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Networking on two wheels

The first Stills Corporate cycle was a great success. 

30 Business professionals came together to take on a challenging cycle through the beautiful Welsh countryside while meeting likeminded business people. 

The day started at the stunning Gliffaes Hotel with hot drinks and fresh muffins. After the safety briefing and goodie bags, kindly provided by Cycling Weekly and Welsh Cycling everyone was ready for a gentle 12 mile spin to the foot of the Tumble. 

At the top; 

The Tumble is a nasty 30 minute climb and an easy 3 minute descent. Almost everyone made it to the top with the exception of one who's name we're unable to provide. 'Dan Ball'

After a lunch stop the group was split into two. Full stomachs, fresh legs and refilled Gatorade water bottles, both groups headed their separate ways back to the Gliffaes hotel. 

Once back at the hotel each rider showered and changed ready for an incredible BBQ. Beautiful steaks, vegetarian kebabs, fish and salad washed down with a hearty portion of fresh apple crumble. The staple of every professional cyclist.

The day was brilliant and some great connections have been made, we would like to thank everyone who joined us; 

Kevin Attridge from Cycling Weekly for the copy of their magazine and Gatorade supplements. Welsh Cycling for the goodie bags, USN bottles and membership details, the Gliffaes Hotel for an incredible venue, fantastic service and tasty food, Jason Smith for a brilliant route, support and advice along the way and finally Madison for the Stills rain Jackets. 

The next Corporate cycle will be in conjunction with Welsh Cycling held at the Newport Velodrome. If you fancy joining us contact [email protected] 

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A trip down memory lane with 1990s FX magazine

I was clearing out an old Giroflex 64 job file the other day (we are moving offices and so a sort out of the archive is a painful necessity) when I came across an old FX magazine from 1998.

Loads of thoughts came flooding back: The 64 was brilliant when we helped Giroflex launch it onto the UK market. The launch party on the river was amazing and incredibly I am still sitting on that same red leather 64 every single day, frankly it knocks the socks off most task chairs that have launched since because ergonomics are integral to the design of the chair, rather than being thought about once the look of the chair has been decided on; normally to try and match up to one of the competition.

After reflecting on the strong and yet dated feel of the ad we had designed for Giroflex, I started flicking through the rest of the magazine. My first thought was that FX itself had more weight back in the day and that although the design does look older than it is, the current magazine has lost some of its credibility against its younger self. And then I started noticing all sorts of references to current friends and clients in the industry; so much so that I thought I might share some of the images with you.

It is interesting to see who is still very much in the market and who has left, been swallowed up or just changed direction. It is great to see that so many companies are alive and kicking, Girsberger, SCP, KI, Maine and Screen Solutions.

  The publication itself is like a piece of social history and as a designer it makes very interesting viewing to see what can still be seen as ‘cool’, you notice the dated spread from Boss in comparison to the beautifully crafted chairs they have now. It seems strange to think it was six years ago that we first worked on the refinement of the Boss brand and associated visual style that has helped them grow their market share so significantly. But really it is a testament to Brian Murray’s single-minded vision and hard work that Boss has reached the top of the UK seating tree.

It was the management buyout from Steelcase Strafor who owned Giroflex UK in those days that led onto our creation of the ‘Genetix’ brand and ultimately to the launch of Orangebox by Mino Vernaschi. When we were first working for them we used to visit the Steelcase showroom in Eversholt Street just behind Euston Station. 

This was our first exposure to the grown-up world of furniture brands and as this spread shows that even in the 90s, Steelcase Strafor was sharing its knowledge of workplace changes with the rest of the market. Besides our exposure to global thinking it was also our first introduction to some great characters and long term friends within the industry; Mino himself and then Dave Armstrong and Jim Taylour who are still very much part of Mino’s team at Orangebox, but also the brilliant Marc le Peltier who is now one of the driving forces behind Boss’s success as Sales and Marketing Director and then of course there is the creative brain behind Allemuir and Senator, Paul Hobson; these really are great characters within British furniture manufacturing and we are lucky to have them.

I was quite surprised that there is even a spread from a 'new kid' on the block ‘Connection Seating’.  It seems crazy that it was only 3 years ago that we helped them to refocus their brand strategy following the tragic accident of their founder, driving force and brand champion Jonny. But the management team of Annabelle and Kelvin has taken great leaps forward and the brand now nestles happily alongside global giants Herman Miller and Steelcase and leads the way in the UK in the ‘thirdspace’ workspace doctrine, with the Hive product range which we named and helped to launch in 2010.

