Diwali is India‘s biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolise the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians.

I just wanted to wish everyone who celebrates this festival a wonderful weekend of food, family and laughter. Happy Diwali!

…

I received an email from a vendor that brought up a few points to consider regarding what’s being called “The Loneliness Epidemic” spreading across the US.

Essentially, the lockdowns of COVID + war + a rapidly changing world has created a culture where people feel more disconnected than at any time in documented human history. In 2003, the average American spent 20 more hours per month with friends in person – roughly 5 hours a week connecting and socializing that has all but disappeared.

This year, The Surgeon General’s Office issued a comprehensive report on the phenomenon: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf?

Work as a largely virtual task has created fewer opportunities for socializing at random with colleagues, as well as others in our industry at events or trade shows. We’ve become out of practice connecting to one another.

The following ideas were suggested:

• Invite a colleague to a long lunch.
• Go to happy hour with your old work friends. Or new work friends.
• Ask a client if they want to skip Zoom and go on a walk.
• Skip the drive thru coffee and sit in an actual coffee shop! Bonus points if you strike up a conversation.
• Just call someone instead of texting.
• Say thank you to someone!

“These little tasks will not solve the world’s big and overwhelming problems, but they might bring you closer to your own center. And when we are centered, things feel a little more stable.” – Liz Giorgi (Soona)

…

As we gear up for gifting season, we were thrilled to receive not one but two mentions for Winsor & Newton in this article on oil paints in London\’s Evening Standard last week!

Best oil paints for the at-home artist 2023 | Evening Standard

…

We are excited to welcome Jane Beeston, our Group Chief People Officer and Member of the GLT to our Piscataway Site this week. This is the first time Jane has had a chance to see our new corporate home since we moved in 2019. In addition, Jane hosted a Townhall in our DC reflecting on the Employee Survey results for both the Group and North America.

…

Wanting to somehow combine my personal experiences and the creative world of my work, I decided to get involved in helping a psycho-oncological foundation, which also provides care for my family.

I spent one of the days last week with other people cared for by the Unicorn foundation. Together with an artist friend and a psychologist who runs the foundation, we conducted creative workshops for families affected by cancer.

Art workshops were organized using products that had previously served as samples, design elements in stores, withdrawn from sale, etc. Thanks to the workshops, instead of ending up on a shelf in our storage, they brought a lot of joy to children and their parents. We also organized face painting with Snazaroo products for everyone interested.

The whole event was a great success, there was a lot of great fun. A huge reward for me was the smile on the faces of all participants.

Pleasant and useful, time well spent. Community Day – checked!

special thanks to Jakub Kopek for his help and commitment!

…