New Energy Articles Blog

Shoppers have an abundance of choice these days when it comes to choosing UK greetings cards.  The ever increasing cards selection in the big retailers like John Lewis, Clintons, Paperchase and WHSmith can often see consumers spending many minutes trying to find the perfect card for a loved one’s special occasion.  When faced with so much choice, it’s always nice to stumble across a special greetings card collection that suits your style and has a range of cards that appeals to your taste.  And once you have found the card designer of your choice, even better if you are then able to stock up online and be prepared for all those special occasions throughout the year and indeed those awkward surprise moments when you realise you have forgotten someone’s birthday and don’t have a card to hand.  Being organised at the start of the year with a cupboard full of birthday cards, thank you cards and note-cards and envelopes should ensure you avoid such awkward moments in the future.

One greeting card supplier who has an enviable collection of designer greetings cards is Hammond Gower.  This Nottinghamshire based business has designed a beautiful handcrafted selection of cards, albums, wrapping paper and beautiful gifts that are stocked in major retailers and independents all over the UK.  The Hammond Gower business has recently launched a new online retail website which offers shoppers the opportunity to choose from the enormous Hammond Gower selection ofbrands and purchase their card online, at very good prices, with the added bonus of free delivery.   Shoppers also have the opportunity to personalise their card.  The website takes the customer through a series of user-friendly steps, enabling them to tailor their card as they wish.  Card personalisation is becoming an increasingly popular phenomenon all over the world.  However, what sets the Hammond Gower business apart from its competition lies in its unique range of cards.   The magical and whimsical world of the Hammond Gower range of greeting cards and gifts online is rather quite special.  And the opportunity for greeting card customisation on their handcrafted cards gives the Hammond Gower business an edge.   Personalisation on such quality designs is an unexpected surprise for the recipient when compared to the likes of the more commercialised cards offered by online card retailers such as Moonpig.  It looks and feels bespoke and special.

From birthdays to anniversaries, births, weddings and farewells cards are a unique way to show friends and family how much you care on a meaningful occasion.  Despite the rise of the internet and the opportunity to send e-cards online, receiving a card through your letter box is even more special in the digital age because of the effort someone has gone to to select a special card, personalise that card and send it through the post.  A digital e-card, waiting in your inbox can be fun but the message can be rather diluted as it takes little effort or imagination to send such a card.  If you are a less organised person, spending a little time at the start of the year to choose your cards online for all those birthdays, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s day, Father’s Day, Anniversaries and a few extra occasions for those little emergencies will stand you in good stead throughout the year and ensure there are no lost friendships along the way because of forgotten birthdays!

Choosing handcrafted greeting cards, unique stationery and personalised gifts online has never been more fun, with the huge and exciting range of cards and wrapping paper available and the option to customise those items.  And receiving a card through the post with a lovely message and thoughtful words remains a special moment indeed.

Hammond Gower are a Nottinghamshire based online retailer with over 25 years  experience of publishing high quality, designer greeting cards, albums, stationery and gifts, all of which can be personalised online.   Visit Hammond Gower at the Harrogate Home and Gift Show and visit their online store at hammondgower.co.uk.

Tags: birthday, cards, christmas, personalisation
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If you’re a retailer, selling a range of household, leisure and gardening products, it’s always a good idea to ensure you compliment your range with some catering supplies.  Disposable catering equipment is proving to be a hot selling range of items for the past 18 months and the growth on wholesale catering products available to purchase online is a key indicator that this is an area set for huge expansion over the next five years.

Its seems the great British public have an unquenchable appetite when it comes to disposable  and plastic catering products, which can be used in so many retail and domestic formats, from food companies and caterers, catering to local businesses or sending via their online websites, from hospitals, health centres, gyms, leisure centre, kindergartens, schools and restaurants offering takeaway, the list looks almost endless and is an incredible opportunity for manufacturers of disposable ranges  to market their wholesaler catering supplies to such groups.

