arm and Poise desk lamps are all rated in terms of energy efficiency for the convenience of customers and the bulbs for these particular items have a life of about 2,000 hours.

It is also worth mentioning office laminators. Not only do we provide slim, stylish and reliable models, but they are ready to start working in about 60 seconds of switch-on, have a low-energy consumption and shut off after 30 minutes being idle.

Big Energy Savings Week is a timely reminder about things we use in the office on a daily basis and the need to become more conscious about their use and how we can cut back on cost while becoming just a little greener. At any rate, it seems the ideal place to start!