  It is interesting to remember that the importance of the ‘Brand’ was not recognised in the late 90’s. All of our thinking has changed in this area and now creating a personality for a brand is more important to the bottom line than selling individual products.

A good example of this is Morgan. Whilst they are now the leading manufacturer in the UK hospitality market, back then they seedm to be slightly reticent about promoting their brand, it is so small in this advert.

  But the business has been built on the designs of Katerina and the incredible quality and service of the manufacturing facility in Portsmouth driven by Rodney Mahahon, a lovely couple and a fantastic business success story. Since our rebranding work with them in 2009 they have been much more focussed on putting clear blue water between themselves and their competitors with a focus on the product strategy and crucially our creation of a distinctive visual language that has created a series of individually stunning adverts which work to a consistent distinctive Morgan style.

Another link back to the old days of Steelcase Strafor/Giroflex in the UK is Paul Riley who used to be at Gordon Russell (owned by Steelcase at the time but unfortunately they didn’t know what they had or what to do with the former British giant and it was allowed to whither away). Anyway Paul worked for Antocks Lairn, then Evertaut amongst others before finding his true vocation in life creating the premium brand that is Hands. We continue to help to nurture the growing reputation of the Hands Brand helping it to beat the competition like Clark Rendall by gradually taking Hands further upmarket by appealing to buyers who appreciate beauty and quality and who want to be sitting at their furniture in years to come instead of replacing it every five minutes and I’m sure they must still be regularly ordering their high quality leather from Bridge of Weir.

Then there is an article in the news section about BDP (described in those days as simply project managers, how things have changed).

We worked with BDP on the wayfinding signage graphics and interiors of the iconic Cardiff library and more recently I have judged the Mixology Student awards for the last two years with the very funny and discerning, Nigel Coutts from BDP who has helped to make the judging an extremely enjoyable experience.

And finally the most bizarre experience of all I come across a Baker Bellfield ad.

For the last 6 months we have been working on the rebrand of a very niche manufacturer of specialist furniture, Baker Bellfield. For those of you who don’t know them, they mainly work in the niche sectors of transport, banking and media creating bespoke, bullet-proof furniture often incorporating their specialist Polyurethane Edge technology.

And so we have been working in the furniture industry for a long time and what a journey its been. And our influence is growing as we help more people realise the full potential of their brand. Our knowledge continues to grow, which inevitably means we can help more clients be more successful. But perhaps most importantly – we still love doing it.

By Chris Carpenter

[email protected]

02920 353940

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Cookie Law changes - deadline looming

EU Cookie law update The Deadline is looming for the EU Cookie Directive on 26 May.



In summary - UK law now requires website operators to ask for a website user’s permission when placing certain kinds of cookie on their devices for the first time.  Where consent is required, the law states that it should be “informed consent”.

 We have had some informal clarification concerning the code of conduct for using cookies from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Unfortunately the definative guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is not available yet. 

The ICC have broken cookie usage down into 4 different categories, based on their function. 

It is hoped that this will help website operators identify the types of cookies they use in order to select the appropriate method of obtaining informed consent. It should also help website users understand the types of cookies that are in use on the websites that they visit.

Category 1: Strictly necessary cookies These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website. Without these cookies services you have asked for, like shopping baskets or e-billing, cannot be provided.

User consent is not required for the delivery of these cookies

Category 2: Performance cookies These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages.

These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works. This category does not include cookies used for behavioural/targeted advertising networks.

 Examples include: Web analytic, Ad response rates, Affiliate tracking, Testing design variations and Error management. Google Analytics falls into this category!

 User consent can be obtained in the terms and conditions of the website

Category 3: Functionality cookies These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise.

User consent can be obtained in the terms and conditions of the website

Category 4: Targeting cookies or advertising cookies These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

User consent in this instance would need to be explicit – you would need to obtain clear informed consent from the user before cookies are used.

Example Terms and Conditions A good example of a terms and conditions that explains cookie use in their terms and conditions can be found at the St Helens Council website http://www.sthelens.gov.uk/pages/cookie-information/

Further Reading ICC Guidance http://www.international-chamber.co.uk/components/com_wordpress/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/icc_uk_cookie_guide.pdf ICO guidance http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/privacy_and_electronic_communications/the_guide/cookies.aspx General information about cookies http://www.allaboutcookies.org

#cookies website law stills

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Experience is everything

What’s that old adage about service? The one where a customer will tell an average of 5 people about a good experience and 10 people about a bad experience? In todays connected world, who knows how those figures have escalated. There’s no doubt that it’s more important than ever to look after our customers.