On the domestic fronts, there are countless uses for disposable products and catering supplies.  From picnic hampers, children’s birthday parties, or any manner of parties of BBQ for that matter, to everyday use in the kitchen, the convenience of paper plates to tin foil roasting dishes will always be welcome, especially so in this time poor 21st century world we inhabit.  In fact the growth of wholesale catering supplies can be attributed to a number of factors, one being the increasing trend working mums.  Busy women juggling jobs, children, maintaining a house and a marriage has led to a demand for items that increase convenience in the kitchen and the household.  From takeaways, ready meals served fresh in foil containers, to the use of foil flan dishes and disposable foil platters, anything that gives a helping hand in the kitchen, resulting in fewer dishes to wash is a welcome relief to today’s working men and women.  In addition to this, the organised family might do a big cook up on a Sunday, requiring plastic containers and catering dishes, like foil containers with lids, to create multiple servings that can be frozen and reheated during the week.  Hence the increased demand for wholesalers catering products on the domestic front.

The range of wholesale catering supplies doesn’t just end at disposable foil trays and paper plates, there is a veritable plethora of catering products available to buy online through wholesalers like Benross, and through many retail outlets, including supermarket chains.  From plastic knives and forks, straws, plastic tablecloths, ice-cube trays, pie dishes, plastic containers with lids, ice lolly makers, paper doilies, cocktail sticks and bag clips, when it comes to catering supplies, there is an endless array of useful items that are a constant in any household in the UK, and are indispensable to the running of many hospitality and food related industries.

With the huge number of wholesale catering suppliers making their ranges available to buy to retailers, the ever increasing importance of quality is a key factor for many retailers.  Wholesalers offering the magic combination of quality products at prices that enable the retailers to make adequate margin will win the fight for market share in the UK.  In addition to this, when it comes to keeping the retailers customers satisfied, the wholesale supplier who presents a new catalogue with some novel new catering products to keep the categories fresh and appealing will retain loyalty from their customers.  In addition to this, the catering manufacturers who can innovate in the eco-product catering range will satisfy the demand for greener products to be included in the wholesale catering supplies.  With these type of innovations, and the increased quality and range on offer, the catering category has potential for solid growth over the next few years.

Tags: christmas, DIY, homeware, wholesale
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Despite Christmas still being a number of weeks away yet (around 10, so not long really) you are going to have to look at planning it in your office already because things get booked up and done before you will even realise it. Here are some tips on planning Christmas in and out of the office, all to do with business of course.

The Party

I can tell you right now that you should not be housing the Christmas party in the office, no way. It does sound like a good idea to begin with, after all it is cheap but then think about everyone being drunk within the office. Things will get broken and damaged and people may get hurt, guess where the sue goes to?? you have guessed it right, the company. When you are thinking of a nice Christmas party you need to be thinking about a nice restaurant first and then some serious drinking after. things that are going on outside of the company are not the companies fault!.

Christmas Eve

So you might be busy with data cabling and things like IT relocation and server moves but the thing is, does everyone really need to be there all day on Christmas Eve? Not at all, far from it in fact. You really need to be letting people go home with their families on Christmas Eve, if you cannot let them do it let them go home early at least! You will be rewarded with gratitude and harder work and more respect from your employees.

Decorations

Do make sure you are putting up decorations when it comes to Christmas and you are not being a Grinch about it. you will certainly help people get in the mood for Christmas!

In the end what you do in the office around Christmas is up to you, whatever it is, have a good one!

Tags: Business, christmas, Offices
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It’s getting to that time of the year again where the nights draw in, the mornings get colder and everyone starts to complain about how christmas seems to start earlier and earlier every year.  With the festive season fast approaching it is around this time of year that companies start to plan their office christmas party.  There are specialist events companies who are able to take care of the planning for you, however in the case of smaller businesses who have less money to spend they may decide to ask one of their employees to handle the planning of the office christmas party.  If you have been charged with this seemingly daunting task then you may begin to worry about all of the things you need to take care of.  There is no need to panic as with a little forward planning you will be able to organise an enjoyable and memorable festive event.

You should start by first considering your budget.  This may well depend on how much money the company has allowed you to spend or by how much each employee is willing to contribute to the party fund.  Whatever budget you have it is vital that every single penny is accounted for and that you realistically know what you will be able to afford.

The next step will be to decide what sort of event you wish to put on.  You may choose to put on a traditional disco or alternatively you may decide it a good idea to go to a posh restaurant.  Once you have settled on a suitable idea the next step is to make up a shortlist of potential venues where you will be able to host the event.  When you are calling round these venues it is of course important that you keep your budget in mind.  Find out what facilities the venue has available and whether they match up to your requirements.  It is also worth asking what time the venue will be open to.  One of the most important elements to consider is the location of your venue as if it is remotely located then this may make it difficult for people to attend.  Try to hire a venue that is in the centre or outskirts of a major town - that way you will know that access is suitable and that there will be an abundance of hotels available in case some of your attendees need to stay overnight.

The next part to consider is the decide what sort of entertainment you want.  This is especially important if you are planning a disco.  If you are booking a band then you will also need to think about additional elements such as stage lighting or PA systems.  This will also be the case if you are looking to hire a DJ to put on the party.  As with booking the venue, when booking your entertainment it will be worthwhile asking whether the acts are able to supply their own audio visual equipment as this will be one less thing for you to organise.

Once you have the basics of your event sorted, all that remains is to publicise the party!  For this you may wish to send an email round the office or put up posters.  Whatever you do, make sure you start to advertise as early as possible to maximise the chances of people attending!

Tags: christmas, disco, event, Party
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Christmas Ecards are a fun way to send digital greeting cards to anyone you choose. Ecards are like traditional greeting cards that you purchase from your web browser (sometimes they are free), and them send them to the person of your choice to be viewed by their email. So instead of going to the grocery store during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season to physically buy a card and envelope that you have to sign, seal, stamp, and send through the post, you just send the card via e-mail at the touch of a button. Simply go to Google’s home page, type in the phrase ‘Christmas Ecards‘, and you will see pages of all the different Ecard sites that publish Christmas Ecards. They are ready made to be personalised and sent.

On every greeting card site, when you click on the Christmas category, you will see different sub-categories such as Religious blessings, humor/jokes, Christmas for kids, Christmas for moms, wishing your family a Merry Christmas, etc. Just click on the subcategory you want and it will show all of the E card titles and digital images of that sub-category has to offer. There are literally hundreds to choose from with the theme of Christmas. They may have Santa Clauses, holly leafs, mistletoe, snowman, Christmas trees, or Christmas presents decorating the main portion of the card. Happy Holidays, Season’s Greetings, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, or Merry Christmas are some of the phrases used in different Christmas E cards. They usually have a message in the form of a digital skit. When you have chosen the card you want to send by clicking it, you will then preview it. The skit will last for about five to ten seconds. Most of the time you can personalize it by changing the media in one way or another. Then when you are ready to send the card, click the “send card” button. Type in the recipient’s e-mail address, type in your name, and the message you want to apply to the card. It will also ask you what day and time you want it sent. Press “send card” down at the bottom of the page, and they will immediately have the card sent to their inbox or whenever you indicated you wanted it sent.

Prices of Ecards are relatively cheap. They usually cost about ninety-nine cents per card. Some sites give you a package price such as, 1 year of unlimited Ecards for about $7.99, if you send cards on a regular basis. A lot of cards you can send for free. You just have to look for those sites. Some of the fancier cards with flash digital imaging and video inclusive cards, you will of course have to pay for.

Ecards are a fun, fast way to express your feelings to someone, during any holiday season, especially Christmas. They will save you time and money. Choose deigns for any occasion. They can be saved and shared with friends or printed out. Thoughtfully send an Ecard to someone special in your life and it will surely put a smile on their face.

Tags: christmas, e cards, ecards, email
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Making a Christmas Wreath is not only fun - but you really can get creative with them and make them extremely unique. Here are instructions for making a traditional holly wreath. With these instructions, you will be able to get the basic idea of how wreaths are actually made, and you can then decide what to do to make your own holly wreath special - or go with an entirely different kind of wreath.

Materials:

- A 20 inch wreath - This can be a plain foam wreath, a wreath that already has the evergreens on it, or a twine wreath. For a traditional holly wreath, the ones with the evergreens already attached are ideal.

- 1.5 yards of ribbon - this can be plain red, plain green, or a red and black or red and green plaid. The ribbon should about 2.5 inches wide, and can be silk or felt. It’s your wreath!

- Pine cones - you will need about ten. Try to find ones that are well shaped and unbroken.