But it’s not just about customer service. We need to be looking at the bigger picture. Regardless of your business sector, creating a positive customer experience across every aspect of the business will significantly improve your chances of building strong customer relationships, recognition and loyalty. Not to mention creating a customer base of smiley, happy people who are only too pleased to tweet about how great you are.

In tough times, it’s no longer enough to simply give customers what they want. Market space is scarce and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out. Businesses need to consider more intelligent ways to make an emotional connection with customers through their brand.

The most successful companies will be those that recognise and invest in the whole brand experience. Those that go beyond the USP and venture deeper into the realms of differentiation to create a unique, distinctive and memorable customer experience that is a three-dimensional, multi-sensory representation of the brand proposition. Yes, it’s about adding value. But more importantly, it’s about making a connection - going that step further to create a compelling emotional response towards the brand.

So what is the key to creating a powerful and engaging brand experience? Well, unfortunately there’s no definitive answer. The right approach for one brand may be entirely wrong for another. But there are certain fundamental truths at the core of successful branding and they are: differentiation, honesty and clarity.

The critical first step must therefore be a clear understanding of your own brand. Where do you fit within your marketplace and what makes your brand truly special? Not just in terms of what you do, but how you do it. As obvious as it may sound, this can be quite a major barrier to break through. It’s not enough to simply claim “we are the best” – you need to take an honest look at exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie so that you can identify the most appropriate market position for your brand. The process is sometimes painful, often fun but always revealing.

Once you’ve acquainted yourself with the essence of your brand, the next step is to determine how to communicate that to other people, so that your brand is perceived in the way you want it to be. What do you want people to say about your brand? How do you want people to connect with your brand? The most powerful brands are the ones which are designed to create a specific emotional response. Have you ever seriously thought about the emotional response you wish to elicit via your brand? Is it trust? Desire? Confidence? Happiness? Inspiration? Comfort? Defining how you want people to feel about your brand will help you create a more relevant and engaging brand experience. This is where the clarity comes in. Once you are clear about what you’re trying to say, the brand experience will become an altogether more friendly beast to tame.

Ultimately, we should all be thinking differently about the entire brand experience. As consumers and as businesses we are becoming more and more demanding because we are spoilt for choice. We want to be seduced, stimulated, entertained, indulged, cared for, respected and above all, understood. That’s not much to ask for is it?

Anna Lewis [email protected] www.twitter.com/annameelewis

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Stills does the Taff Trail

5 hours and 17 minutes is how long it took the first half of the Stills pack to complete the Taff Trail. The stragglers came in a whopping 2 hours later but we're blaming our bikes. And the wrong turns.

Hundreds of fundraisers congregated outside Theatr Brycheiniog on Saturday morning to take part in the bike ride held in aid of St David's Foundation. The four (wo)man strong Stills team consisting of Chris, Suzanne, Antony and Shelley started with gusto at 10.30.

Some beautiful scenery ensued and one seriously long hill as we headed into the Brecon Beacons. A wrong turn meant Chris and Suzanne carried their bikes over some rough terrain but once back on track they sailed through to the half way point at Merthyr.

Shelley and Antony took somewhat longer to get there; perhaps it was the paniers stocked full of sandwiches that slowed us down? No matter. On the way out of Merthyr a helpful local carrying a 20 ft ladder in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other encouragingly told us that we only had 23 miles to go!

With a final check point at Pontypridd crossed and more cereal bars and water handed out by the kindly volunteers from St David's Foundation it was all downhill from there onwards. Or so we thought. Taffs Well threw in some nasty inclines at the last minute but we made it through and arrived into Cardiff in the sunshine.

Chris and Suzanne had enough time for a meal and drinks and looked thoroughly refreshed by the time Shelley and Antony wheeled into the Bay tired, happy and very relieved. But it was definitely the taking part that counted and you can still help us raise money for St David's Foundation here.

See more photos on our Flickr page

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We love this animation from Penguin Books promoting their new book, "Is That a Fish in Your Ear?" by David Bello. The book looks at translations, differences between native tongues and learned languages and even how well do we really understand what anyone says. 