- Pomegranates - six dried pomegranates will do. Don’t get fresh ones! Or substitute other dried or good-looking plastic fruits.

- Additional Foliage - you need more evergreens (to make the wreath seem fuller) berry sprays and berry clusters.

- Construction Materials - scissors, hot glue gun, glue sticks, wire (if there is no hanger on the back of the wreath), sewing needle, thread (same color as ribbon).

If the wreath has no hanger, you will need to construct one with the wire. This should be done first. Make sure that it is secure, and that it can bear the weight of the wreath.

Fluff the existing evergreens and add more. The wreath should have a full appearance. You will most likely need to straighten a few branches here and there - but don’t make it too ‘perfect.’ It should have a ‘natural’ appearance to it.

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Let’s make and attach the bow. Cut a piece of ribbon about thirty inches long. Cut another piece of ribbon about four inches long. In the center of the long piece of ribbon, you want to form two loops that will make the bow.

The small piece of ribbon is used to secure the bow, in the middle of the loops. Note that the bow is ‘formed’ not ‘tied.’ There are no knots to tie. Secure the small piece of ribbon around the bow, in the back, with the thread. Each end of the bow will be about nine inches long.

You can place the bow wherever you choose to. It could go in the middle of the top, the bottom, or off to one side. The ends should be woven through the foliage on the wreath - or it can hang loose.

Sidenote:  The Therabreath mouthwash products are fantastic for fighting holiday bad breath.

It is a good idea to paint the ends of the ribbon with clear fingernail polish to keep them from fraying over time. The bow can be attached to the wreath with glue or with wire. Just make sure that it is secure.

Once you’ve placed the bow on the wreath, you can glue two of the pomegranates in the center of the bow. The remaining four pomegranates should be glued to the wreath equal distances apart, in groups of two.

Next, glue the pine cones to the wreath. These can be spaced evenly apart sporadically, or in groups of pine cones. Do what looks good to you. Again, it is your wreath.

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The berry clusters and sprays should also be glued to the front of the wreath. Glue some additional foliage over the top of the bow with a berry cluster for added affect. Remember that there is not specific way that any of this must be done. It is your choice.

It is a good idea to lay the pieces of the wreath on it before gluing anything down. This will allow you to see how the finished product will look before committing to anything. Try different arrangements of the material to see what looks best to you.

Once you’ve constructed the wreath, set it someplace where the glue has time to harden fully. Once this is done, pick the wreath up and gently shake it to make sure that everything is secured well. Most wreaths hang on the door, and doors are constantly opened and closed - and even slammed. You want to make sure that your wreath isn’t falling to pieces each time the door opens and closes.

In many cases, you may be able to use wire or a needle and thread to make items on the wreath more secure. Heavier items won’t be very secure with glue in most cases.

Remember that holly wreaths don’t have to be ‘busy’ to be beautiful. A few simple additions to the foliage is all that it takes.

The bow is typically the object that draws the eye, so make sure that the bow is really well done.

Now that you know how wreaths are made - and how easy it is - you may decide that you don’t want a holly wreath at all. You may opt for a themed wreath, a twined wreath, or a truly unique wreath that stands out. The possibilities are endless!

Scott W :  Copyright 2008

Tags: christmas
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As no doubt you have noticed online shopping is becoming more and more popular. In this article I write about this new revolution and discuss whether in my opinion this popularity is likely to continue or even increase, or if it is just some sort of short term fashion trend.

I offer a work injury claims service, I am also involved with a business to do with obtaining Tesco voucher codes and also with selling external doors for a composite door company.

I was introduced to online shopping a few years ago when a friend of mine advised me that a certain electrical type company was offering their products with a discount of ten percent, when they were purchased online. This fascinated me and I then started to investigate if this was a trend which other retail outlets were offering. Before too long I had managed to locate many other bargains on the net and I soon became an online shopping convert.

I have to admit that a few years ago I bought approximately eighty percent of my Xmas presents on the internet. I was certainly grateful and relieved that I did not have to travel to the shops, that I did not have to trawl round trying to locate a suitable car parking space and that I did not have to wade through the mass crowds of Xmas shoppers - this is without doubt the best way to shop for people such as myself.