#Seen and Heard

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Stills does Vintage

What better way to celebrate our 30th anniversary than at Vintage, the festival run by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway held at the Southbank Centre last month.

The festival is a celebration of music, fashion, film, art, design and culture from the 1920s to the 1980s and took the Stills team back in time with dance lessons and old school arts and crafts. Any excuse to dress up.

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Tata Kids of Steel

As partner of the British Triathlon, Tata is committed to the development of British sport. They run various community-based projects including the popular Tata Kids of Steel events, which have introduced triathlon to thousands of schoolchildren across the nation.

We created the illustrations for the Tata Kids of Steel campaign, the three figures depicting the three sports performed in the event. These figures have subsequently been applied throughout the competition from t shirts to banners to water bottles.

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Photomarathon 2011

12 hours. 12 topics. 12 photos. This year was enjoyable thanks to the sunshine but it certainly wasn't easy. 'Element' was one of the easier topics but Super Powers? I have a dream? Check out our Flickr stream for some of our ideas.

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Judging the Mixology awards

Chris had a great day looking at the future of the furniture industry as a judge at the MIxology student awards.

Chris and his fellow judges at the KI showrooms on the Strand. From left to right: Grant Gibson, Andrew Bartlett (Tilney Shane), Chris Carpenter, Nigel Coutts and Chairman Cherrill Scheer.

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Inspiration from Milan Furniture Fair

If you just want to look at office furniture go to NeoCon or Orgatec, if you want an exciting, inspirational experience which stimulates all your senses, then get yourself to Milan. I'm not talking about the main show 'Saloni di mobile' but I do mean the ‘temporary design museum’ and the rest of Via Tortona; where mainline corporates such as Poltrona Frau, Canon, Lammaults and Blackberry choose to rub shoulders with students, start-ups, artists and fashion houses.

Day one for us started in the main showhalls and to be fair the exhibition was excellent; in particular the domestic and lighting halls clearly demonstrated the Italian’s ability to be high design one moment and high kitsch the next. Although not nearly as busy as the main show (which was rammed) the office salon with the likes of Boss and Humanscale were clearly happy with the results. Overall, the show was noticeably busier this year, more international and less domestic.

  We started our Via Tortona experience on day two in a rundown room staring in wonder at a tabletop full of flashing, dancing Anglepoise lamps appearing to have minds of their own. In fact their bobbing, weaving and bulbs were being controlled independently by the power of tweets. Who knows what we will be able to control with the power of positive or negative thoughts over the internet in the future. In an adjacent space a student from Germany had created a plant pot that walked slowly towards the light. A group of plants moving across the office in an apparent expression of free will may well raise eyebrows. In this environment they raised only smiles.

Is all this conceptual stuff relevant? Who knows what commercial application an interesting idea will spark. The beauty of some of the more conceptual ideas on display in Via Tortona is that they were not shackled by the need to make money. And yet the great thing about Milan is that some of the more enlightened manufacturers wanted to be associated with the excitement. Lammaults for instance had, after 10 years, moved into Via Tortona especially so that their brand could be seen as more inventive.

Further along Via Tortona, at the entrance to the ‘Temporary Museum for New Design’ in Superstudio PIU; above Karim Rashid’s outdoor furniture, we were greeted by a huge mobile of real minis suspended from a crane. Next was an otherworldly Japanese experience from Kanega in a series of blacked-out rooms lit only by thousands of flat LEDs. We were encouraged to drink freely from bottles of Saki as the colours changed, dimmed and brightened in a hypnotic and magical manner. A sensory delight to say the least.

Amongst many others of note were Foscarini; the lighting magicians with displays that forced you lie on your back and look up at their jellyfish-like creations.

We breezed through Tom Dixon’s, Blackberry sponsored building and then onto the DesignJunction exhibition; a loose collection of companies successfully flying the British design flag in Milan and supported by UK Trade International. This show was housed in the spectacular Zegna building and the exhibitors included Channels, Benchmark and Welsh weavers Melin Tregwynt. We ended day two as we started by talking about lamps and in particular, the new Type ‘C’ lamp from Anglepoise.

On the way home we couldn’t resist the Toshiba strobe-light rain show. In the street party that we got caught up in on our way back to the hotel, it was so busy with hoards of delirious design disciples that it took us half an hour to go 400 metres.

Day three, our last, saw us at the Triennale which houses the permanent Design Museum. Following a trip through a red tunnel, past soft cactus balls and into the mind of Mauritzio Galante; the rest of the visit was dominated by the Interface show, which was a triumph of brand building and positioning. For me, the mere fact that Interface commissioned an art installation in a Design Museum signaled to everyone the direction and ambition it has for its brand. The wit and intelligence of the designer Francesco Bandini, to display flooring so that it could only be viewed by looking at its reflection in the mirrored ceiling, was breathtakingly simply and amusing – literally turning your expectations on their head.

So, if you can, I urge you to visit Milan when the furniture and design show is on. Where else in the world can you pay 1 euro to jump on a 1930’s tram, jump off into a park and walk into a Design Museum where you see some office carpet reflected into a mirrored ceiling; then walk through a womblike tunnel to see a marble Poltrona Frau armchair. Nip outside to have a drink at the Campari bar followed by poached egg and asparagus cooked on a solar barbeque? Only one word sums up the experience: GENIUS!

The challenge for Clerkenwell Design week is not to try and be just like Milan; that would be like trying to make pasta with potatoes. You’d just end up with gnocchi and who really enjoys that?

Clerkenwell Design week has had the confidence to forge it’s own identity. It needs to continue to be inventive, inclusive and relevant. It is part of London, itself a fashion and design capital of the world and like Milan some of the creative stardust may well rub off on it. Importantly everyone should have high hopes of how it can grow and flourish. The seeds of inspiration should continue to be planted with enthusiasm. 

Check out all the amazing sights from this year's festival on our Flickr page! 

#Seen and Heard #nice things

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All hail Wayne Hemingway

Chris, Dave and Wayne Hemingway before his inspirational talk at the University of Wales, Newport. The event was held this morning in conjunction with Stills and the M4 Business Network.

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Milan Design Festival 2011

Check out all the amazing sights from this year's festival on our Flickr page!

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Many thanks to Castleoak for their generous support for Chris' cycle ride

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In conclusion: The epic cycle ride

It was a glorious sunny afternoon as we welcomed Chris and the other cyclists as they arrived at Cardiff Bay. After four days and 260 miles, the team had endured persistent rain, gale force winds, hypothermia, seemingly endless uphills, accidents and landslides (yes, really) blocking the way, detours - but also experienced the kindness of strangers, sunshine, incredible landscape, team spirit, a little dance from passers-by, well deserved drinks after a day's ride and the cheering welcoming committee in Cardiff Bay, of course. See below for some comments of the last day from Chris:

Halfway up the road over Storey Arms, from Brecon to Merthyr, along slow but beautiful hills which tests the resolve on Day 4 but also made us realize that we have been riding into some kind of fitness. Thanks to the proper cyclist in the team, Paul Jones, who suggested the road over the top and to Steve Sulley who beasted it to the top. Amazing views and then at the top we met Anne and Jean who had been dropped off at the top and were walking back to Brecon. They donated £3 and gave us a little dance. Amazing descent into Merthyr and then a quick McDonalds and meet up with the others who joined us for the final push to Cardiff on the Taff Trail.

We'd like to congratulate all the riders for a fantastic effort and wish them a good recovery. Also thanks to everyone that has supported the cyclists and St Davids Hospice - you can still donate at the Just Giving page and help reach the £20,000 target (we're not far from it now). You can also see some more photos on our Flickr page. 

#behind the scenes

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Day 3 of Chris' cycle ride

After two days of horrible weather conditions the team is relieved and excited to wake up to sunshine in Aberaeron. Glorious countryside, winding roads and gentle climbs inspired us to stop every 5 miles but we were better than that and wanted to keep going towards Brecon. Some of the team couldn't resist stopping to take some photos of the gorgeous views.

One of the team hit a pothole and went over the handlebars but fortunately wasn't hurt. A much needed rest at Llandovery allowed us to assess the aches and pains, apply ice packs and devour some much needed chicken. Back on the road and the traffic was behaving, more sunshine and no hills!

Arrival into Brecon at the Wellington Hotel. Pear cider as a reward. One more day to go...

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Day 2 of Chris' cycle ride

Yesterday Chris and the team were on the road from 8.15am until 10.30pm covering a hugely impressive 90 miles in the process. Unfortunately a fatal accident ahead of them blocked their route causing a slightly shorter but much hillier diversion.

By the time the team reached their destination of Aberaeron the only place still open to grab some long-needed sustenance was a burger bar. Non meat-eater Chris opted for cheese, chips and coleslaw. Hopefully it's kept him going today.