My family even now buy our weekly food shopping online. My wife prefers doing the food shopping in this way as she does not have to wait to have her items scanned and does not have to put up with the children asking if they can have this or that.

I believe that this online shopping revolution has only just started. Online shopping is the “in thing” at the moment and this is something that is sure to continue over the next few years as people choose for convenience in their ever hectic lives. The retail websites are becoming ever more user friendly to reflect this change of shopping attitude.

In around five years time most households in the UK will have access to the internet therefore introducing even more potential customers to the option of online shopping.

Tags: christmas, online shopping, online shopping bug, shopping, shopping crowds, Shopping Online
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Although msot of the employees couldnt care less about asset management when you learn that doing it the right way could bring you extra money you might start to listen. Christmas could come early indeed because of these very nices bonuses you could be seeing. How could this actually happen for you?

Once asset tracking is in place the compnay will know exactly what to do with the assets which is good as they may save a bit of cash. Does this really mean a nice bonus for all of the employees.

So How Can Asset Tracking Actually Help You?

Well it is mainly used for bigger companies but there is not reason why a smaller company cannot use it too. For some of the bigger companies it can certainly be very hard to go out and track all of the assets that are needed. Make sure that you remember that every computer every single fax machine and desks are all assets too. This is not even including all of the buldings you may not have. This becomes a really big problem for someone who is actually trying to track all of these assets.

Basically if you get something like inventory management software it will allow you to track all of your fixed assets and will tell you when things are perhaps looking a bit old or the insurance is almost up on them. This is going to allow the business to see what needs replacing which is going to be very useful indeed.

This could mean that there is a bit of extra money available at the end of the year for those very nice bonuses. This is something that the employees would love and I think that if you can afford it you should go for it.

Tags: assets, Business, christmas
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Are you looking to get something for the boss this Christmas? Here are just a couple of ideas for you.

Magnetic Golf

Most bosses are in their middle ages and love to hit the golf course at every available oppurtunity which is why this is going to be a cool gift for them. The really cool thing about this product is that you get to design the course yourself as it comes with a green, bunker, water hazard and trees so you can make it is as easy, or as hard as possible. He will most certainly start to cheer when he gets the ball onto the hole because it is actually surprisingly tricky to do so.

Fireball Gun

This is certainly something for the Boss for when he really starts to get annoyed at what people are doing to his so called serviced office space. Simply put in the foam balls and you are set for some awesome fun. They work in a very similar way to a shotgun apart from the fact they do not fire real bullets. One of the best things about using these foam balls is that they still really hurt when you fire them so they can be really good fun to use. The boss will enjoy foaming people out of his office when he no longer wants them in there. If you catch someone doing something that they shouldnt be then BANG fire a foam ball at the back of the head.

The Bottle Lock

There will no longer be a time where the boss opens a bottle of wine at home and finds that the wife has finished it off. With this bottle lock you put in a combination and the bottle cannot be accessed by anyone at all.

So scrap all of that office chairs and that executive office seating and get the boss something he/she will actually enjoy!

Tags: christmas, gifts, office
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You may already have the perfect gift in mind when it comes to getting an office mate something this Christmas, these ideas could help you out if you are not sure serviced office space.

iPhone Charger

I have noticed that including my own iPhone there have been many other members of the team choosing to get the newest version of the iPhone. This phone has certainly done very well this year as it has battled through the recession selling thousands and has surprised us all. This iPhone charger is very useful for people with the phone as if they forget to charge it and need it for the day all they need to do is plug in this add on to the bottom and it will charge up your phone for the same period of time as a normal charge would. Of course what happens if you forget to charge the charger?

Travel Translator

You do not actually need to buy all of those books or go to all of those lessons with this really cool invention. This is something that will certainly come in handy for when you are stuck in a certain place and nobody around you speaks the language, of course it will then be difficult to understand what they are saying back so it seems like a bit of a strange one really. This is great for the people in the office who are always going away on the business trips.

So although there are just two ideas for you there, they are two very important ideas and they work a lot better than simply getting someone executive chairs or of course Modern office chairs. Get them something a bit different this Christmas!

Whatever you choose to go for the thing to remember is make sure you are looking for something that they are going to use as this will really help the whole thing.

Tags: christmas, gifts, office
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